Ekpanyaskul Chatchai, Padungtod Chantana
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Division of Occupational and Environmental Diseases, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Nonthaburi, Thailand.
Saf Health Work. 2021 Sep;12(3):384-389. doi: 10.1016/j.shaw.2021.01.010. Epub 2021 Feb 6.
Social distancing by working-from-home is an effective measure to decrease the spread of COVID-19. However, this new work pattern could also affect the well-being of workers. Therefore, the aim of the study was to study the magnitude of occupational health problems and lifestyle changes among workers who have only recently started working from home.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using online self-administered questionnaires during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the Bangkok metropolitan area, Thailand. The participants were from any organization that allowed working from home. The demographic data including the analysis of the characteristics of working from home, the occurrence of occupational health problems, and the lifestyle changes caused by working from home were analyzed.
A total of 869 workers were included as study participants. The highest prevalence of physical health problems among all workers was identified to be weight gain at a rate of 40.97% (95% confidence interval = 37.69-44.24), and the highest prevalence of psychosocial problems was identified to be cabin fever at a rate of 31.28% (95% confidence interval = 26.66-35.90%) among full-time working-from-home workers. The health effects that were significantly related to the intensity of working from home ( for trends <0.05), either positively or negatively, included body weight changes, ergonomic problems, indoor environmental problems, and psychosocial problems. Meanwhile, the lifestyle changes related to work intensity included eating pattern, sleep habits, and exercise.
Working from home can affect workers' well-being in various aspects. Hence, occupational health providers must prepare for risk prevention and health promotion in this "new normal" working life pattern and for future pandemics.
居家办公进行社交距离防控是减少新冠病毒传播的有效措施。然而，这种新的工作模式也可能影响员工的幸福感。因此，本研究的目的是调查最近刚开始居家办公的员工中职业健康问题的严重程度以及生活方式的变化。
在泰国曼谷都会区2019年冠状病毒病大流行期间，通过在线自填问卷进行了一项横断面研究。参与者来自任何允许居家办公的组织。分析了人口统计学数据，包括居家办公的特点、职业健康问题的发生情况以及居家办公导致的生活方式变化。
共有869名员工作为研究参与者。所有员工中身体健康问题的最高患病率被确定为体重增加，比例为40.97%（95%置信区间=37.69-44.24），全职居家办公员工中社会心理问题的最高患病率被确定为幽居病，比例为31.28%（95%置信区间=26.66-35.90%）。与居家办公强度显著相关（趋势<0.05）的健康影响，无论正向还是负向，包括体重变化、人体工程学问题、室内环境问题和社会心理问题。同时，与工作强度相关的生活方式变化包括饮食模式、睡眠习惯和锻炼。
居家办公会在各个方面影响员工的幸福感。因此，职业健康服务提供者必须为这种“新常态”工作生活模式以及未来的大流行做好风险预防和健康促进准备。
