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. 2020 Jan;62(1):e12134.
doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12134.

Workplace responses to COVID-19 associated with mental health and work performance of employees in Japan

Natsu Sasaki  1 , Reiko Kuroda  2 , Kanami Tsuno  3 , Norito Kawakami  1
Affiliations

Workplace responses to COVID-19 associated with mental health and work performance of employees in Japan

Natsu Sasaki et al. J Occup Health. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: The study investigated the links between workplace measures implemented in response to COVID-19 with mental health and work performance of employees in Japan.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of a sample from a cohort study of full-time employees. Participants (n = 1448) completed an online self-report questionnaire on March 19-22, 2020. Multiple linear regression was conducted to ascertain their fear of and worry associated with COVID-19, psychological distress, and work performance.

Results: The number of workplace measures correlated positively with respondents' fear of and worry associated with COVID-19 (adjusted standardized β = 0.123, P < .001), negatively with psychological distress and positively with work performance (adjusted standardized β = -0.068, P = .032; adjusted standardized β = 0.101, P = .002; respectively).

Conclusions: Workplace measures may promote and maintain the mental health and work performance of employees during the COVID-19 epidemic. The positive association between the number of measures and fear and worry about COVID-19 may reflect increased awareness about COVID-19 among employees resulted from taking the measures.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; anxiety; infection; occupational health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Approval of the research protocol: This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Graduate School of Medicine/Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, No. 10856‐(2).

Informed consent: Online informed consent was obtained from all participants with full disclosure and explanation of the purpose and procedures of this study. We explained that their participation was voluntary, and they can withdraw consent for any reason, simply by not completing the questionnaire.

Registry and registration number of the study/trial: N/A.

Animal studies: N/A.

None reported.

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