Prevalence and health correlates of Onine Fatigue: A cross-sectional study on the Italian academic community during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had to shift their social and work life online. A few researchers and journalists described a new form of fatigue associated with a massive use of technology, including videoconferencing platforms. In this study, this type of fatigue was referred to as Onlin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2021-10, Vol.16 (10), p.e0255181-e0255181
Main Authors: Bonanomi, Andrea, Facchin, Federica, Barello, Serena, Villani, Daniela
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxieties
Anxiety
Biology and Life Sciences
Children
College teachers
Control
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cross-sectional studies
Employees
Epidemics
Evaluation
Fatigue
Health aspects
Internet
Italy
Medical research
Medicine and Health Sciences
Meetings
Mental fatigue
Mental health surveys
Pandemics
People and Places
Physical Sciences
Polls & surveys
Population
Psychological aspects
Psychological factors
Psychology
Risk analysis
Risk factors
Social aspects
Social networks
Social Sciences
Statistical analysis
Stress
Supervision
Surveys
Technology
Technology utilization
Telecommuting
Video teleconferencing
Videoconferencing
Well being
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Summary:During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had to shift their social and work life online. A few researchers and journalists described a new form of fatigue associated with a massive use of technology, including videoconferencing platforms. In this study, this type of fatigue was referred to as Online Fatigue. A new tool (the Online Fatigue Scale) was developed, and its psychometric properties were evaluated. This tool was used to assess Online Fatigue among Italian academics and to examine its associations with psychological and physical health. An online survey was conducted in December 2020 on a sample of Italian academics. Besides the Online Fatigue Scale (11 items) used to assess Online Fatigue, the survey was composed of questionnaires (including validated measures) focused on sociodemographic and job-related information, technostress creators, health status, psychological well-being, and COVID-related perceived distress. The psychometric properties of the Online Fatigue Scale were evaluated, and statistical analyses were conducted to examine the associations between Online Fatigue and all the other variables. The Online Fatigue Scale can be considered a reliable tool to assess Online Fatigue, which was significantly detected in our sample of Italian academics, along with its negative effects on physical and psychological health. Being a woman and having young children represent important risk factors. Universities should promote the separation between work and private life by encouraging self-care activities.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0255181