Serving Through a Crisis: Mental Health Outcomes and Their Predictors Among Filipino Civil Servants During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a global health crisis, entailing profound disruptions to daily life that substantially affected mental health, particularly among essential workers. However, despite facing similar challenges and limited mental health resources across different occupational groups, civil servants, particularly in Southeast Asia, remain underrepresented in existing research. This study addresses that gap by exploring mental health outcomes and their associated factors among Filipino civil servants. In a sample of 572 Filipino civil servants, findings revealed elevated prevalence rates of mental health problems, with 25.9% likely exhibiting generalized anxiety disorder, 30.6% major depression, and 56.5% high psychological distress. Moreover, several sociodemographic variables and pandemic-related experiences were found to be significant risk factors of generalized anxiety, depression, and distress. These findings provide important information for developing targeted interventions to mitigate the psychological burden on this critical population during public health emergencies.