Uncertainty and Well-Being amongst Homeworkers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of University Staff

Wood, Stephen; Michaelides, George; Daniels, Kevin; Niven, Karen

doi:10.3390/ijerph191610435

Open AccessArticle

Uncertainty and Well-Being amongst Homeworkers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of University Staff

¹

School of Business, University of Leicester, Brookfield, London Road, Leicester LE2 1RQ, UK

²

Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK

³

Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 1FL, UK

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 10435; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610435

Submission received: 1 July 2022 / Revised: 20 July 2022 / Accepted: 17 August 2022 / Published: 22 August 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID-19 in the Workplace: Observations, Research, and Lessons Learned)

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened uncertainties in people’s lives—and was itself a source of fresh uncertainty. We report a study of homeworkers on whether such uncertainties, and particularly those related to their work environment, are associated with lower levels of well-being and whether this association is exacerbated by prior poor well-being. We focus on five uncertainties surrounding the pandemic and employment—the virus, the job quality, workload, logistics of work lives, and support from the employer. Our empirical tests show that uncertainties around the virus, employer support, and their job quality have the strongest negative associations with well-being. These are based on data collected over three time periods in the first year of the pandemic from a sample of university staff (academics and non-academics) and well-being is measured on two continua, anxiety–contentment and depression–enthusiasm. The effects of uncertainties around workload and logistics are less pronounced, but more apparent among employees with better (not poorer) past well-being, at various times of the recession. The study adds to our understanding of the pandemic and highlights the need to link uncertainty to mental health more than it has in the past.

Keywords: uncertainty; well-being; homeworking; COVID-19; job quality

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wood, S.; Michaelides, G.; Daniels, K.; Niven, K. Uncertainty and Well-Being amongst Homeworkers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of University Staff. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 10435. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610435

AMA Style

Wood S, Michaelides G, Daniels K, Niven K. Uncertainty and Well-Being amongst Homeworkers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of University Staff. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(16):10435. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610435

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wood, Stephen, George Michaelides, Kevin Daniels, and Karen Niven. 2022. "Uncertainty and Well-Being amongst Homeworkers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of University Staff" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 16: 10435. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610435

APA Style

Wood, S., Michaelides, G., Daniels, K., & Niven, K. (2022). Uncertainty and Well-Being amongst Homeworkers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of University Staff. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16), 10435. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610435

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Uncertainty and Well-Being amongst Homeworkers in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of University Staff

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