Disruptions and General Distress for Essential and Nonessential Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and outbreak response represent a global crisis that has affected various aspects of people’s lives, including work. Speculation is rife about the impact of the crisis on employees. Countries and organizations worldwide have categorized some work as essential and, by extension, other work as nonessential. This study aims to investigate the impact of the pandemic by examining the relationship between work disruptions (at time 1) and general distress (at time 2) through various work stressors, contrasting the experiences of employees in essential versus nonessential work. For employees with essential jobs, there is a significant indirect effect of work disruptions on general distress through hindrance stressors. This relationship is not found for employees with nonessential jobs. The general distress of these employees is more strongly affected by disruptions through social stressors (here, social isolation). Hence, this study demonstrates how general distress is affected in different ways for employees conducting essential work and those conducting nonessential work. We further highlight the importance of considering social stressors in this relationship, especially for nonessential work. Organizational change communication quality mitigates the relationship between isolation and general distress for employees with nonessential jobs, but not for those with essential jobs.

Understanding stressor–strain relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of social support, adjustment to remote work, and work–life conflict

“…Further research may heed the calls from various scholars to further examine the impact of this health pandemic on workers from different professions, organizations and with various occupational statuses. For instance, a recent study demonstrated that essential and non-essential workers may both experience mental health problems, but these may be triggered by different stressors (van Zoonen & ter Hoeven, 2021). Third, our sample was female dominated and further studies should address the gender differences.…”

“…Specially, the investigation focused on the mechanisms that inform the stressor–strain relationship in the context of remote work during the pandemic. In doing so, we respond to a recent call to examine the specific ways in which work stressors impact individual outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic (van Zoonen & Ter Hoeven, 2021 ). Specifically, in response to the overarching research question presented in this study, the findings indicate that challenge stressors and hindrance stressors demonstrate a similar negative impact on adjustment to remote work, whereas hindrance stressors are more strongly negatively related to social support.…”

“…Although the study includes a heterogenous group of Finnish employees, the data do not allow group comparisons for employees with different types of employment contracts (e.g., Spurk & Straub, 2020 ) or between those in the front-line (e.g., healthcare workers) and those professions that are labeled ‘non-essential.’ Further research may heed the calls from various scholars to further examine the impact of this health pandemic on workers from different professions, organizations, and with various occupational statuses. For instance, a recent study demonstrated that essential and non-essential workers may both experience mental health problems, but these may be triggered by different stressors (van Zoonen & Ter Hoeven, 2021 ). Third, our sample was female dominated and further studies should address the gender differences.…”

“…Hence, we specifically draw on the challenge and hindrance stressor framework to understand how employee wellbeing is affected during the COVID-19 pandemic (Cavanaugh et al, 2000 ; Rodell & Judge, 2009 ). Researchers have widely demonstrated the relationships between job stressors and individual- and work-related outcomes, including during the COVID-19 pandemic (van Zoonen & Ter Hoeven, 2021 ). However, we still lack understanding of the ways in which hindrance and challenge stressors are related to wellbeing outcomes.…”

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumers’ Impulse Buying: The Moderating Role of Moderate Thinking

“…Event system theory states that the stronger the event (the more novel, disruptive, and critical), the more attention and resources it attracts from individuals, which in turn has a greater impact on their behavior [ 39 , 40 ]. The COVID-19 pandemic is characterized by all three of these features.…”