Background: The emergence of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a global pandemic has had an impact on the lifestyle of people worldwide. Government measures aimed at containing the spread of the virus have been successful in many places, leading to a relaxation of these measures. To prevent the return of an outbreak in these places, people returning to the workforce are expected to follow proper health behaviours. Therefore, this study investigated COVID-19 related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of employees who are returning to work during the COVID-19 prevention and control period as well as their compliance with recommended COVID-19 preventive behaviours. Methods A cross-sectional study design was used. Data were gathered using an online questionnaire survey from March to May 2020 among 1,300 returning employees in China. Questionnaire items concerned participants’ COVID-19-related knowledge, compliance with recommended preventive behaviours, and levels of depression and anxiety. Univariate and multi-factor methods were used to analyse the data and identify factors influencing behaviour compliance. Results Six hundred and ninety-eight (53.7%) participants showed high compliance, and 602 (46.3%) showed low compliance. High education level (odds ratio [OR] = 5.598, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.846–16.976), white-collar occupation (OR = 1.992, 95% CI: 1.331–2.983), high knowledge of COVID-19 (OR = 1.704, 95% CI: 1.303–2.229), no anxiety (OR = 0.646, 95% CI: 0.463–0.901), and quarantining (OR = 1.320, 95% CI: 1.039–1.676) predicted better compliance with preventive behaviours (p < 0.05). Conclusion Factors such as educational background, occupation, isolation, COVID-19 knowledge level, and psychological anxiety have an impact on the health behaviour of employees returning to work. For employees returning to work during the post-COVID-19-epidemic period, compliance with recommended health behaviours requires improvement. The provision of health education and psychological counselling and the continuance of a strict isolation policy could enhance such compliance.
Compliance with COVID-19-Preventive Behaviours among Employees Returning to Work in the Post-Epidemic Period