Mental Health Outcomes in Northern Italian Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Role of Demands and Resources in Predicting Depression

Annalisa Grandi, Luisa Sist, Monica Martoni and Lara Colombo
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Annalisa Grandi: Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
Luisa Sist: IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Monica Martoni: Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Lara Colombo: Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-18

Abstract: The COVID-19 epidemic caught governments and health authorities off guard and found them unprepared to face its impact on the world population. Italy was the second country after China to face the outbreak of COVID-19 in the first few months of 2020 and the northern part of the country was hit first and most heavily. Following the JD-R theory, an online survey was administered to investigate which specific risk and protective factors predicted depression in a heterogeneous sample of workers. The analyses (analysis of variance, correlations, multiple linear regressions) were run in the total sample and in the sample split by possibility of remote working. The sample consists of 301 workers in northern Italy, 65.1% being women, and a mean age of 42 years. Depression levels were higher in women and in those who were not able to work remotely. In the total sample, emotional exhaustion at work, sleep–wake cycle problems, and longing for touch were significant predictors of depression. The sample split by the possibility of remote working also showed interesting differences. The results show the importance of monitoring the mental health of workers from professional contexts that are currently less widely studied than the healthcare sector, with particular interest in the possibility of remote working.

Keywords: depression; emotional exhaustion; COVID-19; remote work; occupational health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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