THE IMPACT OF HOME FINANCING COSTS AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT ON THE DEPRESSION LEVELS OF LOWER-INCOME EMPLOYEES WORKING FROM HOME DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC (MARCH 2020 - MARCH 2021)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v21i27.1309Keywords:
Home financing costs, built environment, WFH, depression levels, COVID-19Abstract
As a result of COVID-19 which was at its height between March 2020 and March 2021, the Malaysian government was forced to impose a Movement Control Order in phases to limit mobility. Consequently, many employees, including those from lower-income (B40) groups, were compelled to work from home (WFH). The movement limitations caused severe losses in income, and many had to alter the nature of their work to adapt to the WFH requirements. Concern with the mental health issues which have become a serious issue worldwide due to the increasing psychological damage caused by COVID19, this study, through questionnaire of lower income employees working from home in Penang Island, Malaysia, aims to contribute to the study of the quality of live and impact of their habit towards built environment when working from home. Data analysis is performed using SEM-PLS to examine the impact of housing cost and built environment on WFH productivity levels. This was subsequently extended to observe the influence of productivity levels on levels of depression. The results show that home financing costs and the built environment positively influenced WFH productivity levels but at the expense of higher levels of depression. The results of this study may be of interest to policy makers who need to plan mental health awareness programs due to financial worries and confined space environment for lower income group, as health culture could foster healthy equitable communities and well-being physically and mentally.
Downloads
References
Abbott, A. (2012). Stress and the city: Urban decay. Nature, 490(7419), 162-164. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/490162a
Akgunduz, Y. (2015). The influence of self-esteem and role stress on job performance in hotel businesses. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-09-2013-0421
Amaratunga, D., Baldry, D., Sarshar, M., & Newton, R. (2002). Quantitative and qualitative research in the built environment: application of “mixed” research approach. Work study. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/00438020210415488
Ammar, A., Trabelsi, K., Brach, M., Chtourou, H., Boukhris, O., Masmoudi, L., ... & Batatia, H. (2021). Effects of home confinement on mental health and lifestyle behaviours during the COVID-19 outbreak: insights from the ECLB-COVID19 multicentre study. Biology of sport, 38(1), 9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2020.96857
Bentley R, Baker E, Mason K, Subramanian SV, Kavanagh AM. Association between housing affordability and mental health: A longitudinal analysis of a nationally representative household survey in Australia. Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174(7):753-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwr161
Bonnefoy, X. (2007). Inadequate housing and health: an overview. International journal of environment and pollution, 30(3-4), 411-429. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEP.2007.014819
Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. The lancet, 395(10227), 912-920. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8
Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document analysis as a qualitative research method. Qualitative research journal. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Byrne, B. M. (2013). Structural equation modeling with EQS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410600219
Chun, H. (2020). Do housing price changes affect mental health in South Korea?. Ethiopian Journal of Health Development, 34(3).
Chung, R. Y. N., Chung, G. K. K., Gordon, D., Mak, J. K. L., Zhang, L. F., Chan, D., ... & Wong, S. Y. S. (2020). Housing affordability effects on physical and mental health: household survey in a population with the world’s greatest housing affordability stress. J Epidemiol Community Health, 74(2), 164-172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2019-212286
Creswell, J. W. (1999). Mixed-method research: Introduction and application. In Handbook of educational policy (pp. 455-472). Academic press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012174698-8/50045-X
Esterwood, E., & Saeed, S. A. (2020). Past epidemics, natural disasters, COVID19, and mental health: learning from history as we deal with the present and prepare for the future. Psychiatric quarterly, 91(4), 1121-1133. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09808-4
Estrada, M. A. R., Koutronas, E., & Lee, M. (2020). Stagpression: The economic and financial impact of Covid-19 Pandemic. SSRN Electronic Journal· January. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5709/ce.1897-9254.433
Evans, G. W. (2003). The built environment and mental health. Journal of urban health, 80(4), 536-555. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jtg063
GGöcer O., Candido C., Thomas L., Göcer K. Differences in occupants’ satisfaction and perceived productivity in high- and low-performance offices. Buildings. 2019;9:199. doi: 10.3390/buildings9090199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings9090199
Hair, J. F., Money, A. H., Samouel, P., & Page, M. (2007). Research methods for business. Education+ Training. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2007.49.4.336.2
Hair Jr, J. F., Matthews, L. M., Matthews, R. L., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: updated guidelines on which method to use. International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis, 1(2), 107-123. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMDA.2017.10008574
Harding, A., & Szukalska, A. (2000). Financial Disadvantage in Australia-1999. The Smith Family.
Hirsch, D., Padley, M., Stone, J., & Valadez-Martinez, L. (2020). The low income gap: A new indicator based on a minimum income standard. Social Indicators Research, 149(1), 67-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02241-6
Hünefeld, L., Gerstenberg, S., & Hüffmeier, J. (2020). Job satisfaction and mental health of temporary agency workers in Europe: a systematic review and research agenda. Work & Stress, 34(1), 82-110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2019.1567619
Johnston, D. A., Harvey, S. B., Glozier, N., Calvo, R. A., Christensen, H., & Deady, M. (2019). The relationship between depression symptoms, absenteeism and presenteeism. Journal of affective disorders, 256, 536-540. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.06.041
Judge, T. A., & Ferris, G. R. (1993). Social context of performance evaluation decisions. Academy of management journal, 36(1), 80-105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/256513
Jӧreskog, K.G., and Sӧrbom, D. 1981. LISREL V. Mooresville, IN: Scientific Software
Kennedy, D. P., & Adolphs, R. (2011). Stress and the city. Nature, 474(7352), 452-453. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/474452a
Klontz, B. T., Britt, S. L., & Archuleta, K. L. (Eds.). (2015). Financial therapy: Theory, research, and practice. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08269-1
Li, J., & Liu, Z. (2018). Housing stress and mental health of migrant populations in urban China. Cities, 81, 172-179. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.04.006
Kepili, E. I. Z. (2019). THE IMPACT OF LIBERALIZATION ON HOUSE PRICE IN MALAYSIA. International Journal of Business and Society, 20(1), 151-160.
Kepili, E. I. Z. (2020)a. The Indirect Impact of Liberalization on Detached (Luxury) Housing Market in Malaysia. International Journal of Economics, Management and Accounting, 28(1), 63-78.
Kepili, E. I. Z. (2020)b. Examining the Relationship between Foreign Purchase Liberalisation and Housing Affordability. International Journal of Property Sciences (E-ISSN: 2229-8568), 10(1), 26-38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22452/ijps.vol10no1.3
Karatepe, O. M., Yavas, U., Babakus, E., & Deitz, G. D. (2018). The effects of organizational and personal resources on stress, engagement, and job outcomes. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 74, 147-161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2018.04.005
Marí-Dell’Olmo, M., Novoa, A. M., Camprubí, L., Peralta, A., Vásquez-Vera, H., Bosch, J., ... & Borrell, C. (2017). Housing policies and health inequalities. International Journal of Health Services, 47(2), 207-232. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020731416684292
Matheson, F. I., Moineddin, R., Dunn, J. R., Creatore, M. I., Gozdyra, P., & Glazier, R. H. (2006). Urban neighborhoods, chronic stress, gender and depression. Social science & medicine, 63(10), 2604-2616. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.07.001
Mia, M. A., & Zull, E. I. (2020). Housing Affordability: Measurements and Trends. In Sustainable Cities and Communities (pp. 255-266). Cham: Springer International Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95717-3_89
Mezzoiuso, A. G., Gola, M., Rebecchi, A., Riccò, M., Capolongo, S., Buffoli, M., ... & Signorelli, C. (2017). Indoors and health: results of a systematic literature review assessing the potential health effects of living in basements. Acta bio-medica: Atenei Parmensis, 88(3), 375-382.
Morris, A. (2018). The financialisation of housing and the housing affordability crisis in Sydney. Housing Finance International.
O'Keefe, E. L., O'Keefe, J. H., & Lavie, C. J. (2019, September). Exercise counteracts the cardiotoxicity of psychosocial stress. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 94, No. 9, pp. 1852-1864). Elsevier. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.02.022
Quinn, K., Kaufman, J. S., Siddiqi, A., & Yeatts, K. B. (2010). Stress and the city: housing stressors are associated with respiratory health among low socioeconomic status Chicago children. Journal of Urban Health, 87(4), 688-702. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-010-9465-1
Sarstedt, M., Hair, J. F., Pick, M., Liengaard, B. D., Radomir, L., & Ringle, C. M. (2022). Progress in partial least squares structural equation modeling use in marketing research in the last decade. Psychology & Marketing, 39(5), 1035-1064. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21640
Sederer, L. I. (2016). The social determinants of mental health. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201500232
Shaw, M. (2004). Housing and public health. Annu. Rev. Public Health, 25, 397-418. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.25.101802.123036
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive psychology: An introduction. In Csikszentmihalyi, M. (Ed.), In flow and the foundations of positive psychology (Vol. 9789401790, pp. 279–298). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_18 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9088-8_18
Tongchaiprasit, P., & Ariyabuddhiphongs, V. (2016). Creativity and turnover intention among hotel chefs: The mediating effects of job satisfaction and job stress. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 55, 33-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2016.02.009
Uysal, M., & Sirgy, M. J. (2019). Quality-of-life indicators as performance measures. Annals of Tourism Research, 76, 291-300. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2018.12.016
Vázquez, C., Pérez-Sales, P., & Hervás, G. (2008). Positive effects of terrorism and posttraumatic growth: An individual and community perspective. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118269718.ch4
Wang Z, Zhang Z, Zhang Q, Gao J, Lin W (2021) COVID-19 and financial market response in China: Micro evidence and possible mechanisms. PLoS ONE 16(9): e0256879. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256879 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256879
Warr, P., & Nielsen, K. (2018). Wellbeing and work performance. Handbook of well-being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers.
World Health Organization. (2019). World malaria report 2019. World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/330011. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Wolfer, L. (2007) Real Research: Conducting and Evaluating Research in the Social Sciences. Pearson Education, Inc., New Jersey.
Wu, T., Jia, X., Shi, H., Niu, J., Yin, X., Xie, J., & Wang, X. (2021). Prevalence of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of affective disorders, 281, 91-98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.117
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright & Creative Commons Licence
eISSN: 0128-0945 © Year. The Authors. Published for Malaysia Institute of Planners. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
The authors hold the copyright without restrictions and also retain publishing rights without restrictions.
