A Cross-Sectional Study on the Mental Health of Professionals Working from Home in Tamilnadu, India, during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

BACKGROUND The Covid pandemic situation has brought drastic changes in workplace environments around the world with many organizations shifting to work from home (WFH) models. So, an online survey was conducted in India among professionals working from home to evaluate their mental health and determine as to how they were coping with working from home during this pandemic. METHODS An online survey was conducted with an invitation to professionals working from home to participate in the study. The survey questionnaire contained statements regarding their level of comfort in working from home and the statements from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS - 21) and the acceptance and action questionnaire (AAQ - II). A total of 912 responses were statistically analysed. RESULTS Results showed that 63.9 % of the participants were experiencing various levels of stress, with 8.6 % having severe levels of stress; while 62.9 % had some level of anxiety, 6.9 % of the participants had severe levels of anxiety. 31 % of the respondents had some level of depression while 1.2 % had levels indicative of severe depression. Only 40.5 % of the respondents reported being comfortable working from home and 55 % of the people reported they could not work without disturbances at home. The nature of job, age, gender and parental status all influenced the levels of stress, anxiety and depression while WFH. CONCLUSIONS People who are working from home are stressed, anxious and have various levels of depression as clearly evidenced in this study. KEY WORDS Working from Home, Covid 19 Pandemic, Stress, Anxiety and Depression, Experiential Avoidance