How Risk Management During COVID-19 Influences Eldercare Personnel's Perceptions of Their Work Environment

To investigate the association between workplace COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) risk management and eldercare workers' perception of their social environment at work.

Cross-sectional questionnaire data from 952 participants were collected by the Danish labor union, FOA, and analyzed using multinomial logistic regression.

Unclear guidelines, insecurity regarding organization of work, lack of attention to vulnerable employees, and lack of instruction in the use of personal protective equipment were associated with perceived negative changes in the social environment at work. Also, higher local incidence rates of SARS-CoV-2 infections were associated with a weaker sense of community (odds ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.36).

These findings indicate that risk management is important not only for prevention of infection but also for individual and workplace resilience toward external demands and health threats.