Mental strain in German public administrations in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital working methods were increasingly implemented within the setting of German public administrations. Beyond the ostensible risk of infection, a high psychological burden arose for the employees.

Objective: A subsequent progression of mental strain is to be estimated as a residual effect (approximated by controlling other influencing factors) due to the impossibility of a counterfactual control group.

Methods: An online survey was conducted in 2020 and repeated in 2021 among a cohort of n = 706 employees of 38 departments of three public administrations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Mental strain was assessed by the Wuppertal Screening Instrument. Its temporal variation was operationalized as the intercept of a first-difference multiple regression model. Unit of analysis was the department level.

Results: The prevalence of suboptimal and dysfunctional strain increased from 71% to 73%. The multiple regression model showed a significant increase whilst controlling the influence of socio-demographic changes on the department level. Children, age and educational level were significant predictors. R2 indicated that about 40% of the variance in the temporal variation of mental strain could be explained.

Conclusion: The observed factors explained a significant proportion of the increase in mental strain in German public administrations. Still, far more than half of the increase stemmed from external influences which were largely determined by pandemic conditions and latency effects remain still to be seen.