At two years after diagnosis of COVID-19, employees who experience long COVID symptoms have substantially reduced work productivity, reports a study in the August issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Led by Hiten Naik, MD, SM, of The University of British Columbia and the Post-COVID-19 Interdisciplinary Clinical Care Network, Vancouver, the online survey study included 908 employed patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 2020 and May 2021. Of these, 165 patients were classified as having long COVID, defined as continued symptoms three months after an initial positive COVID-19 test. Work productivity loss and work performance impairment were assessed using validated questionnaires.
About 75% of participants with ongoing long COVID symptoms reported any productivity loss within the last three months, compared to 47% of those without long COVID. After adjustment for other characteristics, employees in the long COVID group were about three times more likely to report lost productivity.
Average paid productivity loss over three months was about 62 hours, including 33 hours of absenteeism and 29 hours of presenteeism (decreased productivity at work). Long COVID was also associated with high unpaid productivity loss, including activities such as caregiving and household chores: about 37 hours, on average.
About 73% of participants with long COVID reported impaired work performance within the past week, compared to 39% of those without long COVID symptoms. On adjusted analysis, employees with long COVID were four times more likely to have work performance impairment. Based on average hourly wage, the economic impact of total productivity loss was estimated at nearly $14,000 CAD over a year.
Long COVID has been described as a “global public health crisis,” affecting over 400 million people worldwide. Although studies have shown that long COVID can impair health and occupational functioning, the overall impact on work productivity loss has been unclear.
Long COVID is “associated with substantial productivity loss, even two years after the onset of SARS-CoV-2 infection and even in individuals who have returned to work,” Dr. Naik and coauthors conclude. “Clinicians, health systems, and employers should understand that long COVID can have long-lasting impacts on occupational functioning and requires long-term support.”