Workplace infection control measures and romantic activities of workers during COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study in Japan

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

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Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, non-married people are at high risk of loneliness. With social interactions restricted, it is important for non-married people to acquire a new romantic partner for their mental health and quality of life. We hypothesized that infection control efforts in the workplace influence people's social interactions, including romantic activities.

Methods

We conducted an internet-based prospective cohort study from December 2020 (baseline) to December 2021, using self-administered questionnaires. Briefly, 27,036 workers completed the questionnaires at baseline, and when followed up after 1 year, 18,560 (68.7%) participated. A total of 6,486 non-married individuals with no romantic relationship at baseline were included in the analysis. At baseline they were asked about the implementation of infection control measures in the workplace, and at follow-up they were asked about activities they performed with a view to romantic relationships during the period from baseline to follow-up.

Results

Compared to workers in workplaces with no infection control measures, the odds ratio (OR) associated with romance-related activities for those in workplaces with seven or more infection control measures was 1.90 (95% CI: 1.45–2.48, p < 0.001), and the OR associated with having a new romantic partner was 1.79 (95% CI: 1.20–2.66, p = 0.004).

Discussion

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of infection control measures in the workplace and the expressed satisfaction with those measures promoted romantic relationships among non-married, single individuals.

Article activity feed

  1. Version published to 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1113183
  2. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2022.02.13.22270825: (What is this?)

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

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsConsent: All participants gave informed consent, and the study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan (reference No. R2-079 and R3-006).
    IRB: All participants gave informed consent, and the study was approved by the ethics committee of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan (reference No. R2-079 and R3-006).
    Sex as a biological variableFinally, 6,486 individuals (2,779 men, 3,707 women) who were not married and who were not in a romantic relationship at baseline were included in the analysis.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    : Release 16; 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:
    In the COVID-19 pandemic, various external stresses including economic problems, loneliness, employment instability, physical limitations, and limited social activities can make it difficult for couples to function in a complementary and supportive manner, and diminish romantic relationships. Working under a high perceived risk of infection can lead to negative attitudes toward one’s partner or potential partner and a decline in the relationship, as one’s self-regulatory capacity is depleted because of the effort required to avoid crisis. Adequate infection control measures in the workplace can alleviate the external stress and anxiety that COVID-19 brings to couples, including the anxiety that infection may be introduced to couples and families; they can help maintain good dyadic adjustment and psychological well-being, and thereby the quality of the relationship. We chose socioeconomic factors related to marriage as confounding factors in this study because romantic activities are in some ways similar to those of marriage, albeit that the sociodemographic drivers of romantic activities are not clear. Even after adjusting for factors such as age, income, and health status, we found an association between workplace infection control and romantic activity. This result implies that the mechanisms underlying the association of adequate workplace infection control with romantic activity may depend on factors other than socioeconomic ones. It has been reported that infection contr...

    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.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    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 10.1101/2022.02.13.22270825 on medRxiv