Marie-Anne Rosemberg is an assistant professor in UM's School of Nursing.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: COVID-19 presents a unique burden specifically for workers in service industries not only because they are disproportionately at risk for contracting the virus but also because of their work-related burdens. We aimed to understand the impact of COVID-19 on these workers.
Methods: This was a mixed-method study with a congruent triangulation design. Participants were recruited through social media. Each interview lasted up to 20 minutes. The survey data included demographic questions along with items from the CAGE and PC-PTSD questionnaires.
Results: Twenty-seven individuals completed audio-recorded phone interviews and 28 completed the survey. Participants were mostly women with an age range between 19 and 65. Participants worked in food retail (n=23), restaurant (n=25), and hospitality (n=7) industries. Length of time on the job ranged from two months to 25 years and 60% of the participants worked full time. Participants reported experiencing symptoms of depression and maladaptive coping. Job insecurity, change of job tasks, and work hours were the most common ways that COVID-19 affected the workers. Themes that emerged about participant’s concerns included being infected and/or unknowingly infecting others, the unknown, isolation, and work and customer demands. Constant changes relating to communication and protection measures were a major source of stress. There was discordance in the perceived level of threat of COVID-19. Most participants reported that their workplace complied with their state’s mandates for protection measures. While others reported lacking basic supplies such as soap, hand sanitizer, and masks.
Conclusions: In addition to their work experiences, COVID-19 has affected service workers at the financial, physical and mental levels. This study has implications of employers, occupational health and safety professionals and policy stakeholders.