The mental health of workers’ took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic – and a new study has confirmed this was influenced by a combination of remote-working, isolation, income loss, unemployment, and burnout.

“Think about the mental health effects of the pandemic like the damage caused by the recent floods”, Brisbane-based psychologist, Laura Lin, told HealthTimes.

“You can see that it’s bad as it's unfolding. You can see streets being flooded. But it’s when the waters start to recede that the true extent of the damage becomes clear.”

“We’re now two plus years into the pandemic, and the picture of the real damages is starting to become more detailed, but there’s still a lot more to come.”

A total of 1049 workers aged between 18 and 65 were included in the study,  They completed a telephone survey about their work conditions, which included: working at the usual workplace during the pandemic, working from home with flexible or fixed schedules, and being unemployed or unable to work due to the pandemic.

Measures of financial hardship included income loss and self-reported financial problems related to the outbreak. Work-family interface included measures of work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC). Mental health outcomes included burnout, life satisfaction, anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Ms Lin said that the mental health impact on workers had been far-reaching, and didn’t just affect those who had lost their jobs.

“Obviously, there were many people in serious financial distress due to losing their jobs. And that has a huge impact on your psychological wellbeing."

“But even for those people who remained employed, they have suffered too.”

“Many felt the loss of that human-to-human interaction that came with suddenly working full time from home.”

“Families also struggled with the blurring of the work-home boundaries. So they had to manage their kids, their spouse, their chores, in the same space that they were doing their work. People felt they were ‘always on’ and couldn’t switch off like they could before.”

“When you combine this with the general shock of watching what was happening around the world – all the death, the grief, people being cut off from their loved ones – there were all the right ingredients there for burnout.”

The authors of the paper wrote that “our results indicate that working from home under fixed schedules and unemployment impact negatively on mental health.”

“Income loss and particularly self-reported financial problems were also associated with mental health problems, in agreement with the growing literature on economic burden and mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic.”

“Countries’ policies should focus on supporting workers facing economic problems and unemployment to ameliorate the negative impact on mental health; organisations can also protect employees’ mental health by actively encouraging psychological detachment from work and by help managing work-family interface.”

Ms Lin said that the “great resignation” trend being observed around the world reflects a changing view of what workers want from their employers.

“It’s not just about moving up the ladder and increasing your salary anymore. Workers are seeking that flexibility and looking for workplaces that prioritise workplace wellness and have really positive, supportive workplace cultures.”

“Employers have a key role to play in addressing the impact of the pandemic on worker mental health. They need to be thinking about steps they can take to promote good emotional wellbeing in their people.”