Background

The COVID-19 pandemic led France to implement lockdown measures between mid-March 2020 and mid-May 2020, including various restrictions, particularly on economic activity. These events had a significant impact on the workplace, varying by occupational group. Following the June 2020 follow-up survey, Santé publique France launched a new survey in September 2022 among participants in the Coset study to document the impact of the pandemic, two years after its onset, on these individuals’ work and their health status.

To this end, Santé publique France is drawing on the two cohort studies, Coset-MSA and Coset-Indépendants, conducted in 2017–2018, focusing respectively on agricultural workers and self-employed workers. 47,000 volunteers joined these two cohorts, which are designed to collect information over several years on working conditions and health in order to track the links between health and work in these occupational groups.

Objective

To document the impact of the health crisis and related management measures on the employment situation and health of the occupational groups monitored by Coset-MSA and Coset-Indépendants, particularly farmers and other self-employed individuals in the agricultural sector, agricultural workers, artisans, merchants, and members of the liberal professions.

Conduct of the investigations

In late May 2020, the 47,000 participants in the Coset-MSA and Coset-Indépendants cohorts were invited to complete an initial online questionnaire focusing on the characteristics of their professional activity or activities just before the spring 2020 lockdown was implemented, their health and their experiences during the lockdown period, and changes in their work or working conditions.

• Access the survey methodology

In September 2022, a new survey was launched to study health status, changes in career paths, and work habits two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as within the context of the challenging economic situation caused by the conflict in Europe.

Results

The analyses consist primarily of frequency calculations (in terms of health, impact on work, subjective experience, etc.), distinguishing between different occupational groups. This involves, in particular, compiling assessments for farm owners, agricultural workers, artisans, merchants, and professionals, as well as for more specific occupations or sectors when the sample size allows (e.g., livestock farmers, crop farmers, farmers, hairdressers, restaurant owners, etc.).

All results are made public in the form of study reports available on the Santé publique France website and the website dedicated to the Coset program.

Professional consequences and health status of agricultural workers and the self-employed following the first lockdown in spring 2020

The initial results from the June 2020 study show complete work stoppages and significant losses of business among the self-employed. Changes in working conditions are marked by the shift to remote work, an increase in and shift of working hours, and a decrease in contact with colleagues or the public (customers, users, patients, etc.), sometimes accompanied by an increase in interpersonal tensions. An increase in sleep difficulties is reported, particularly among non-agricultural self-employed individuals and agricultural workers. Certain occupational groups exhibited a higher prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms following the end of lockdown in June 2020, with the frequency of these symptoms appearing to be linked to unfavorable working conditions during lockdown.

Learn more:

• COVID-19: What are the consequences for the professional situation and health of agricultural workers and the self-employed? (02/02/22)

• Professional consequences and health status of agricultural workers and the self-employed following the first lockdown in spring 2020 (report and summary)

• Coset-Covid Survey: Methodological Overview of the First Follow-Up of the Coset Cohorts

These findings complement other research on workers’ mental health in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will provide prevention stakeholders and social partners with insights to help them address future crises and explore alternative ways of working.

Health Status of Agricultural Workers and the Self-Employed in 2022 and Changes in Professional Activity Compared to Before the Covid-19 Pandemic

The results show two populations in which the majority consider themselves to be in good or very good health by the end of 2022, but in which the proportion of people considering themselves to be in poorer health has increased compared to mid-2020. The prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms, which is of the same order of magnitude in both populations, is higher than in mid-2020 for agricultural workers. A significant proportion of both populations experience persistent symptoms of a previous Covid-19 infection by the end of 2022, most often impacting their professional and/or personal lives. Non-agricultural self-employed workers appear to be professionally vulnerable by the end of 2022, with a significant proportion facing a decline in business activity compared to pre-pandemic levels, or viewing their business as threatened in the short or medium term, and attributing this situation to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in the majority of cases. For the majority of non-agricultural self-employed workers in 2022, as well as office employees in the agricultural sector, work arrangements have changed compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, certain psychosocial stressors (e.g., working under pressure, tensions with the public, etc.) are perceived more frequently than before the pandemic by a significant portion of both professional groups. Self-employed artisans and merchants, as well as office workers in the agricultural sector, are the most affected.

Learn more:

• Download the report and survey summary