Association Between the Physical Work Environment and Work Functioning Impairment While Working From Home Under the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japanese Workers

  1. Makoto Okawara
  2. Tomohiro Ishimaru
  3. Seiichiro Tateishi
  4. Ayako Hino
  5. Mayumi Tsuji
  6. Kazunori Ikegami
  7. Masako Nagata
  8. Shinya Matsuda
  9. Yoshihisa Fujino

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Abstract

To examine the relationship between the physical work environment and work function while working from home (WFH).

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data from 5760 workers who worked from home at least 1 day a month were analyzed. The physical work environment while WFH was used as an exposure factor. The presence of work functioning impairment was measured using Work Functioning impairment Scale (WFun). Mixed-effects logistic regression was used with the prefecture of residence as a random effect.

Results:

Work functioning impairment was significantly associated with a “No” response to recommended environments. The highest odds ratio (OR) of work functioning impairment was associated with a “No” response to “There is enough light to do my work” (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.73 to 2.35, P  < 0.01).

Conclusions:

Improving work environments may prevent negative health effects and improve productivity while WFH.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.1097/jom.0000000000002280
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2021.03.23.21254207: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board StatementIRB: This study was conducted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health,
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    : Release 14.2; StataCorp LLC, TX, USA).
    StataCorp
    suggested: (Stata, RRID:SCR_012763)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    This study has several limitations. First, selection bias was unavoidable because the study was a survey of Internet monitors. To reduce potential bias, recruitment was conducted by sampling by occupation and gender in each region according to the infection rate. To understand the characteristics of the participants in this study, we compared our findings with those from national and occupational surveys that use various batteries (17). A previous study that used WFun to examine 33,985 workers from a general company showed that 20% had severe work functioning impairment (24). Given that our study protocol found that 21% of the entire study population has severe work functioning impairment (17), we concluded that our present study population was relatively unbiased. Second, we relied on respondents’ self-assessment of their physical environment while working from home, but did not examine the actual physical environments. Therefore, there may be discrepancies with objective evaluation. However, because we inquired about the physical environment, the possibility of erroneous answers is low. Third, since this study was a cross-sectional study, it is impossible to determine the causal relationship between the exposure factors and outcome. However, we think it is unlikely that individuals with severe work functioning impairment would choose to create a poor working environment. For example, a person with back pain is unlikely to actively choose a small space or an ill-fitting desk...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  3. Version published to 10.1101/2021.03.23.21254207v1 on medRxiv