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Perceived health and productivity when working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, office workers were obliged to work from home (WFH). Alongside known positive aspects of home-based telework, it is associated with reduced health and productivity impacts. Its success depends on employee and environmental characteristics. This paper fills the gap in knowledge on the mediating role of health between personal and environmental factors and employee productivity, when obliged to work from home full-time. It covers health in full (physical, mental, and social) unlike other WFH studies. Two large survey-based datasets (gathered April 27th - November 20th, 2020) were analysed resp. with a path model and descriptive analyses. The data provide experiences on health and productivity of resp. 25,058 and 18,859 Dutch office workers from different public organisations, who were obliged to work from home during the COVID-19 lockdowns. In general, the workers in the sample perceived their health to be quite good. Path analysis revealed that gender, age, education, the at-home workspace, the presence of children in the household, and perceived organisational support were significantly related to self-perceived productivity. However, most of these effects were found to be mediated by physical, mental, and/or social health indicators. Possible explanations for health issues from the descriptive analyses were sedentary behaviour, unsuitable furniture, having to be at home, social isolation and changed content and frequency of contact with colleagues. Findings imply that specifically engagement and organisational support of teleworkers are most relevant to steer on to ensure productivity while WFH.

Survey evidence on COVID-19 and its impact on rail commuting patterns in Great Britain

The COVID-19 pandemic saw a large proportion of the working population in the United Kingdom working from home for an extend period of time. In September 2021, a substantial number continued to work from home on a regular basis, a stark contrast to the situation pre-pandemic. Prior to 2020, although there was a growing trend for increased home working, this was still not a widespread practice across UK businesses, with the majority of staff working full-time from the employment location.The aim of this paper is to report the main changes in commuting and working patterns among commuters in Great Britain (GB) brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic with a special emphasis on the rail commuting market. The paper is informed by a panel survey of 3,892 GB respondents who commuted regularly to work prior to the pandemic in two waves. The first wave was conducted in Summer 2020 and focused on respondents’ pre-pandemic travel patterns. The second wave was conducted in the Autumn 2021 and asked respondents about their current travel patterns. Although the focus was on rail travel, many of the conclusions of this paper are applicable to all modes of transport.Although a majority of pre-pandemic commuters have returned to commuting at least once per week to their place of work, there is a significant share of pre-pandemic commuters who are still working from home full-time. The return to the workplace has been slower among individuals who used to commute by rail compared to other modes. This is partially explained by current workplace arrangements being strongly linked with an individual’s occupation and mode of transport. Individuals in office-based occupations are much more likely to work from home compared to those who work in other occupations.The pandemic has brought additional challenges to transport systems in addition to the reduced ridership level. Some of the emerging issues include managing post-pandemic peak travel volumes across a curtailed working week and the associated funding for peak capacity. Nonetheless, the research has highlighted some potential strategies to boost a faster recovery for travel demand.

Hybrid working: At what cost?

Key digested messageCovid changed how we work, with many organisations now adopting a hybrid approach. The impact this has on psychological safety is thus far unknown, with much of the research on psychological safety being conducted on MS Teams.We were therefore interested to determine if there is a difference in levels of psychological safety depending on work location (office, hybrid or remote). For clarity, we define ‘office’ as working in the office full time, ‘hybrid’ as working in the office some days and at home some days and ‘remote’ as working at home full time. This article discusses our findings.

Father–Toddler Bonding during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Qualitative Insights from 17 Families in Britain

The UK lockdowns brought about many domestic changes. One was that many families with young children found themselves in the largely unique situation where fathers who normally worked away and saw little of their children during the day were now at home full-time. This was coupled with the fact that grandparents were now unavailable as lockdown rules prohibited visits and travel and many elderly were especially vulnerable. This study aimed to explore how this novel family situation was regarded by parents of young children and how they thought it would affect their children’s social development. Thematic analysis of interviews with 24 mothers and fathers of toddlers revealed that most parents did not think that the lockdown negatively impacted their child’s development, although they worried about it nonetheless. Having fathers at home was overwhelmingly seen as a positive for both the dad’s attachment to the toddler and the toddler’s attachment to their dad. The narrative around grandparents was more divided; there was an almost even split between parents thinking grandparental absence had a negative impact on the grandparent–child relationship and those who thought it made no difference. This study provides qualitative insight into an unusual domestic situation suggesting that parents felt father-child bonds were strengthened by the lockdown, although it remains to be seen if father-child relationships are improved long-term.

Impact of an Early Childhood Development Intervention on the Mental Health of Female Caregivers: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Investing in early childhood development is an effective way to enhance human capital accumulation. Caregivers’ mental health is one of the most important factors influencing children’s development. Previous studies have found that mental health issues in caregivers are widespread all over the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In this study, we explored the effects of the “Integrated Program for Early Childhood Development” on the mental health of female caregivers in Southwest China through a randomized intervention trial, with infants aged 5–25 months and their caregivers as the target subjects. The heterogeneity of the effects of different characteristics of the caregivers and the mechanism of the intervention effect were also analyzed. Primary caregivers were provided comprehensive early development interventions for the children in the treatment group via bi-weekly home visiting activities and monthly family group activities. The results showed that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among female caregivers in this rural area were 32%, 42%, and 30%, respectively. Whether the child was breastfed, parent’s age, parent’s education level, primary caregiver type, the ratio of the number of months the mother was at home full time to the child’s age, the grandmother’s rearing ability, and the family asset index were the factors influencing the mental health of female caregivers. The intervention significantly increased the proportion of depressive symptoms in 28% of the grandmothers. It significantly reduced the anxiety symptoms of daughters-in-law not from the local town, while the social interactions of both local and non-local daughters-in-law were significantly improved.

Factors Affecting Physical and Mental Health of Working From Home (WFH) Employees: Basis for a Wellness Program for a Holding Company

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the concept of traditional working from home. The quick transition to full-time WFH significantly affected the employees' well-being. This study focused on the effect of the lifestyle and home environment, occupational environment, and home office environment on the employees? physical and mental health or well-being who are working from home full time due to the pandemic. This quantitative study utilized an online survey distributed to all employees of a Holding Company using google forms. Purposive sampling was used to select the 100 sample respondents based on the computed sample size using G-Power application. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics was used to describe the variables and simple regression was conducted to test the hypotheses. The results of this study showed that lifestyle and home environment and occupational environment had significant effect on physical well-being of the employees WFH while home office environment had no significant effect. For the mental well-being, lifestyle and home environment and home office environment had significant effect while occupational environment had no significant effect. Also, there was an average changes in the physical and mental well-being status of the employees WFH compared to pre-pandemic work arrangement. This study was able to identified factors that significantly affect workers' physical and mental well-being and established the framework for thinking about how to best create a great WFH experience. As such, this study intended to develop a CAPSTONE Project in a form of a holistic wellness program and working from home guidelines to ensure and promote the well-being of the employees working remotely.

Pressed to overwork to exhaustion? The role of psychological detachment and exhaustion in the context of teleworking

This study aims to longitudinally investigate the undesirable effect of overwork climate and its underlying mechanism in the context of telework. Teleworkers have been known for intensive working and even overwork. Moreover, although some empirical evidence shows the adverse effects of overwork climate, its longitudinal effects and mechanism have been underexplored thus far. Consequently, this study expected overwork climate to be related to lower levels of psychological detachment that eventually leads to higher exhaustion, with this effect being more profound among full-time teleworkers. The authors base their analyses on a two-wave study with four-month time intervals, with a sample of 375 teleworkers. The results show that an overwork climate led to exhaustion four months later due to impaired ability to detach from work. Notably, this effect was more substantial among those teleworkers who worked from home full-time.

Task performance and job satisfaction under the effect of remote working: Call center evidence

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the entire world and caused radical changes in conducting business. During the pandemic, some companies adopted hybrid working, and some requested their employees to work entirely from their homes or workplace. This study is performed to determine the differences in the perceived task performance of employees working from home compared to those operating from their workplace and the possible mediating effect of job satisfaction due to such distinction. The study sample is limited to one call center to prevent the interference of other organizational variables such as management style, human resources practices, organizational culture, and to only call center agents to prevent any interference of the position-related factors. All the call center agents (n=421) participated in this study. The data obtained was examined by a path analysis with the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results show that the employees who work from home full-time or on certain days of the week have better general task performance perception compared to those who work only from the workplace. The work location has not been found to affect job satisfaction significantly.

We'll Deal With That Later.

We'll Deal With That Later Lauren T. Southerland, Jennifer A. Frey, and Russell Williams The office was empty and all the plants were dead. And while it is not atypical to find plants struggling for life in my personal office, it is not normal to find them in everyone's offices. It was mid-April and we had been in quarantine for COVID-19 and working from home for over a month. Initially, I had been better about nipping into my office to get supplies and things I needed, but once I had permission to take my work desktop home, my bedroom became my primary research space. I hadn't realized until I walked back in that day in April that four weeks had passed of doing all our work from home and no one had been in to water the plants. Even the cactus was drooping and brown. My research team and I had been working on starting up an interventional study to try to reduce COVID-19 infections in healthcare workers, and we were meeting in person to put the final pieces in place. My research manager Jennifer Frey and I needed to process map every element of the study, from where we would meet with potential participants to where we would draw samples and swab nasal passages. Hopefully clinical research would be easier to resurrect than the wilted cacti and dried-up spider plants. On a whim I decided to take every plant I could find home with me to see what could be saved. For everyone in the world the pandemic has been difficult. For an emergency medicine physician who also does clinical research and just took on the leadership role of Director of Clinical Research for the Department, it was very difficult. Add in navigating remote schooling for 4 kids, including a 3 year old boy who is part-tornado, and work challenges were now work-life tournaments with both sides competing ferociously over every minute of time I had. The kids quickly adapted and developed shrewd attack plans: sneaking into the bedroom office to try to make crazy faces during work Zoom calls or nabbing my cell phone so I couldn't double-secure login to hospital websites. Even with my amazing husband at home full time, trying to sort through the 7 websites, (which means 21 different logins between the 3 school age kids) and figuring out how to upload things like "paragraph fluency readings" and kindergarten art projects, it was hard. I can't imagine how unmanageable it was for single parents. Who knows if they were learning anything. We'll worry about the gap in their education later. . . . When COVID hit, we had a team of paid undergrad students, clinical research assistants, research coordinators, and managers recruiting and running 11 different studies in the Emergency Department. In late March, all non-critical research was halted and employees were sent to work from home. We scrambled to find encrypted, HIPAA compliant laptops for everyone. We had several studies that required follow up phone calls to participants. The team figured out how to use the hospital operator service to mirror calls so patient participants only saw the hospital number and not their personal cell phones when they called from home. Jen ordered headsets for the team off Amazon. We'll figure out reimbursement later . . . Our studies ranged from the management of septic shock to identifying delirium in older patients to urine microbiomes. All those were halted as being non-critical and we quickly pivoted to starting up several COVID trials. We'll worry about the consequences to our other studies later . . . This was my first interventional drug trial. An interventional drug trial typically takes 12–18 months of work to ensure that all the appropriate regulations, permissions, and operating procedures are in place. We had to condense that down to 4–6 weeks. You could almost hear the echoing screech as the entire research mechanism at this large academic hospital switched gears to the all-COVID setting. The number of committee decisions, permissions, and signed contracts was amazing. It was lots of late nights, early mornings, and learning on the fly. The...

JUE Insight: Were urban cowboys enough to control COVID-19? Local shelter-in-place orders and coronavirus case growth

One of the most common policy prescriptions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has been to legally enforce social distancing through shelter-in-place orders (SIPOs). This study examines the role of localized urban SIPO policy in curbing COVID-19 cases. Specifically, we explore (i) the comparative effectiveness of county-level SIPOs in urbanized as compared to non-urbanized areas, (ii) the mechanisms through which SIPO adoption in urban counties yields COVID-related health benefits, and (iii) whether late adoption of a statewide SIPO yields health benefits beyond those achieved from early adopting counties. We exploit the unique laboratory of Texas, a state in which the early adoption of local SIPOs by densely populated counties covered almost two-thirds of the state's population prior to adoption of a statewide SIPO on April 2, 2020. Using an event study framework, we document that countywide SIPO adoption is associated with an 8 percent increase in the percent of residents who remain at home full-time and between a 13 to 19 percent decrease in foot-traffic at venues that may contribute to the spread of COVID-19 such as restaurants, bars, hotels, and entertainment venues. These social distancing effects are largest in urbanized and densely populated counties. Then, we find that in early adopting urban counties, COVID-19 case growth fell by 21 to 26 percentage points two-and-a-half weeks following adoption of a SIPO, a result robust to controls for county-level heterogeneity in COVID-19 outbreak timing, coronavirus testing, the age distribution, and political preferences. We find that approximately 90 percent of the curbed growth in COVID-19 cases in Texas came from the early adoption of SIPOs by urbanized counties, suggesting that the later statewide shelter-in-place mandate yielded relatively few health benefits.

Physical activity moderates the association between parenting stress and quality of life in working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Statement of problemWorking mothers are a population experiencing heightened levels of parenting stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the associations between parenting stress, quality of life, and physical activity in a national sample of working mothers who endorsed having been forced to work from home full-time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and examine if physical activity moderates the association between parenting stress and quality of life in this sample of working mothers. MethodsParticipants in this cross-sectional study were 200 full-time working mothers from the United States (mean age = 33.50 years; SD = 6.25; 70.0% White). Participants were recruited from a Qualtrics research panel and completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short-Form, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Brief Version, the Parental Stress Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. ResultsAfter controlling for socio-demographic variables (i.e., maternal marital status, annual income, maternal highest level of education), greater parenting stress was associated with poorer maternal quality of life across domains (standardized beta coefficients ranged from −0.26 to −0.47; p < .001). The interaction between parenting stress and moderate intensity physical activity was associated with social relationships quality of life and environment quality of life (standardized beta coefficients ranged from 0.15 to 0.17; p < .05) in our sample of working mothers. The negative effect of parenting stress on maternal social relationships and environmental quality of life was weaker for working mothers who engaged in higher levels of moderate intensity physical activity. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that moderate intensity physical activity may attenuate the negative impact of parenting stress on social relationships and satisfaction with one's environment in working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Were Urban Cowboys Enough to Control Covid-19? Local Shelter-in-Place Orders and Coronavirus Case Growth

One of the most common policy prescriptions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 has been to legally enforce social distancing through state or local shelter-in-place orders (SIPOs). This paper is the first to explore the comparative effectiveness of early county-level SIPOs versus later statewide mandates in curbing COVID-19 growth.We exploit the unique laboratory of Texas, a state in which the early adoption of local SIPOs by densely populated counties covered almost two-thirds of the state's population prior to Texas's adoption of a statewide SIPO on April 2, 2020. Using an event study framework, we document that countywide SIPO adoption is associated with a 14 percent increase in the percent of residents who remain at home full-time, a social distancing effect that is largest in urbanized and densely populated counties.Then, we find that in early adopting counties, COVID-19 case growth fell by 19 to 26 percentage points two-and-a-half weeks following adoption, a result robust to controls for county-level heterogeneity in outbreak timing, coronavirus testing, and border SIPO policies. This effect is driven nearly entirely by highly urbanized and densely populated counties. In total, we find that approximately 90 percent of the curbed growth in statewide COVID-19 cases in Texas came from the early adoption of SIPOs by urbanized counties. These results suggest that the later statewide mandate yielded relatively few health benefits.

Childhood Obesity Differences in Single-Father and Single-Mother Families

ABSTRACTPrior research consistently finds that children living in two-parent families are less likely to be obese than children in single-parent families. Most of the research that explores the relationship between family structure and childhood obesity is limited in its conceptualization of family structure, however, either ignoring single-father families or bunching them in the same category as single-mother families. Research on gender and families suggests that single fathers are different from single mothers in ways that may influence a child’s risk of obesity. We use data from the kindergarten wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999 to explore differences in obesity rates for young children in single-father and single-mother families. Compared to single mothers, single fathers earn more and provide a slightly healthier home environment (less TV watching and more sharing of meals) but are more likely to work outside the home full-time. Children in single-father families are also more likely to be white and have fewer siblings. These differences counteract one another, resulting in similar levels of obesity in these two types of single-parent families.

Simple Minds

When our daughter was born, it seemed a forgone conclusion that she would be an artist of some sort. Her mother and I, both formally trained in the arts, would inevitably guide her down an artistic path with no return. When she was born, I was teaching art and art history to college students. It was decided that I would pause my teaching career and stay at home full time with her until she reached school age. In effect, I would be her teacher.

Risk factors for intestinal parasitic infections in preschoolers in a low socio-economic area, Diamantina, Brazil

Objective: To verify the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections among preschoolers and to identify the associated risk factors.Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort of children who were born and resident in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil. At the time of the study, all children were aged 60 months ± five months. They were recruited after written informed consent was obtained from parents or guardians. The study was carried out between July 2009 and July 2010. In total 214 children provided a stool sample for examination on intestinal parasitic infections. Information on potential risk factors for parasitosis was obtained from parents and guardians of the children by a questionnaire. Logistic regression was used for analysis.Results: Intestinal parasitic infections were found in 27·5% (n = 59) of children. The boys' infection prevalence (26·1%, n = 36) was slightly lower than the infection prevalence of the girls (30·3%, n = 23), but not statistically different (p = 0·51). Fourteen children, (23·7%) were infected with two or more parasite species and forty-five (76·3%) with single parasites. A low per capita income of family was strongly associated with an increased risk for an infection (OR = 2·89; P = 0.003). Preschoolers whose mothers did not work outside home had a significantly lower risk for infection (OR = 0·41; p = 0·01).Conclusion: Intestinal parasite infection is a health problem among Diamantina preschoolers. Poverty was implicated as an important risk factor for infection, while the presence of the mother at home full-time was a protective factor.

Inhibition Deficit after Stroke, Evolution and Associated Variables: a Longitudinal Observation Study

Objective: Inhibition capacity of executive functions is often altered in people who have had a stroke and this can significantly impair their occupations. The objectives of this study were to 1) monitor the change in inhibition capacity three months after discharge home full time after stroke, and 2) explore which variables are most associated with inhibition deficits after stroke. Methods: Inhibition capacity of 186 older adults who had had a stroke was evaluated with the Stroop Test, 3 weeks after discharge home (T1). Of these 186, 118 (56.8% male; mean age: 76.3 (7.5)) had impairment according to this test and were reevaluated 3 months later (T2). Many other physical, cognitive and psychosocial variables were also measured at T1. Results: No significant changes were found in speed and error scores (p=0.09 and p=0.76 respectively) on the Stroop Test between T1 and T2. However, when participants were considered individually, a majority improved their speed of execution by more than 10 seconds. Bivariate analyses indicated that many variables were associated with inhibition capacity. However, multiple linear regression analyses showed that variables measured at T1 which best explained poor performance for speed on the Stroop Test at T2 (R2=33%) were verbal comprehension difficulties (p<0.001), low level of participation in daily activities (p=0.02), presence of comorbidities (p=0.02) and advanced age (p=0.02). In addition, multiple regression indicated that verbal comprehension difficulties (p=0.001), advanced age (p=0.003) and being retired (p=0.005) measured at T1 were the variables most associated with more errors on the Stroop Test at T2 (R2=24%). Conclusion: This study emphasizes the importance of inhibition capacity for older adults who have had a stroke and reveals the relationship between inhibition, verbal comprehension and participation in daily activities.

Food consumption and nutrient intake in day care and at home in 3-year-old Finnish children

To assess and compare the food consumption and nutrient intake between 3-year-old children cared for at home full-time and those attending day care outside the home. Nutrient intake on weekdays and weekends was also studied. Cross-sectional sample of children invited to the nutrition study within the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) birth cohort born in 2001. Families returned 3-d food record completed close to the child's third birthday. A total of 471 pre-school children aged 3 years of whom 285 had only been cared for at home during the recording time and 186 had attended day care outside the home. Among the children cared for outside the home, there were more consumers of recommendable foods as fresh vegetables, fruits, berries, rye bread, fish, skimmed milk and vegetable margarines, than among those cared for at home. The day-care group had higher intake of protein, dietary fibre, thiamine, potassium and magnesium, and lower intake of sucrose compared with the group cared for at home. Adjustment for sociodemographic factors did not change the results. In all children, food consumption was more varied on weekdays compared with weekends. On weekdays, children had higher intake of dietary fibre and protein and lower intake of sucrose compared to weekends. The type of day care was associated with food consumption and nutrient intake among pre-school children and hence might have an impact on their nutrition and health. The diet of the children attending day care outside the home was more balanced and closer to the national recommendations.

Managing the Family's Health: Preferences and Experiences of Women with Different Work and Family Arrangements

Balancing the needs of work and family is a subject of much debate. The purpose of this research was to explore how families manage their children's health within the context of different work and family arrangements. In-depth interviews were conducted with women who were at home full time (8) or in paid work over 30 hours a week (7). Women had at least one child under five years of age. Findings revealed there was no simple relationship between women's working arrangements and how they managed their children's health. All women, irrespective of their working arrangements, held similar preferences for managing their children's health. However, most women experienced either time or financial constraints that meant they had to compromise their original preferences. In some cases this meant children missed out on receiving health services. Workplace support, extended family support and general satisfaction with work and family arrangements appeared to be important factors for the small number of women who had no problems in managing their children's health. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Subsidizing Child Care by Mothers at Home

Child care on a do-it-yourself basis by a parent would seem to be just as worthy of subsidization by government as nonparental care is. However, subsidies for care by a stay-at-home parent raise serious issues of equity between families with and without an adult at home full time. They also have the effect of reinforcing traditional gender roles, thus setting back the advances women have made in the workplace and society generally. Efficiency problems and administrative difficulties can also be cited. Long paid parental leaves have similar disadvantages associated with them.

MARITAL EQUALITY AND SATISFACTION IN STAY-AT-HOME MOTHER AND STAY-AT-HOME FATHER FAMILIES*

Two recent studies have focused on marital equality and satisfaction in couples where one of the spouses stays at home full-time with the children and the other spouse works full-time outside of the home. One study looked at couples with a stay-at-home mother/career father while the other study examined couples with a stay-at-home father/career mother. Similarities as well as differences emerged between the two samples when comparing the experiences of these couples. In general, couples in both arrangements shared positive feelings about their marriages, although the mothers across both samples reported higher levels of stress and exhaustion than fathers.