Health Behavior Research (Dec 2023)

Associations of essential worker status, sex, lifestyle behaviors, and moods: Findings from a sample of working adults in the United States during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Ali Boolani,
  • Joel Martin,
  • Erica Jansen,
  • Nelson Cortes,
  • Shane Caswell,
  • Jeremy Lackman,
  • Staci Drewson,
  • Matthew Lee Smith

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4148/2572-1836.1201
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 4

Abstract

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COVID-19 profoundly impacted the world by causing disruptions in the global job markets due to business closures to support physical distancing in the earliest stages of the pandemic. To maintain basic societal function in the early stages of the pandemic, workers were classified based on the nature of their employment responsibilities as essential (i.e., continued working outside the home) and non-essential (i.e., required to work from home). Using a cross-sectional design, we identified the lifestyle behaviors (sleep, diet, physical activity) and mood among workers in the United States. We used an Internet-based survey to collect data from adults April 13 to May 4, 2020. Survey questions focused on sleep, diet, physical activity, mood, grit, mental workload, and hours worked. We calculated descriptive and inferential statistics to describe differences in outcomes of interest across a four-category variable combining sex and essential worker status (i.e., male essential, male non-essential, female essential, and female non-essential). The sample of 631 adults (mean age = 35.99 ± 12.17) was primarily female (72%), employed full-time (80.5%), and had at least a bachelor’s degree (85.8%). We found statistically significant differences between groups based on sleep, diet, physical activity, and mood. Whereas we identified sex-based differences between lifestyle factors and moods, both male and female essential workers slept better, were more physically active, and reported better moods than their non-essential counterparts. Findings suggest that sex and work status may have impacted physical and mental health during the earliest stages of COVID-19. The associated long-term consequences of work responsibilities during the earliest stages of the pandemic remain unknown and require further study.

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