The Impact of Adjustment on Workplace Attitudes and Behaviors Among Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Brandon J Griffin; Patrick T Coyle; Marcela C Weber; Charles C Benight; Margaret Morison; Shira Maguen; Jeffrey Pyne; Matthew S Duncan; Robert E Brady; Hannah Wright; Tiffany Love; Scott A Langenecker; Andrew J Smith

doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000003066

The Impact of Adjustment on Workplace Attitudes and Behaviors Among Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

J Occup Environ Med. 2024 May 1;66(5):e153-e159. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003066. Epub 2024 Feb 12.

Authors

Brandon J Griffin¹, Patrick T Coyle, Marcela C Weber, Charles C Benight, Margaret Morison, Shira Maguen, Jeffrey Pyne, Matthew S Duncan, Robert E Brady, Hannah Wright, Tiffany Love, Scott A Langenecker, Andrew J Smith

Affiliation

¹ From the Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, Little Rock, Arkansas (B.J.G., M.C.W., J.P.); Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas (B.J.G., M.C.W., J.P.); Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, Colorado (B.J.G., C.C.B., M.M., A.J.S.); School of Business, La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (P.T.C.); South Central Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, Little Rock, Arkansas (M.C.W., J.P.); Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California (S.M.); San Francisco Veterans Health Care System, San Francisco, California (S.M.); Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Dartmouth Health, Hanover, New Hampshire (M.S.D., R.E.B.); Huntsman Mental Health Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah (H.W., T.L., A.J.S.); and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio (S.A.L.).

PMID: 38349316
DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003066

Abstract

Objective: We examined the impact of health care workers' (HCWs) adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic on their work-related attitudes and behaviors.

Methods: HCWs ( n = 1468) participated in an observational longitudinal study in which they completed surveys of anxiety and occupational health between 2020 and 2021.

Results: Most HCWs reported anxiety that was consistently below the diagnostic threshold (68%) or fell below the threshold within a year (16%). Others reported consistently high (14%) or increasing (2%) anxiety, especially women, younger HCWs, those with a weakened immune system, and allied health professionals. Consistently high or increasing anxiety was associated with poorer job satisfaction, work engagement, perceived supervisor support, burnout, and turnover intentions.

Conclusions: Resources to support HCWs may be focused on those who report consistently high or increasing anxiety to minimize the effects of crises and disasters on the workforce.

Publication types

Observational Study

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Anxiety* / epidemiology
Anxiety* / psychology
Attitude of Health Personnel*
Burnout, Professional* / epidemiology
Burnout, Professional* / psychology
COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / psychology
Female
Health Personnel* / psychology
Humans
Job Satisfaction*
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Pandemics
Personnel Turnover / statistics & numerical data
SARS-CoV-2*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Work Engagement
Workplace* / psychology