Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb 14;14(1):3727.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-54283-7.

Cardiac autonomic profile, perceived stress and environmental comfort in healthy employees during remote and in-office work

Francesca Perego  1 , Beatrice De Maria  2 , Monica Parati  1 , Giuseppina Cassetti  1 , Alessandra Gorini  1   3 , Vlasta Bari  4   5 , Francesca Gelpi  4 , Alberto Porta  4   5 , Laura Adelaide Dalla Vecchia  1
Affiliations

Cardiac autonomic profile, perceived stress and environmental comfort in healthy employees during remote and in-office work

Francesca Perego et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Remote work (REMOTE) causes an overlap between working and domestic demands. The study of the cardiac autonomic profile (CAP) by means of heart rate variability (HRV) provides information about the impact of REMOTE on workers' health. The primary aim was to determine whether CAP, self-perceived stress, environmental and workstation comfort are modified during REMOTE. The secondary aim was to explore how these indices are influenced by individual and environmental work-related factors. Fifty healthy office employees alternating REMOTE and in-office (OFFICE) working were enrolled, rated self-perceived stress, environmental and workstation comfort using a visual analogue scale and performed a 24-h electrocardiogram during REMOTE and OFFICE. Stress was lower (5.6 ± 2.2 vs. 6.4 ± 1.8), environmental comfort higher (7.7 ± 1.9 vs. 7.0 ± 1.5), and the workstation comfort poorer (6.2 ± 1.8 vs. 7.5 ± 1.2) during REMOTE. CAP was similar during REMOTE and OFFICE. CAP was influenced by some work-related factors, including the presence of offspring, absence of a dedicated workspace during REMOTE and number of working hours. All these variables determined a decreased vagal modulation. The working setting seems to impact the levels of perceived stress and comfort, but not the CAP. However, individual and environmental work-related factors reduce cardiac vagal modulation during REMOTE, potentially increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: Autonomic nervous system; Cardiovascular prevention; Heart rate variability; Remote working; Stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of the experimental protocol. Left panel-primary aim: comparison between remote versus in-office working in terms of diurnal and nocturnal cardiac autonomic profile, perceived stress, environmental and workstation comfort. Right panel-secondary aim: correlation between the variables considered in the primary aim and the objective factors related to individual or environmental conditions (created with biorender.com).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of CAP indices (panels (a–h)), self-perceived stress (panel (i)), environmental comfort (panel (j)) and workstation comfort (panel (k)) between REMOTE and OFFICE stratifying the population according to the presence (KID) or absence (NOKID) of children. CAP indices were compared during daytime (DAY, panels (a,b,e,f)) and during night-time (NIGHT, panels (c,d,g,h)). Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation. *Indicates p < 0.05 DAY vs. NIGHT. #Indicates p < 0.05 REMOTE vs. OFFICE.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of CAP indices (panels (a–h)), self-perceived stress (panel (i)), environmental comfort (panel (j)) and workstation comfort (panel (k)) between REMOTE and OFFICE stratifying the population based on absence (SEDENTARY) or presence (ACTIVE) of any regular aerobic or anaerobic physical activity. CAP indices were compared during day-time (DAY, panels (a,b,e,f)) and during night-time (NIGHT, panels (c,d,g,h)). Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation. *Indicates p < 0.05 DAY vs NIGHT. #Indicates p < 0.05 REMOTE vs. OFFICE.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of CAP indices (panels (a–h)), self-perceived stress (panel (i)), environmental comfort (panel (j)) and workstation comfort (panel (k)) between REMOTE and OFFICE stratifying the population according to the presence (ROOM) or absence (NOROOM) of a dedicated work place while working from home. CAP indices were compared during daytime (DAY, panels (a,b,e,f)) and during night-time (NIGHT, panels (c,d,g,h)). Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation. *Indicates p < 0.05 DAY vs. NIGHT. #Indicates p < 0.05 REMOTE vs. OFFICE.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of CAP indices (panels (a–h)), self-perceived stress (panel (i)), environmental (panel (j)) and workstation comfort (panel (k)) between REMOTE and OFFICE stratifying the population according to the time for commuting. Office employees were classified in the group < 30 MIN, or > 30 MIN, if they spent less, or more, than 30 min to reach the workplace, respectively. CAP indices were compared during daytime (DAY, panels (a,b,e,f)) and during night-time (NIGHT, panels (c,d,g,h)). Results are presented as mean ± standard deviation. *Indicates p < 0.05 DAY vs. NIGHT. #Indicates p < 0.05 REMOTE vs. OFFICE.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Xiao Y, Becerik-Gerber B, Lucas G, Roll SC. Impacts of working from home during COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental well-being of office workstation users. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 2021;63(3):181–190. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002097. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jarczok MN, et al. Autonomic nervous system activity and workplace stressors—A systematic review. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 2013;37(8):1810–1823. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.07.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jarczok MN, Jarczok M, Thayer JF. Work stress and autonomic nervous system activity. In: Theorell T, editor. Handbook of Socioeconomic Determinants of Occupational Health. Springer; 2020.
    1. Koohsari MJ, Nakaya T, McCormack GR, Shibata A, Ishii K, Oka K. Changes in workers' sedentary and physical activity behaviors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and their relationships with fatigue: Longitudinal Online study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2021;7(3):e26293. doi: 10.2196/26293. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Oakman J, Kinsman N, Stuckey R, Graham M, Weale V. A rapid review of mental and physical health effects of working at home: How do we optimise health? BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):1825. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09875-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed