Workers’ well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping review
Studies have documented workers' well-being during individual pandemics and epidemics. However, there lies a need to summarize worker well-being across crises. Moreover, there is a scarcity of reviews exploring precarious workers' well-being during these crises. Adopting a multidisciplinar...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497625000050 |
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| author | Tyler Pacheco Simon Coulombe Nancy L. Kocovski Julia Carbone |
| author_facet | Tyler Pacheco Simon Coulombe Nancy L. Kocovski Julia Carbone |
| author_sort | Tyler Pacheco |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Studies have documented workers' well-being during individual pandemics and epidemics. However, there lies a need to summarize worker well-being across crises. Moreover, there is a scarcity of reviews exploring precarious workers' well-being during these crises. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective via positive psychology's third wave, this scoping review examines positive and negative well-being across diverse occupational groups and situations (e.g., precarious employment) and across crises. Inspired by Ecological Systems Theory, factors at different ecological levels (self, social, workplace, pandemic) relevant to workers' well-being are reviewed. The following questions are addressed: 1) How are virus-related public health crises (i.e., epidemics, pandemics) related to workers' well-being? 2) What resilience and risk factors are associated with workers' well-being in these crises? And 2a) How is the well-being of precarious workers impacted during virus-related public health crises? Of the 2,395 potentially relevant articles published before October 23rd, 2020, 187 were retained. Overall, more research has been conducted on negative than positive well-being. Workers experienced: 1) positive well-being frequently or at moderately high levels overall during pandemics and epidemics, 2) mild to moderate negative well-being during SARS and COVID-19's beginning and high negative well-being during other crises, and 3) high work-related well-being during such crises. Factors at self- (age, gender), social- (social support), workplace- (occupation, frontline status), and pandemic-related (risk/exposure, knowing someone infected/killed by the virus, PPE access) levels were associated with workers' well-being. Although explored infrequently, precarious employment was typically associated with greater negative well-being. Practice- and policy-related recommendations are discussed. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-835c44da948a4f3b80abd3fce2e04e33 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-4976 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology |
| spelling | doaj-art-835c44da948a4f3b80abd3fce2e04e332025-08-20T02:24:58ZengElsevierComprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology2666-49762025-05-012210028610.1016/j.cpnec.2025.100286Workers’ well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping reviewTyler Pacheco0Simon Coulombe1Nancy L. Kocovski2Julia Carbone3Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3C5, Canada; Department of Industrial Relations, Université Laval, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada; Member of the Relief Research Chair in Mental Health, Self-management, and Work, Université Laval, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada; VITAM – Sustainable Health Research Centre, 2480, Chemin de la Canardière, Québec, Québec, G1J 2G1, Canada; Corresponding author. Department of Industrial Relations, Université Laval, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada.Department of Industrial Relations, Université Laval, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada; VITAM – Sustainable Health Research Centre, 2480, Chemin de la Canardière, Québec, Québec, G1J 2G1, Canada; Relief Research Chair in Mental Health, Self-management, and Work, Université Laval, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada; CERVO Brain Research Centre, 2601 Chemin de la Canardière, Québec, Québec, G1J 2G3, Canada; Centre d’études et d'interventions en santé mentale, Université Laval, 2325 Rue de l'Université, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada; Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, Department of Political Science, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128 succursale Centre-Vill, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3J7, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3C5, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3C5, Canada; Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, 150 Kilgour Road, Toronto, Ontario, M4G 1R8, CanadaStudies have documented workers' well-being during individual pandemics and epidemics. However, there lies a need to summarize worker well-being across crises. Moreover, there is a scarcity of reviews exploring precarious workers' well-being during these crises. Adopting a multidisciplinary perspective via positive psychology's third wave, this scoping review examines positive and negative well-being across diverse occupational groups and situations (e.g., precarious employment) and across crises. Inspired by Ecological Systems Theory, factors at different ecological levels (self, social, workplace, pandemic) relevant to workers' well-being are reviewed. The following questions are addressed: 1) How are virus-related public health crises (i.e., epidemics, pandemics) related to workers' well-being? 2) What resilience and risk factors are associated with workers' well-being in these crises? And 2a) How is the well-being of precarious workers impacted during virus-related public health crises? Of the 2,395 potentially relevant articles published before October 23rd, 2020, 187 were retained. Overall, more research has been conducted on negative than positive well-being. Workers experienced: 1) positive well-being frequently or at moderately high levels overall during pandemics and epidemics, 2) mild to moderate negative well-being during SARS and COVID-19's beginning and high negative well-being during other crises, and 3) high work-related well-being during such crises. Factors at self- (age, gender), social- (social support), workplace- (occupation, frontline status), and pandemic-related (risk/exposure, knowing someone infected/killed by the virus, PPE access) levels were associated with workers' well-being. Although explored infrequently, precarious employment was typically associated with greater negative well-being. Practice- and policy-related recommendations are discussed.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497625000050PandemicEpidemicWorkerWell-beingPrecarious work |
| spellingShingle | Tyler Pacheco Simon Coulombe Nancy L. Kocovski Julia Carbone Workers’ well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping review Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology Pandemic Epidemic Worker Well-being Precarious work |
| title | Workers’ well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping review |
| title_full | Workers’ well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping review |
| title_fullStr | Workers’ well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Workers’ well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping review |
| title_short | Workers’ well-being during viral pandemics and epidemics: A scoping review |
| title_sort | workers well being during viral pandemics and epidemics a scoping review |
| topic | Pandemic Epidemic Worker Well-being Precarious work |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497625000050 |
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