Background: Fear may be critical in explaining individual and social behaviors. This study investigates the association between COVID-19 fear and health behavior and subjective health status changes of call center workers in the COVID-19 era.
Methods: This cross-sectional study uses an online survey with 339 call center workers. We measured COVID-19 fear, health behaviors, and subjective health, and analyzed with the Macnemar or paired t-test, ANOVA or χ2 test, Scheffe's test, and multiple linear regression.
Results: COVID-19 fear was associated with poor stress management, shorter sleep hours, and binge eating. Moreover, COVID-19 fear and time pressure at work were negatively associated with subjective health status.
Conclusion: Strengthening the support system for call center workers to manage the COVID-19 fear might be essential. Moreover, there is a need to improve dense environments and reduce time pressure by ensuring adequate rest time and increasing physical activity.
Keywords: COVID-19; call center; fear; health behavior; stress.