Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed governments around the world to restrict citizens' freedom of movement. These constraints, while necessary for limiting the virus's reproduction rate, have far-reaching social and economic effects. The pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has drastically affected the lives of human beings around the world. It pushed governments around the world to restrict citizens' freedom of movement for limiting the transmission of infection. The resulting social isolation has resulted in severe stress, anxiety, and concerns about health and the risk of infection, as well as work and financial troubles and future uncertainties in software professionals
Aims & Objectives: Our main purpose was to evaluate the circadian rhythm, coping strategies, and mental health among the software professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials & Methods: This is a Cross-Sectional study that included 69 software professionals ranging from 18-49 years of age. Pre Validated questionnaires in English were administered using google forms. The data was analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and various descriptive and analytical tests.
Results: Sixty-Nine participants were included in the study after meeting the criteria. The majority reported irregular work timings during the COVID pandemic. Sleep quality was the same across sexes, while males scored higher on morningness, females scored higher on depression. The difference in means was not found to be statistically significant. Females scored higher on the fear of COVID scale. Overall, 16 individuals and 13 individuals suffered from depression and anxiety respectively. The majority of the sample scored higher on approach coping skills. The work shift timings had a significant effect on the use of coping skills. Marital status was found to affect the use of approach coping skills and depression. Substance use affected sleep.
Conclusion: The pandemic affected software professionals in many ways. Married individuals were seen to employ less of approach coping due to a possible increase in conflicts secondary to the lockdown. Unmarried individuals scored high on depression possibly due to loneliness, lack of support, etc. Substance use was seen to reduce the use of approach coping skills and sleep. Irregular work shifts affected coping skills. The overall use of strengthening coping strategies was seen in many individuals. This underlines the importance of having a robust support system for employees in the software industry.
