Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: the psychological well-being in a cohort of workers of a multinational company.

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychological well-being (PWB) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in workers of a multinational company. Methods: Employees (aged ≥ 18 years) were recruited from Latin American, North American, New Zealand and European sites of a multinational company operative during all the pandemic period. The self-reported Psychological General Well Being Index (PGWBI) was employed to assess the global PWB and the effects on 6 sub-domains: anxiety, depressed mood, positive well-being, self-control, general health and vitality. The influencing role of age, gender, geographical location, COVID-19 epidemiology, and restrictive measures adopted to control the pandemic was explored. Results: A total of 1335 workers completed the survey. The aggregate median PWB global score was in a positive range, with significantly better outcomes detected in the Mexican and Colombian Latin American sites compared to the other worldwide countries (p<0.001). Among the European locations, a significantly higher PWB score was determined in Spain compared to the German and French sites (p<0.05). Comparable geographical trends were demonstrated for all the PWB sub-domains. Male workers had a significantly better PWB compared to females (p<0.05), while a negative correlation emerged with aging (p=0.01). COVID-19 epidemiology and pandemic control measures had no clear effects on PWB. Conclusions: Monitoring PWB and the impact of individual and pandemic-related variables may be helpful to clarify the mental health effects of pandemic, define targeted psychological-supporting measures, also in the workplace, in order to face such a complex situation in a more constructive way.