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Mental Health and Work Attitudes among People Resuming Work during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in China

Author

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  • Lili Song

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
    Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Yong Wang

    (CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China
    Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • ZhengLin Li

    (School of psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100037, China)

  • Ying Yang

    (Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Hao Li

    (Plateau Center of Brain Sciences, Tibet University, Lasa 850000, China
    School of Medicine, Tibet University, Lasa 850000, China)

Abstract

The unprecedented outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused an economic downturn and increased the unemployment rate in China. In this context, employees face health and social economic stressors. To assess their mental health (i.e., anxiety, depression, insomnia and somatization) and work attitudes (i.e., work engagement, job satisfaction and turnover intention) as well as the associated factors, we conducted a cross-sectional study among people who resumed work after the Spring Festival holiday during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that the prevalence of anxiety, depression, insomnia and somatization among these people was 12.7%, 13.5%, 20.7% and 6.6%, respectively. The major risk factor for mental health was worrying about unemployment, and the main protective factors were psychological strengths (i.e., resilience and optimism). Regarding work attitudes, the percentage of people who felt more satisfied with their job (43.8%) was larger than that of those who felt less satisfied (26.9%), while the percentage of people who thought about quitting their job more frequently (15.7%) was smaller than that of those who considered it less frequently (63.2%). However, work engagement was lower than usual. Similar to the factors associated with mental health, the major risk factor for work attitudes was also worrying about unemployment, and the main protective factors were resilience and optimism. In addition, the nature of the organization, job status, age, position and income changes were also related to these work attitudes. Our findings shed light on the need for organization administrators to be aware of the status of and factors associated with employees’ mental health and work attitudes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Policies or interventions could be developed based on our findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Lili Song & Yong Wang & ZhengLin Li & Ying Yang & Hao Li, 2020. "Mental Health and Work Attitudes among People Resuming Work during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:14:p:5059-:d:384247
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Yang Xiao & Yanjie Bian & Lei Zhang, 2020. "Mental Health of Chinese Online Networkers under COVID-19: A Sociological Analysis of Survey Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-17, November.
    3. Anna Nyberg & Kristiina Rajaleid & Ingrid Demmelmaier, 2022. "The Work Environment during Coronavirus Epidemics and Pandemics: A Systematic Review of Studies Using Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed-Methods Designs," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-48, June.
    4. Nataly Palomino-Ruiz & Aldo Alvarez-Risco & Jeanet Guzman-Loayza & Oscar Mamani-Benito & Martín A. Vilela-Estrada & Víctor Serna-Alarcón & Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales & Jaime A. Yáñez & Christian R. M, 2022. "Job Insecurity According to the Mental Health of Workers in 25 Peruvian Cities during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-15, November.
    5. Berislav Andrlić & Kankanamge Gayan Priyashantha & Adambarage Chamaru De Alwis, 2023. "Employee Engagement Management in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Ruixin Su & Bojan Obrenovic & Jianguo Du & Danijela Godinic & Akmal Khudaykulov, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic Implications for Corporate Sustainability and Society: A Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-23, January.

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