Well-being and depressive symptoms among corporate employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mateusz Grajek,Alicja Kempa,Joanna Kobza

doi:10.12740/pp/onlinefirst/139019

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the well-being of corporate employees and whether it has changed from the beginning of the first wave of COVID-19 (March) to the development of the second wave of the disease (October). The essence of the study was to estimate the risk of depressive symptoms in the studied population. The study involved 250 corporate IT employees. The study was conducted using the WHO-5 questionnaire and the Beck test. Statistical significance was determined using the Wilcoxon test (p=0.05). In the first stage of the study, the average well-being of the respondents was assessed at 20.2 points, which means moderate well-being. It was observed that the average well-being was worse in the group of women (18.4 points) than in the group of men (22.0 points). In the last stage of the study, the respondents' feeling was 11.0 points - level of bad mood (10.0 points in women and 12.0 points in men). It was found that in the October stage the percentage of people with mild and moderate depression is higher than in the March stage. On the basis of this research, it can be concluded that COVID-19 and related restrictions had a negative impact on the mental condition of the respondents.

Highlights

Experiencing distressing events and difficulties in coping with them are important predictors of anxiety, stress and depression [1]
On the basis of the study, it can be concluded that COVID–19 and its associated restrictions harmed the mental condition of the subjects
The results obtained in this study indicate that employees, despite being accustomed to working remotely, were affected by the current epidemic situation

Summary

Introduction

Experiencing distressing events and difficulties in coping with them are important predictors of anxiety, stress and depression [1]. In countries affected by the pandemic, a full-scale mental health crisis associated with social misinformation, the fact of contracting the disease or bereavement due to the death of a family member has been noted [11]. Depression consists of symptoms related to low self-assessment, sadness and worthlessness [15], which lead to lower self-esteem and lackof interest in life [16]. This disorder is closely associated with a lower likelihood of achieving life goals and deteriorating health (mental and somatic) and with suicide attempts [17, 18]. In the case of COVID-19, the main stressor is not the fact of contracting the disease, and isolation, lack of contact with loved ones, changes related to work/ learning mode, and other indirect factors related to the imposition of sanitary restrictions by state governments [19]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion