The wellbeing of people during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a hot topic, not least among managers who are concerned about the ability of employees to cope with the extreme disruption and uncertainty caused by the virus.  New research from the University of Exeter Business School highlights how big a problem this is.

“Our research is important in that it adds to the story of COVID but it also enables us to assess the role of location and whether the COVID-19 pandemic factors over and above conventional job design factors, which is indeed not the case,” the researchers explain.

They spoke with nearly 1,000 employees to gauge their wellbeing each week while they worked from home.  The results show that 38% of home-workers have felt anxious throughout the pandemic, but particularly during the early months as deaths rose and lockdown measures were introduced.

The discussions revealed that the responses to the pandemic by government and employers exacerbated this anxiety, which had a knock-on effect on the enthusiasm employees felt for their jobs.  The situation was worsened by considerable fears around job insecurity due to the tremendous economic pressures caused by the lockdown measures.

Working from home

Of course, COVID isn’t the only challenge represented by working from home, and respondents also said that things such as loneliness and juggling work and domestic responsibilities were also causing them considerable stress.

Nearly one in five people said they felt lonely at home, while over a quarter revealed challenges in juggling work and personal lives, especially when children were involved.  Unpredictable workloads also contributed to stress, as did the new ways of working foist upon people, with this especially problematic when minimal support was offered.

This matters because the study found that the anxiety was hampering the ability of employees to make effective decisions, to concentrate on their work, and generally be effective at their job.

“The pandemic has contributed to short term fluctuations in the wellbeing of employees working at home, but the factors that affect all jobs, the extent of job discretion, potential loneliness of working alone, and job insecurity remain important and is likely to remain so after the pandemic,” the researchers conclude.