Associations between employment changes and mental health: US data from during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives: To examine associations of changing employment conditions, specifically switching to working from home (WFH) or job loss, with mental health, using data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data from 2,301 US adults in employment prior to COVID-19 were collected April 3rd−7th, 2020. Participants reported whether their employment remained unchanged, they were WFH when they had not been before, or they had lost their job due to the pandemic. Outcomes were symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and positive mental health (PMH) assessed using validated questionnaires. Linear regression quantified associations of employment changes with mental health outcomes, controlling for age, sex, race, BMI, smoking status, screen time, physical activity, marital status, chronic conditions, and current COVID-19 containment strategies being followed