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Effective crisis communication is critical for successful crisis management. The current study is an attempt to unravel the public communication efforts of the Kerala government in its successful Covid‐19 crisis management efforts during the first wave of the pandemic. The findings of the study indicate that the government has successfully used pre‐crisis communication to inoculate the stakeholders, ‘steal thunder’, and bolster their crisis management capabilities. Effective crisis communication, by the government, has ensured proper information management, media management, right supportive action, and direct communication with stakeholders. Effective communication has also helped the government in garnering favourable constituent attribution, positive framing, positive affect in stakeholder, and enlist active stakeholder participation in crisis management; resulting in, effective crisis management and enhanced reputation for the government. The study unravels the best practices of the Kerala government, in public crisis communication, during the pre‐crisis and crisis stages of the first wave of the pandemic and proposes a Kerala model of crisis communication. The model can be used as a reference for future government communication efforts during a crisis across geographies.

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Financial well-being (FWB) is critical to subjective well-being—a crucial component in measuring social progress. This study explores the simultaneous influence of five psychological traits of financial self-efficacy, risk tolerance, a propensity to plan, materialism and the tendency for social comparison on FWB. The study is a cross-sectional causal investigation using a web-based survey. The survey was administered to individuals who were active in financial decision-making activities and selected using a combination of judgmental and snowball sampling. Structural equation modelling revealed a positive influence on financial self-efficacy and propensity to plan and the negative impact of risk-tolerance, materialism and a tendency for social comparison on subjective FWB. Financial institutions and educators may utilize the study results for improving characteristics that help their clients make better financial decisions and enjoy higher levels of financial and subjective well-being. The study makes two contributions to the existing literature on the subject. First, the study simultaneously investigates the effect of the five psychological traits on subjective FWB—not attempted hitherto. Additionally, the study provides an Indian perspective on the subject, an emerging country covering one-sixth of the world population.

Covid-19, a once-in-a-century pandemic, has caused a great deal of anxiety worldwide. In addition to the apparent virus-induced morbidity and mortality, pandemicinduced stress has contributed to the lack of human wellbeing during Covid-19. Most efforts have gone into understanding the physical effects and less on the pandemic's mental effects. The new normal of social distancing and work-from-home (WFH), requiring disconcerting home confinement levels, has been a prime cause of stress.The pandemic-induced stress encompasses infection-related suffering, economic and professional loss, social isolation caused by lockdowns, information-induced anxiety, need to integrate work and life-from earlier balancing them, and stress-induced by sudden changes in the routine. The study's primary objective is to develop and validate a scale to measure lockdown and WFH-induced stress among professionals in employment. The result indicates three significant stressors: job stress, social stress, and routine stress affecting professionals due to lockdown and WFH. The study results would help employers, and healthcare professionals measure the lockdown and WFH-induced stress among working professionals, which is a prerequisite for managing the same through appropriate interventions.