Work Situation and Stress Perception of Dependent Employees in the Year 2021 Marked by the Corona Pandemic

Against the background of COVID-19 and various measures to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus, the German Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) has commissioned the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) to document the work situation and stress levels of dependent employees during 2021. To achieve this goal, a total of nine monthly cross-sectional surveys, designed to be representative, were conducted between February and September 2021. In each survey, around 1,000 dependent employees aged 18 to 64 were interviewed by forsa Politik- und Sozialforschung GmbH (forsa).

More precisely, individuals initially identified within the context of forsa’s population-representative daily multi-topic survey, who had expressed their willingness to participate in subsequent interviews, were contacted again and surveyed through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). The realized sample size, around 1,000 participants in each survey, has become a standard for representative surveys in Germany. Furthermore, respondents were chosen through a systematic random approach, ensuring equal statistical inclusion chances for all individuals in Germany with a household telephone connection. Both listed and unlisted telephone numbers were considered. Additionally, a dual-frame approach was employed, incorporating a substantial number of mobile phone numbers. The basic requirements for the representativeness of the survey results are therefore met.

In terms of content, the survey centered around topics such as remote work during the pandemic, alterations in work circumstances due to the Corona Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, employees' perceived risk of infection at their workplaces, COVID-19 testing availability provided by employers, and the general perception of stress amid the pandemic. Many of the survey questions were asked repeatedly in an identical manner, allowing for a comparison over time.

No dates are included in the datasets as variables. Therefore, the following table illustrates the timing and achieved sample sizes of the surveys.