key: cord-0991777-ucodqgss
authors: Costa, Chiara; Teodoro, Michele; Mento, Carmela; Giambò, Federica; Vitello, Carmen; Italia, Sebastiano; Fenga, Concettina
title: Work Performance, Mood and Sleep Alterations in Home Office Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
date: 2022-02-10
journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19041990
sha: adace4100c1a9db3422c961520c370b3f55ccfa9
doc_id: 991777
cord_uid: ucodqgss

The sudden burst of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the work environment in favor of remote working, affecting the perception of work quality, satisfaction and performance. This crisis has also influenced workers’ mood, sleep quality and general perception of everyday life. Our main purpose in this study was to give empirical contributions about home office workers experiencing remote working during the pandemic by assessing mood spectrum variations, sleep disturbances and the general impact of pandemic in everyday life. This cross-sectional study was performed between November and December 2020 through an online questionnaire. Participants were office workers performing remote work from workstations settled at home. The questionnaire investigated sociodemographic characteristics, health factors, perception of remote working, mood spectrum, sleep quality and pandemic context perception. The sample consisted of 94 respondents: 63 women and 31 men; the mean age was 50.4 years. Study population showed great satisfaction for remote working performance and online services for video connections. Only one third of the participants reported higher levels of irritability and loneliness and 16% of women complained of nightmares. Most of participants stated that the pandemic importantly affected daily life (85.1%). Half of female subjects with children <18 years stated that children’s age influenced their work performance. Since the pandemic is still an ongoing issue, the lesson learnt is that local government actions are needed to assist home office workers through tailored programs to support families. Given the central role of women in childcare, female workers would mainly benefit from social support accordingly to their parental tasks and remote work organization.

The sudden burst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent preventive measures, such as quarantine, social isolation, partial or total lockdown, not only have dramatically transformed everyday life, with a massive impact on physical, mental, social, and financial welfare of the population [1] but they have also changed the work environment, in favor of remote work organization. Subsequently, the perception of work quality, satisfaction and performance were all affected [2] . The output obtained by entering the search keywords "remote work" in the main databases showed an exponential increase in the number of scientific surveys in the years 2019-2021.

The revolutionary changes faced by people, communities and governments during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak have totally restructured work organizations [1, 2] . Enforced

Multiple aspects were investigated and measured with a 5-point Likert-type scale, from 1 (never) to 5 (always), such as: irritability ("do you feel irritable?"), loneliness ("do you feel lonely?"), sleep problems ("are you having problems in falling asleep?" and "do you wake up in the night and have difficulties in getting back to sleep?"). Participants were also asked whether they had nightmares.

Subjects reported their perception of the pandemic on everyday life ("do you think that the pandemic has affected your life?"). They also rated their fear of contagion and the will to go out and return to previous life by using a 5-point Likert-type scale, from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very much).

Descriptive analyses were performed for all variables. Categorical variables were expressed as frequency and proportion; continuous variables were expressed as mean and standard deviation. To evaluate differences between women and men in categorical variables, we used chi-square tests and Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. After verifying the non-Gaussian distribution in all the continuous variables and outcomes through the application of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, differences between genders were evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test. Furthermore, possible predictors of the considered outcomes in the current investigation were assessed by using different models. In particular, the generalized linear models were used to analyze the answers regarding the changes in work perception, irritability, loneliness, problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings with difficulties in getting back to sleep, fear of contagion and willingness to return to previous life. Whereas binary logistic regression was applied for the assessment of nightmares and pandemic influence on everyday life. The occurrence of associations between the outcomes were assessed through a bivariate correlation with Pearson correlation coefficient. p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant and reported in bold characters in the tables. Beta values of the statistical models were reported in tables as "B" and p values as "P". Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

A total of 94 respondents (N), 63 women and 31 men, accepted to join the study and completed the assessment. A detailed sample description is summarized in Table 1 . The mean age of study population was 50.4 years; though women were slightly older than men (51 vs. 48 years, respectively), this difference was not statistically significant. The majority of the individuals possessed a high school diploma; moreover, one third of the female subjects was graduated. Married/cohabitant subjects were similarly represented among women and men (about 65%), but more men than women had no children (32% and 24%, respectively). Only nearly 20% of participants had children under 18 years of age.

About one third of female respondents had physical illnesses (15 hypertension, 3 diabetes, 2 autoimmune disorders and 1 respiratory disease); only 20% of men suffered from a disease (5 hypertension, 1 diabetes) and none of the subjects suffered from mental illnesses. Within the totality of samples, 5 participants had a contact with a SARS-CoV-2 infected subject and 13 respondents declared they had SARS-CoV-2 infection risk exposure.

A description of the scores resulting from the interview is reported in Table 2 . Different outcomes were measured with a 5-point Likert-type scale; in these cases, scores were also dichotomized using 2 as cut-off. Considering the answers concerning how the age of children was affecting working performance, we found a doubled percentage of men (28.6%) compared to women (14.6%), but after stratifying the subjects depending on children's age (choosing 18 years as cut-off), half of women vs. one third of men having children <18 years considered their age to be an influencing factor on work performance, as well as one third of men and only 1 over 34 women having children ≥18 years, with a statistically significant difference between men and women.

Almost all of the subjects were satisfied with their work performance despite the pandemic period and above three quarters of them were convinced to be more connected than before through the use of internet. In addition, a good degree of satisfaction with video services was also detected (mean ± SD = 4.1 ± 0.8) with only a few subjects feeling more tired after a video call. The majority of individuals stated that their work was not changed (54.3%) and about one third declared a work improvement. Low scores of irritability (mean ± SD = 2.0 ± 1.2) and loneliness (mean ± SD = 1.7 ± 1.1) were registered. Higher scores were found in assessing sleep quality, in particular, problems in falling asleep (mean ± SD = 2.3 ± 1.2), nocturnal awakenings with difficulties in getting back to sleep (mean ± SD = 2.5 ± 1.3) and 10 subjects (all women) complained of having nightmares. Additionally, women reported higher scores than men regarding their fear of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, with a statistically significant difference. The majority of the subjects had a strong willingness to return to previous life and 85% of the participants declared that the pandemic affected their everyday life.

We applied generalized linear model for the answers regarding the changes in work perception, irritability and loneliness (Table 3) , problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings with difficulties in getting back to sleep (Table 4) , fear of contagion and willingness to return to previous life (Table 5) ; binary logistic regression was applied for nightmares' occurrence (Table 4 ) and pandemic influence on everyday life (Table 5) . Considering the independent variables used in the statistical models, married/cohabitant subjects felt less lonely than single ones. Being graduated acted as a predictive factor of perceiving a work improvement during the pandemic. Subjects who thought that the age of their children had affected remote working performances were related to lower irritability. Participants without physical disease had a higher risk of complaining about nightmares (OR 4.50). The absence of SARS-CoV-2 infection risk exposure acted as a protective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life.

Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). Table 6 . Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work performance, mood and sleep alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. / . J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1990 8 of 12 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). Table 6 . Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work performance, mood and sleep alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). Table 6 . Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work performance, mood and sleep alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life.

Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. nt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1990 8 of 12 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). Table 6 . Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work performance, mood and sleep alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. nt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1990 8 of 12 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). Table 6 . Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work performance, mood and sleep alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. ealth 2022, 19, 1990 8 of 12 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1990 8 of 12 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1990 8 of tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work perfo mance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. Mor time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work pe ception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings an higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before th pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) fo thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the ou comes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). Table 6 . Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work performance, mood an sleep alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during the COVID-19 pa demic.

tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being sat mance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels o time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to ception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asl higher fear of infection. People that declared to be conn pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their ev Furthermore, we considered the possibility to fi comes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related t lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability w liness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was ass the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling nightmares) were positively associated with each oth tively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) an The willingness to go out and return to previous life wa mares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandem related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems turnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' fe related to both quality and performance, along with s the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. 19, 1990 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with pers mance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor o ception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturna higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the inter pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation comes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). Table 6 . Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work perf sleep alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during demic. An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritabi lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively ass liness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in fal nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightm the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturna nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of in tively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awa The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively asso mares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected e related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep turnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about wo related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mo the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, 19, 1990 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being mance acted as a predictor of reporting lower leve time than before spent on the internet demonstrated ception, higher irritability, more problems in falling higher fear of infection. People that declared to be co pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (O thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their Furthermore, we considered the possibility to comes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was relate lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritabilit liness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falli nightmares) were positively associated with each o tively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) The willingness to go out and return to previous life mares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pand related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problem turnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers ve factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work perforce acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work peron, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and er fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the emic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for ing that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). e 6. Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work performance, mood and alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during the COVID-19 panc. An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and r problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with lones (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to urnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All hree aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and tmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was posiy related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nights (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were ed to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocal awakenings (r = 0.27).

: p-value < 0.001.

An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life.

Overall, this population study demonstrated great satisfaction for remote working performance. Only one third of the participants reported higher levels of irritability and loneliness and 16% of women complained of having nightmares. Most of the participants stated that the pandemic importantly affected their daily life (85.1%).

Albeit the majority of the population studied declared no changes in work perception, about one third of the subjects reported a work improvement with a high rate (95.7%) of satisfaction in work performance and online services for video connections. In accordance with the existing literature, home-based workers with good access to communication technologies are more efficient and reliable in performing their work, experiencing de-termination and connectedness, while scarce online connection services might generate frustration, affecting job performance [20] . Additionally, the effects of home life on work should not be underestimated. On one hand, the interaction between working at home and family life may produce more prolific outcomes in home office workers; on the other hand, some authors sustain the hypothesis that domestic responsibilities may negatively affect telework, especially in those who are not able to establish limitations between the two [21] . Childcare may represent a constraint for home-based working [22] . We investigated whether children's age influenced work performance. After stratifying the sample in accordance to children's age (18 years as cut-off), men claimed that children's age has affected work from home independently from age (almost one third); conversely, half of female subjects with children <18 years complained of a negative impact on work performance from home compared to only one woman with children >18 years. Women are more directly involved in childcare, therefore they may consider young children's age to be a detrimental factor affecting work performance. These findings might suggest a persistent gender gap both in workplaces and home, resulting in a double burden of work bearing on women.

In our statistical models, being graduated acted as a predictor of an enhancement in work performance. Other authors suggest that the education level may be positively associated with a better perception of work ability [23, 24] ; since home office workers have been no longer under straight control by their supervisor, we can hypothesize that graduated subjects felt more control and responsibilities, resulting in a better perception in work quality and performance [25] . The interviewed subjects which declared to spend increased time online compared with before the pandemic, showed to have an increased risk of perceiving a worsening in work performance, coupled with higher level of irritability, decreased sleep quality and higher fear of being infected. The subjects were also more driven to think that the pandemic affected their everyday life. Thus, more time spent on the internet has led to worse outcomes, suggesting that an uncontrolled flow of information, the so-called "COVID-19 Infodemic", may have contributed to negatively affect the perception of remote working, altering mood and sleep quality [26] . Furthermore, our results highlighted that a worsening in work perception has been related to scarce sleep quality and high irritability, probably due to the detrimental effects that a dysfunctional sleep/awake cycle might have on work performance and mood states [27] [28] [29] [30] .

In our population study, these mood alterations were predicted by a high SARS-CoV-2 risk exposure. In addition, being not satisfied with remote working performance predicted a higher irritability and loneliness. The perception of the pandemic as a traumatic event may have contributed to modify the mental well-being, resulting in psychological symptoms, and probably leading to increased levels of anxiety and depression [31] . Our results highlighted not only that irritability and loneliness were associated with each other, but also that both were related to sleep insufficiency. The literature suggests that a poor sleep quality can cause tiredness, thereby leading to reduced levels of alertness and amplified irritability [32, 33] . Although our statistical models did not find gender as a predictor of poor sleep quality, more women than men (10 vs. 0) complained about nightmares, resulting in a statistically significant gender difference and confirming that women are more susceptible to sleep disturbances [34, 35] .

In our investigation, nightmares are associated with a scarce willingness to go out and to return to the lifestyle conducted before the pandemic. Problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings are related to the idea that the pandemic might have negatively affected the everyday life; this outcome is also related to a higher irritability. Our findings suggested that there could be a mutual interrelation among sleep quality, mental wellbeing and the perception of the pandemic as a traumatic event, as proposed by other authors [36] [37] [38] .

During the pandemic, remote working increment has brought advantages for the population such as shorter commuting times, greater personal motivation, better work-life balance and better control over schedules. Conversely, it is also important to highlight the disadvantages of home-based working which can be related to employees' performance checking, communication gaps that may arise or the problems that might be linked with the commixture of domestic with work tasks. Social isolation, satisfaction with video connection services, work-family balance and children's care are the issues raised in this study. They represent factors which may affect job performance, mood states and psychological well-being, sleep quality and everyday life. It is worthwhile to wonder whether working remotely will become an available option for the majority of office workers, thereby resulting in changes in accommodation and risk assessment, or if it will endure to be seen as a special advantage. This research suggests the need to increase childcare services and to support women with younger children during the acute phases of the pandemic. Finally, particular attention should be paid to the emotional patterns of loneliness and sadness associated with sleep disturbances, which can be configured as subthreshold depressive patterns which need to be managed to further prevent the development of mood disorders.

This study presents some limitations. First, a cross-sectional design does not allow us to establish the direction of causation and to transpose the results to a general population. Secondly, we did not use standardized questionnaires. Moreover, the majority of our sample was composed of female subjects (67%), who tend to be more worried about their health status and are willing to take part in health surveys more often than males [39] .

Our results highlighted that home office workers were satisfied by the perceived work quality and performance; notwithstanding, about a third of the subjects reported mood alterations and women revealed to be more susceptible to sleep disturbances.

The COVID-19 pandemic might be seen as a challenging exam for employers to test their skills in harmonizing a work environment, considering how remote working will progress as the economy evolves in the next few years.

Since the pandemic is still an ongoing issue, the lesson learnt is that local government actions are needed to assist home office workers through tailored programs to support families. Given the central role of women in childcare, female workers would mainly benefit from social support accordingly to their parental tasks and remote work organization.

It would be also worthwhile to address further research towards the evaluation of the possible amplification of gender inequalities due to working from home.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, C.F. and C.C.; methodology, C.M., C.F. and C.C.; software and data curation, S.I.; validation, F.G. and C.V.; formal analysis, S.I.; investigation, M.T.; resources, F.G. and C.V.; writing-original draft preparation, S.I. and M.T.; writing-review and editing, C.F., C.C. and S.I.; supervision, C.C. and C.F.; project administration, C.F.; funding acquisition, C.F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

This study was carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki's ethical standards. The study needed no formal approval by the local Ethics Committee.

Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) an lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with lon liness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and t nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). A the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings an nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was pos tively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0. 23 The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nigh mares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life wer related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and no turnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from hom related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations an the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). Table 6 . Correlation matrix between considered outcomes regarding work performance, mood and sleep alteration in the study population (N = 94) of home office workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. 19, 1990 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work mance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse wo ception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenin higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like bef pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14 thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between th comes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0. lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated wit liness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0. the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenin nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection wa tively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with mares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday li related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) an turnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alteratio the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life.Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1990 8 of 12 tective factor against irritability. Moreover, being satisfied with personal work performance acted as a predictor of reporting lower levels of irritability and loneliness. More time than before spent on the internet demonstrated to be a predictor of worse work perception, higher irritability, more problems in falling asleep and nocturnal awakenings and higher fear of infection. People that declared to be connected to the internet like before the pandemic showed to have an increased risk factor (OR 4.33; 95% CI from 1.32 to 14.24) for thinking that the pandemic would be affecting their everyday life. Furthermore, we considered the possibility to find a correlation between the outcomes of the current investigation (Table 6 ). An improvement in work perception was related to a lower irritability (r = −0.29) and lower problems in falling asleep (r = −0.27). Irritability was positively associated with loneliness (r = 0.29), mood alterations were related both to problems in falling asleep and to nocturnal awakenings; additionally, loneliness was associated to nightmares (r = 0.24). All the three aspects of sleep quality (problems in falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings and nightmares) were positively associated with each other. The fear of infection was positively related to problems in falling asleep (r = 0.36) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.23). The willingness to go out and return to previous life was negatively associated with nightmares (r = −0.15). Subjects who thought that the pandemic had affected everyday life were related to higher irritability (r = 0.24), more problems in falling asleep (r = 0.24) and nocturnal awakenings (r = 0.27).

In the current study, we investigated workers' feelings about working from home, related to both quality and performance, along with sleep quality, mood alterations and the general impact of the pandemic on everyday life. 19, 1990