TY - JOUR
T1 - Working from home, quality of life, and perceived productivity during the first 50-day COVID-19 mitigation measures in Austria
T2 - a cross-sectional study
AU - Weitzer, Jakob
AU - Papantoniou, Kyriaki
AU - Seidel, Stefan
AU - Klösch, Gerhard
AU - Caniglia, Guido
AU - Laubichler, Manfred
AU - Bertau, Martin
AU - Birmann, Brenda M.
AU - Jäger, Carlo C.
AU - Zenk, Lukas
AU - Steiner, Gerald
AU - Schernhammer, Eva
N1 - Funding Information:
Open access funding provided by Medical University of Vienna. The study was funded by the Department of Epidemiology, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Austria and the Department for Knowledge and Communication Management, Faculty of Business and Globalization, Danube University Krems, Krems, Austria.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - Objectives: To explore changes in quality of life and perceived productivity, focusing on the effects of working from home during the first COVID-19 50-day mitigation period in Austria. Methods: We conducted an Austrian-representative online survey (N = 1010) of self-reported life- and work-related changes during the first COVID-19 50-day mitigation period (March 16 through May 1 2020) compared to the situation before. We used multinominal logistic regression models to identify correlates of improved/decreased quality of life in the entire sample, and of improved/decreased productivity in a subsample of the working population (N = 686). We also calculated age- and multivariable-adjusted ORs and 95% CIs of an improved/decreased quality of life and an improved/decreased productivity by work from home status. Results: During the COVID-19 mitigation period, quality of life improved in 17.5%, but decreased in 20.7% of the general Austrian population; perceived productivity at work increased in 12.7%, but decreased in 30.2% of the working population. Working from home during the mitigation period was associated with an increased quality of life (vs. none, partially: OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.09–3.91; all the time: 3.69, 1.86–7.29). In contrast, perceived productivity seemed to decrease when people worked from home (vs. none, partially: 1.42, 0.86–2.35; all the time: 1.48, 0.85–2.58). Working from home and related benefits were not equally distributed among gender, age, and educational attainment. Conclusions: A transition to more flexibility of workplace and working hours for employees could have important positive consequences for family and professional life, for stakeholders, for public health, and ultimately for the environment.
AB - Objectives: To explore changes in quality of life and perceived productivity, focusing on the effects of working from home during the first COVID-19 50-day mitigation period in Austria. Methods: We conducted an Austrian-representative online survey (N = 1010) of self-reported life- and work-related changes during the first COVID-19 50-day mitigation period (March 16 through May 1 2020) compared to the situation before. We used multinominal logistic regression models to identify correlates of improved/decreased quality of life in the entire sample, and of improved/decreased productivity in a subsample of the working population (N = 686). We also calculated age- and multivariable-adjusted ORs and 95% CIs of an improved/decreased quality of life and an improved/decreased productivity by work from home status. Results: During the COVID-19 mitigation period, quality of life improved in 17.5%, but decreased in 20.7% of the general Austrian population; perceived productivity at work increased in 12.7%, but decreased in 30.2% of the working population. Working from home during the mitigation period was associated with an increased quality of life (vs. none, partially: OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.09–3.91; all the time: 3.69, 1.86–7.29). In contrast, perceived productivity seemed to decrease when people worked from home (vs. none, partially: 1.42, 0.86–2.35; all the time: 1.48, 0.85–2.58). Working from home and related benefits were not equally distributed among gender, age, and educational attainment. Conclusions: A transition to more flexibility of workplace and working hours for employees could have important positive consequences for family and professional life, for stakeholders, for public health, and ultimately for the environment.
KW - Occupational health
KW - Quality of life
KW - Telework
KW - Work from home
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85105016179&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00420-021-01692-0
DO - 10.1007/s00420-021-01692-0
M3 - Article
C2 - 33877416
AN - SCOPUS:85105016179
SN - 0340-0131
VL - 94
SP - 1823
EP - 1837
JO - International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
JF - International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
IS - 8
ER -