O-376 QUALITY OF WORK LIFE BEFORE AND DURING THE PANDEMIC

This ongoing study aims to estimate the prevalence of work-related psychosocial hazard exposures among US workers in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic and compare it with their pre-pandemic prevalence in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic substantially affected the world of work. The economic and social disruption threatened US workers’ long-term livelihoods and well-being. The year 2022 (after the worst pandemic months) saw a reverse trend in hiring and job vacancies. The current labor market is extremely tight, with the unemployment rate at a record low and a high job vacancy rate. These conditions highlight the importance of assessing and addressing the work-related psychosocial hazards that have been shown to directly and indirectly impact worker health and well-being. We use data from the General Social Survey Quality of Work Life module for 2018 and 2022 to estimate the prevalence of several work-related psychosocial hazard exposures. Simple t-tests will point to statistically significant differences between 2018 and 2022.“ Preliminary data analyses show that though the percentages of workers reporting their jobs as stressful and insecure were higher by 1% each in 2022 compared to 2018, the differences are not statistically significant. The percentage of workers reporting they worked mainly from home increased significantly from 7% in 2018 to 17% in 2022. Also, a higher percentage of workers (31% in 2022 compared to 26% in 2018) reported family-work interference. These increases are statistically significant. Quality of work life information will help policy makers and employers to intervene appropriately and promote wellbeing.