Association between coping resources and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in the Czech Republic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused detrimental global consequences for public health, health-care systems, economies, and society in general. The Czech Republic was one of the most affected countries in the world regarding daily cases increases during the first waves of the pandemic. The present study investigates the association between coping resources, mental health and anxiety. We collected data (N = 476) via an online survey. A multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the predictors of mental health and anxiety. Mental health was significantly predicted by SOC, SONC, social support and trust in institutions. Anxiety was significantly predicted only by SOC and SONC. The study provides support for the salutogenic model of health and adds to the evidence that sense of coherence, that is, one's ability to view life as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful, is the most important coping resource in light of a major event, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Opportunities and challenges of using social media big data to assess mental health consequences of the COVID-19 crisis and future major events.

The present commentary discusses how social media big data could be used in mental health research to assess the impact of major global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. We first provide a brief overview of the COVID-19 situation and the challenges associated with the assessment of its global impact on mental health using conventional methods. We then propose social media big data as a possible unconventional data source, provide illustrative examples of previous studies, and discuss the advantages and challenges associated with their use for mental health research. We conclude that social media big data represent a valuable resource for mental health research, however, several methodological limitations and ethical concerns need to be addressed to ensure safe use.

The Role of Off-Job Crafting in Burnout Prevention during COVID-19 Crisis: A Longitudinal Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic and remote working challenge employees' possibilities to recover from work during their off-job time. We examined the relationship between off-job crafting and burnout across the COVID-19 crisis. We used a longitudinal research design, comprising one wave collected before the onset of the pandemic, in March 2019 (T1), and one wave collected during the first lockdown of the crisis in April 2020 (T2). We measured the six off-job crafting dimensions (Crafting for Detachment, Relaxation, Autonomy, Mastery, Meaning, and Affiliation) and burnout (fatigue/exhaustion) via a questionnaire among German and Swiss employees (N = 658; Age M = 47; 55% male). We found that both burnout levels and crafting for affiliation significantly decreased at T2 compared to T1. All off-job crafting dimensions and burnout correlated negatively cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Regression analyses showed that employees who crafted in their off-job time before and during the crisis experienced fewer burnout complaints during the crisis. Looking more closely at the subdimensions of off-job crafting, employees who crafted for detachment before and during, and for affiliation before the crisis, reported less burnout during the crisis. We conclude that off-job crafting may act as a buffer mechanism against burnout during the COVID-19 crisis.

Staying healthy during COVID-19 crisis: well-being and salutogenic crafting among German and Swiss working population.

The COVID-19 pandemic induced considerable changes regarding our working and private lives. This study aimed to examine the psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 crisis on German and Swiss employees. We analyzed the impact of the crisis on working and private life, well-being and health indicators. We tried to understand how the salutogenic behavior of crafting helps to overcome adversities during the COVID-19 pandemic and to maintain well-being and health. Therefore, we conducted a follow-up online survey from 9 to 22 April 2020 among 597 employees that had participated in the first wave of the survey in June 2019. This follow-up study design offered the opportunity to compare the situation of survey participants before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. This pre-post comparison was possible through the design of our study, which allowed us to link participants in an individual, yet anonymized way from t0 to t1. Results of the study showed that the situation concerning psychosocial factors at work and in private life and several well-being and health indicators was stable or even improved. Many study variables even remarkably improved among high crafters-a group of employees who tend to regularly craft their job and private life. Our findings indicate that employees are coping with the crisis surprisingly well. Moreover, there seem to exist beneficial, salutogenic behaviors (i.e. crafting) that allow people to better cope with crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. These behaviors should be induced and promoted by interventions as they could be especially beneficial for low crafters.

Impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life, mental well-being and self-rated health in German and Swiss employees: a cross-sectional online survey.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 crisis has radically changed the way people live and work. While most studies have focused on prevailing negative consequences, potential positive shifts in everyday life have received less attention. Thus, we examined the actual and perceived overall impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life, and the consequences for mental well-being (MWB), and self-rated health (SRH) in German and Swiss employees. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected via an online questionnaire from 2118 German and Swiss employees recruited through an online panel service (18-65 years, working at least 20 h/week, various occupations). The sample provides a good representation of the working population in both countries. Using logistic regression, we analyzed how sociodemographic factors and self-reported changes in work and private life routines were associated with participants' perceived overall impact of the COVID-19 crisis on work and private life. Moreover, we explored how the perceived impact and self-reported changes were associated with MWB and SRH. RESULTS: About 30% of employees reported that their work and private life had worsened, whereas about 10% reported improvements in work and 13% in private life. Mandatory short-time work was strongly associated with perceived negative impact on work life, while work from home, particularly if experienced for the first time, was strongly associated with a perceived positive impact on work life. Concerning private life, younger age, living alone, reduction in leisure time, and changes in quantity of caring duties were strongly associated with perceived negative impact. In contrast, living with a partner or family, short-time work, and increases in leisure time and caring duties were associated with perceived positive impact on private life. Perceived negative impact of the crisis on work and private life and mandatory short-time work were associated with lower MWB and SRH. Moreover, perceived positive impact on private life and an increase in leisure time were associated with higher MWB. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show the differential impact of the COVID-19 crisis on people's work and private life as well as the consequences for MWB and SRH. This may inform target groups and situation-specific interventions to ameliorate the crisis.