Work-Related Quality of Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Gender Perspectives Among a Brazilian Sample

Work-related quality of life (WRQoL) was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for women. This study sought to evaluate the impacts of COVID-19 on Brazilians’ WRQoL from a gender-based perspective. A sample of 326 participants, 187 women and 139 men, completed an online survey containing the Fear of COVID-19 scale, the Negative Impacts of COVID-19 scale, and the Work-Related Quality of Life scale. t-tests compared the results between genders. Pearson correlation tested the association between the variables. Linear regressions assessed the predictive factors of WRQoL. Women reported significantly higher levels of COVID-19-related fears, and lower levels of all seven dimensions of WRQoL, with significant differences for overall WRQoL, well-being, career satisfaction, and control over work. A negative correlation was found among overall WRQoL, fear of COVID-19, and the negative impact of COVID-19. Gender, fear, and negative impacts of COVID-19 were significant predictors of general well-being (explaining 24.6% of variance); regarding the seven dimensions evaluated, gender explained two of them, fear of COVID-19 explained four, and the negative impact of COVID-19 explained six of them. These results contribute to the analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on increasing gender inequality in a manner unfavorable to women in the Brazilian organizational context.