The impact of COVID-19 on illegitimate tasks across occupations in Sweden: a longitudinal observational study

The COVID-19 pandemic led to major societal changes. Although the pandemic has significantly impacted the way we work, few studies have examined its effects on the prevalence of illegitimate tasks, i.e., tasks that are perceived as either unnecessary or unreasonable. Occupational groups were likely affected differently. This study investigates the prevalence of illegitimate tasks for registered nurses, teachers, IT specialists, and construction workers in pre-pandemic (2018), early-pandemic (2020), late-pandemic (2022), and post-pandemic (2024) periods.

Data were collected from biennial waves of the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH), corresponding to pandemic periods (pre-, early-, late-, and post-pandemic). We included four different occupational groups that vary in terms of socially critical activities, the possibility of teleworking, and the level of social interactions required in the job: registered nurses (n = 385), teachers (n = 412), IT specialists (n = 353) and construction workers (n = 313). We employed Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to assess changes in illegitimate tasks over time.

Our longitudinal GEE models revealed that teachers reported a higher prevalence of illegitimate tasks than registered nurses, IT specialists, and construction workers. From the pre-pandemic period (2018) to the late-pandemic period (2022), all four occupational groups experienced a significant decrease in unreasonable tasks (adjusted for age), while unnecessary tasks decreased for all groups except teachers, for whom there was no significant change. By the post-pandemic period (2024), unnecessary tasks returned to pre-pandemic levels across all occupations, whereas unreasonable tasks remained at the lower, late-pandemic, level.

The level of illegitimate work varies across different occupations, with a higher prevalence in female-dominated, human service fields compared to male-dominated technical roles. Addressing the growing care needs with more human resources will be challenging. One possible solution is to increase available working time by reducing illegitimate and especially unnecessary tasks. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of how an important aspect of the work environment, illegitimate tasks, shifted during a period of major societal change.