Factors associated with non-essential workplace attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in early 2021: evidence from cross-sectional surveys

S. Michie; H. W.W. Potts; R. West; R. Amlȏt; L. E. Smith; N. T. Fear; G. J. Rubin

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.002

Factors associated with non-essential workplace attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in early 2021: evidence from cross-sectional surveys

S. Michie^*, H. W.W. Potts, R. West, R. Amlȏt, L. E. Smith, N. T. Fear, G. J. Rubin

^*Corresponding author for this work

Behavioural Science Research & Methods

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

15 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Objectives: Working from home where possible is important in reducing the spread of COVID-19. In early 2021, a quarter of people in England who believed they could work entirely from home reported attending their workplace. To inform interventions to reduce this, this study examined associated factors.

Study design: Data from the ongoing COVID-19 Rapid Survey of Adherence to Interventions and Responses survey series of nationally representative samples of people in the UK aged 16+ years in January-February 2021 were used.

Methods: The study sample was 1422 respondents who reported that they could work completely from home. The outcome measure was self-reported workplace attendance at least once during the preceding week. Factors of interest were analysed in three blocks: 1) sociodemographic variables, 2) variables relating to respondents' circumstances and 3) psychological variables.

Results: 26.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 24.5%-29.1%) of respondents reported having attended their workplace at least once in the preceding week. Sociodemographic variables and living circumstances significantly independently predicted non-essential workplace attendance: male gender (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.33-2.58); dependent children in the household (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.17-2.32); financial hardship (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.08-1.21); lower socio-economic grade (C2DE; OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.19-2.53); working in sectors such as health or social care (OR = 4.18, 95% CI = 2.56-6.81), education and childcare (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.45-4.14) and key public service (OR = 3.78, 95% CI = 1.83-7.81) and having been vaccinated (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.33-3.24).

Conclusions: Non-essential workplace attendance in the UK in early 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly independently associated with a range of sociodemographic variables and personal circumstances. Having been vaccinated, financial hardship, socio-economic grade C2DE, having a dependent child at home and working in certain key sectors were associated with higher likelihood of workplace attendance.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	106-113
Number of pages	8
Journal	Public Health
Volume	198
Early online date	17 Jul 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.002
Publication status	Published - Sept 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: This work was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme. LS, RA and GJR are supported by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emergency Preparedness and Response, a partnership between Public Health England (PHE), King's College London and the University of East Anglia. RA is also supported by the NIHR HPRU in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, a partnership between PHE and the University of Bristol. HWWP receives funding from PHE and NHS England. NTF is partly funded by a grant from the UK Ministry of Defence. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR, PHE, the Department of Health and Social Care or the Ministry of Defence. Surveys were commissioned and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with the authors providing advice on the question design and selection. DHSC had no role in analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Preliminary results were made available to the DHSC and the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health.

Citation: S. Michie, H.W.W. Potts, R. West, R. Amlȏt, L.E. Smith, N.T. Fear, G.J. Rubin, Factors associated with non-essential workplace attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in early 2021: evidence from cross-sectional surveys, Public Health, Volume 198,
2021, Pages 106-113, ISSN 0033-3506,

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.002.

Keywords

COVID-19
Personal circumstances
Sociodemographic variables
Workplace attendance

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Michie2021FactorsAssociatedWithNon-EssentialWorkplaceAttendancePublicHealthFinal published version, 291 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{32f287717de1452f94ac1d7504546b6f,

title = "Factors associated with non-essential workplace attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in early 2021: evidence from cross-sectional surveys",

abstract = "Objectives: Working from home where possible is important in reducing the spread of COVID-19. In early 2021, a quarter of people in England who believed they could work entirely from home reported attending their workplace. To inform interventions to reduce this, this study examined associated factors.Study design: Data from the ongoing COVID-19 Rapid Survey of Adherence to Interventions and Responses survey series of nationally representative samples of people in the UK aged 16+ years in January-February 2021 were used.Methods: The study sample was 1422 respondents who reported that they could work completely from home. The outcome measure was self-reported workplace attendance at least once during the preceding week. Factors of interest were analysed in three blocks: 1) sociodemographic variables, 2) variables relating to respondents' circumstances and 3) psychological variables.Results: 26.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 24.5%-29.1%) of respondents reported having attended their workplace at least once in the preceding week. Sociodemographic variables and living circumstances significantly independently predicted non-essential workplace attendance: male gender (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.33-2.58); dependent children in the household (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.17-2.32); financial hardship (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.08-1.21); lower socio-economic grade (C2DE; OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.19-2.53); working in sectors such as health or social care (OR = 4.18, 95% CI = 2.56-6.81), education and childcare (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.45-4.14) and key public service (OR = 3.78, 95% CI = 1.83-7.81) and having been vaccinated (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.33-3.24).Conclusions: Non-essential workplace attendance in the UK in early 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly independently associated with a range of sociodemographic variables and personal circumstances. Having been vaccinated, financial hardship, socio-economic grade C2DE, having a dependent child at home and working in certain key sectors were associated with higher likelihood of workplace attendance.",

keywords = "COVID-19, Personal circumstances, Sociodemographic variables, Workplace attendance",

author = "S. Michie and Potts, {H. W.W.} and R. West and R. Amlȏt and Smith, {L. E.} and Fear, {N. T.} and Rubin, {G. J.}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme. LS, RA and GJR are supported by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emergency Preparedness and Response, a partnership between Public Health England (PHE), King's College London and the University of East Anglia. RA is also supported by the NIHR HPRU in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, a partnership between PHE and the University of Bristol. HWWP receives funding from PHE and NHS England. NTF is partly funded by a grant from the UK Ministry of Defence. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR, PHE, the Department of Health and Social Care or the Ministry of Defence. Surveys were commissioned and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with the authors providing advice on the question design and selection. DHSC had no role in analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Preliminary results were made available to the DHSC and the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. Citation: S. Michie, H.W.W. Potts, R. West, R. Amlȏt, L.E. Smith, N.T. Fear, G.J. Rubin, Factors associated with non-essential workplace attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in early 2021: evidence from cross-sectional surveys, Public Health, Volume 198, 2021, Pages 106-113, ISSN 0033-3506, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.002.",

year = "2021",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.002",

language = "English",

volume = "198",

pages = "106--113",

journal = "Public Health",

issn = "0033-3506",

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}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Factors associated with non-essential workplace attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in early 2021

T2 - evidence from cross-sectional surveys

AU - Michie, S.

AU - Potts, H. W.W.

AU - West, R.

AU - Amlȏt, R.

AU - Smith, L. E.

AU - Fear, N. T.

AU - Rubin, G. J.

N1 - Funding Information: This work was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme. LS, RA and GJR are supported by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emergency Preparedness and Response, a partnership between Public Health England (PHE), King's College London and the University of East Anglia. RA is also supported by the NIHR HPRU in Behavioural Science and Evaluation, a partnership between PHE and the University of Bristol. HWWP receives funding from PHE and NHS England. NTF is partly funded by a grant from the UK Ministry of Defence. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR, PHE, the Department of Health and Social Care or the Ministry of Defence. Surveys were commissioned and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with the authors providing advice on the question design and selection. DHSC had no role in analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Preliminary results were made available to the DHSC and the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Royal Society for Public Health. Citation: S. Michie, H.W.W. Potts, R. West, R. Amlȏt, L.E. Smith, N.T. Fear, G.J. Rubin, Factors associated with non-essential workplace attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in early 2021: evidence from cross-sectional surveys, Public Health, Volume 198, 2021, Pages 106-113, ISSN 0033-3506, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.002.

PY - 2021/9

Y1 - 2021/9

N2 - Objectives: Working from home where possible is important in reducing the spread of COVID-19. In early 2021, a quarter of people in England who believed they could work entirely from home reported attending their workplace. To inform interventions to reduce this, this study examined associated factors.Study design: Data from the ongoing COVID-19 Rapid Survey of Adherence to Interventions and Responses survey series of nationally representative samples of people in the UK aged 16+ years in January-February 2021 were used.Methods: The study sample was 1422 respondents who reported that they could work completely from home. The outcome measure was self-reported workplace attendance at least once during the preceding week. Factors of interest were analysed in three blocks: 1) sociodemographic variables, 2) variables relating to respondents' circumstances and 3) psychological variables.Results: 26.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 24.5%-29.1%) of respondents reported having attended their workplace at least once in the preceding week. Sociodemographic variables and living circumstances significantly independently predicted non-essential workplace attendance: male gender (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.33-2.58); dependent children in the household (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.17-2.32); financial hardship (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.08-1.21); lower socio-economic grade (C2DE; OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.19-2.53); working in sectors such as health or social care (OR = 4.18, 95% CI = 2.56-6.81), education and childcare (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.45-4.14) and key public service (OR = 3.78, 95% CI = 1.83-7.81) and having been vaccinated (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.33-3.24).Conclusions: Non-essential workplace attendance in the UK in early 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly independently associated with a range of sociodemographic variables and personal circumstances. Having been vaccinated, financial hardship, socio-economic grade C2DE, having a dependent child at home and working in certain key sectors were associated with higher likelihood of workplace attendance.

AB - Objectives: Working from home where possible is important in reducing the spread of COVID-19. In early 2021, a quarter of people in England who believed they could work entirely from home reported attending their workplace. To inform interventions to reduce this, this study examined associated factors.Study design: Data from the ongoing COVID-19 Rapid Survey of Adherence to Interventions and Responses survey series of nationally representative samples of people in the UK aged 16+ years in January-February 2021 were used.Methods: The study sample was 1422 respondents who reported that they could work completely from home. The outcome measure was self-reported workplace attendance at least once during the preceding week. Factors of interest were analysed in three blocks: 1) sociodemographic variables, 2) variables relating to respondents' circumstances and 3) psychological variables.Results: 26.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 24.5%-29.1%) of respondents reported having attended their workplace at least once in the preceding week. Sociodemographic variables and living circumstances significantly independently predicted non-essential workplace attendance: male gender (odds ratio [OR] = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.33-2.58); dependent children in the household (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.17-2.32); financial hardship (OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.08-1.21); lower socio-economic grade (C2DE; OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.19-2.53); working in sectors such as health or social care (OR = 4.18, 95% CI = 2.56-6.81), education and childcare (OR = 2.45, 95% CI = 1.45-4.14) and key public service (OR = 3.78, 95% CI = 1.83-7.81) and having been vaccinated (OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.33-3.24).Conclusions: Non-essential workplace attendance in the UK in early 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly independently associated with a range of sociodemographic variables and personal circumstances. Having been vaccinated, financial hardship, socio-economic grade C2DE, having a dependent child at home and working in certain key sectors were associated with higher likelihood of workplace attendance.

KW - COVID-19

KW - Personal circumstances

KW - Sociodemographic variables

KW - Workplace attendance

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U2 - 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.002

DO - 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.07.002

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85112565268

SN - 0033-3506

VL - 198

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JO - Public Health

JF - Public Health

ER -

Factors associated with non-essential workplace attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in early 2021: evidence from cross-sectional surveys

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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