What are the long-term consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in the world of work? How are company stakeholders dealing with the effects of the pandemic? And how can knowledge about the consequences of the pandemic and the options for shaping it be transferred to the world of work? These questions have been addressed over the past two years by a joint project of Lower Saxony universities funded by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture as part of the Covid-19 research network COFONI. At the final conference of the COFONI Working World Monitor on December 4 in Oldenburg, researchers from Osnabrück University presented key findings from a representative survey of the working population.
Osnabrück researchers Agnes Fessler, Prof. Dr. Hajo Holst and Steffen Niehoff were responsible for the empirical investigations of the COFONI Working World Monitor. At the same time, the network of cooperation points between universities and trade unions in Lower Saxony organized dialogue events with practitioners to discuss research findings and address questions from the world of work.
"The Covid-19 pandemic is having a much more far-reaching impact on the world of work than is generally assumed. For more than three quarters of the workforce, the pandemic has brought about changes in work that continue to this day," reports Prof. Dr. Hajo Holst, coordinator of the joint project. The long-term effects of the pandemic are manifold, and by no means only negative. Among other things, those in employment are also experiencing lasting improvements in work-life balance and a lasting increase in social esteem for their own profession. "However, the diversity of the long-term consequences should not obscure the fact that there are winners and losers. For 40 percent of those in employment, the pandemic has had negative long-term consequences such as increasing workloads or job insecurity," says Steffen Niehoff. Further research is needed into the social impact of the continuing effects on the world of work almost three years after the official end of the pandemic. "However, the results of the Working World Monitor indicate that employees who experience lasting negative effects on their own work have less trust in democratic institutions."
One focus of the joint project's work was on how companies deal with long and post-Covid. The representative survey of employees conducted by the Working World Monitor in summer 2025 provides the first reliable figures on the prevalence in the world of work: 9 percent of employees stated that they had suffered or were currently suffering from post Covid. According to a definition by the Robert Koch Institute, post-Covid refers to impairments that last longer than three months. In view of these figures, the topic should be given greater attention in companies in the future. The fact that little attention has been paid to the topic to date also means that the vast majority of those affected continue to work without any adjustments to their working conditions despite their restrictions. From a medical perspective, pacing - individual stress management - is a key lever for dealing with symptoms and recovery. Unlike many other illnesses, long Covid does not follow a linear course. What works one day can be too much strain the next. "The problem is that only 10 percent of those affected consistently have the opportunity to implement pacing in their own workplace," explains Agnes Fessler. "This restricts the social participation of those affected through gainful employment. Most of them want to continue working despite their sometimes significant limitations, but find little support beyond their close circle of colleagues."
In line with the aspirations of the COFONI Working World Monitor, it was not just scientific findings that were presented at the final conference. Three workshops discussed concrete design options for company practice. The workshop on pacing-friendly workplace design, organized together with Long Covid Germany, was very popular. Many companies still lack knowledge about possible symptoms of the disease, appropriate design measures in the workplace and financial support options from government agencies. In view of the spread of long and post Covid, there is a considerable need to catch up at company and inter-company level. The COFONI Working Environment Monitor also uses innovative transfer formats to provide a long-term remedy. Among other things, the participating partner institutions are also producing transfer videos that provide low-threshold information about the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and present practical tips for shaping the future.
The first video focuses on long-term and post-Covid and is available here: https://youtu.be/v91iX9plGz8
Further information for the media:
Prof. Dr. Hajo Holst, Osnabrück University
Institute of Social Sciences
hholst@uos.de
