Personal and work-related factors associated with mental health among auto workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

Little is known about the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-healthcare workers, especially among those who weathered unemployment related to shutdowns and supply-chain disruptions. We administered a cross-sectional survey (May – October 2021) to understand patterns between personal and work-related predictors and mental health symptoms among in-person auto workers in the United States (N = 1,165). The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 and the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 measured the presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Predictors included the presence of financial/family stressors, fear of SARS-CoV-2 exposure, perceptions of safety climate/culture, and clarity of workplace COVID-19 protocols. We used multinomial logistic regression to examine associations between the predictors and anxiety symptoms alone, depressive symptoms alone, and both anxiety and depressive symptoms compared to no symptoms, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, employee type, COVID-19 infection history, and preexisting psychological or psychiatric disorders. Experiencing financial/family stressors (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 2.65, 95 % CI: 1.86–3.78) and feeling very concerned over SARS-CoV-2 exposure (AOR: 2.12, 95 % CI: 1.47–3.06) increased the odds of having both anxiety and depressive symptoms in comparison to experiencing no stressors, and feeling less than very concerned over exposure, respectively. Positive perceptions of safety climate/culture (AOR = 0.79, 95 % CI: 0.75–0.84) and strong clarity of COVID-19 protocols (AOR = 0.91, 95 %CI: 0.84–0.99) were associated with lower odds of both anxiety and depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of job security and feeling safe at work in affecting the psychological impact of the pandemic on workers. Considerations for COVID-19 prevention in the workplace and mental health should go hand-in-hand.