Impact of work arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in France

Irwin Hecker (1) , Tarik El-Aarbaoui (1) , Solène Wallez (1) , Astrid Juhl Andersen (1) , José Luis Ayuso-Mateos (2) , Richard Bryant (3) , Giovanni Corrao (4) , David Mcdaid (5) , Roberto Mediavilla (2, 6) , Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz (7) , Matteo Monzio Compagnoni (8) , A-La Park (5) , Antje Riepenhausen (9, 10) , Thomas Rigotti (11) , Katharina Seeber (12) , Marit Sijbrandij (13) , Pierre Smith (12, 14) , Oliver Tüscher (15, 16) , Henrik Walter (17) , Anke Witteveen (18) , Murielle Mary-Krause (1) , Maria Melchior (1)

1 ERES - Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Sociale [iPLesp]
2 CIBER-SAM - Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Salud Mental [Madrid]
3 School of Psychology
4 Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health
5 Care Policy and Evaluation Centre
6 IdiPAZ - Instituto de Investigacion Hospital La Paz
7 Division of Insurance Medicine
8 Unit of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Public Health
9 Research Division of Mind and Brain
10 Berlin School of Mind and Brain [Berlin]
11 Department of Work, Organizational and Business Psychology
12 IRSS - Institut de recherche santé et société [Louvain, Belgium]
13 Department of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology
14 Sciensano [Bruxelles]
15 LIR Mainz - Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research [Mainz, Allemagne]
16 JGU - Johannes Gutenberg - Universität Mainz = Johannes Gutenberg University
17 Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
18 Department of Clinical, Neuro and Developmental Psychology

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an increase in symptoms of anxiety/depression in the French population. Work and financial difficulties may contribute to this deterioration of mental health however, to date, longitudinal prospective data are lacking on how work arrangements are associated with mental distress. Objective: Our study aims to better understand relationships between work arrangements and financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic and individuals’ patterns of symptoms of anxiety/depression, while controlling for pre-pandemic factors, including employment and financial characteristics as well as mental health. Methods: Data were gathered for the TEMPO Project, a 30-year follow-up cohort study aiming to better understand trajectories of mental health. Between March 2020 and July 2021, 904 participants completed at least one of nine questionnaires aiming to specifically evaluate living circumstances and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: In adjusted generalized estimating equations models controlling for participants’ demographic characteristics as well as employment and mental health prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that individuals who were unemployed during the pandemic were more likely to report symptoms of anxiety/depression (OR = 1.89; 95% CI = 1.07-3.33) compared to those with stable employment. Similarly, persons who had financial difficulties during the pandemic had higher levels of symptoms of anxiety/depression (OR = 1.43; 95% CI = 0.99-2.07) than those who did not have such difficulties. Conclusion: Adults who were unemployed or experiencing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to show elevated levels of symptoms of anxiety/depression. Importantly, this increased risk of poor mental health was not explained by pre-existing socioeconomic or mental health difficulties. Our study highlights the role of social determinants in shaping the risk of mental health difficulties; these should be targeted by interventions aiming to improve population wellbeing in the context of a pandemic.

Mots clés: work; anxiety; depression; COVID-19; cohort; France

Domaines: Psychiatrie et santé mentale; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Irwin Hecker, Tarik El-Aarbaoui, Solène Wallez, Astrid Juhl Andersen, José Luis Ayuso-Mateos, et al.. Impact of work arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in France. SSM - Population Health, inPress, ⟨10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101285⟩. ⟨hal-03854100v1⟩