How does mindfulness help university employees cope with emotional exhaustion during theCOVID‐19 crisis? The mediating role of psychological hardiness and the moderating effect of workload

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis has had severe adverse psychological effects on people globally. Although previous research has shown that mindfulness helps people cope with stressful situations, we do not know whether mindfulness can help people cope with the effects of the pandemic. This research examined the effect mindfulness has on emotional exhaustion on the part of employees who work at private international universities in Thailand that are affected by COVID-19. Grounded in the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this research proposed that the level of psychological hardiness mindful employees have mediates the effect of mindfulness in reducing emotional exhaustion. The Job Demands-Resource (JD-R) model was used as an additional theory to test the moderating effect of workload, which may reduce the benefit mindfulness has in alleviating emotional exhaustion. Questionnaire survey data were collected from 300 employees at two universities. Data analysis was conducted using partial least squares structural equation modeling, and the model showed that psychological hardiness mediated the effect mindfulness has on emotional exhaustion fully. Further, the analysis supported the moderating role workload plays in suppressing the effect of psychological hardiness on emotional exhaustion significantly. A simple slope analysis indicated as well that the negative association between psychological hardiness and emotional exhaustion was present only in employees with light workloads. By integrating the principle of COR theory with the JD-R model, this research extended previous research by showing that mindfulness may not help employees cope with stress during an organizational crisis like COVID-19 when they have to manage a heavy workload.

The influence of high-quality workplace relational systems and mindfulness on employee work engagement at the time of crises

“…This study also described that presence of ability of mindfulness shield employees from crises and help them to grow personal resources. This finding contrast with the existing studies that claims mindfulness does not help employee to cope with stress during crises [ 129 ] This study found that employee work engagement is strongly associated with employees’ PsyCap which is in line with the findings of existing studies [ 58 , 82 , 83 ]. It transmits the positive effects of relational systems and mindfulness to increase their engagement in work.…”

How Servant Leadership Influence Employee Service Quality of Fitness Centers During COVID-19: The Interacting Effects of Self-Efficacy

“…In recent years, the theory has also been applied to the study of occupational stress, burnout and mental health of employees in COVID-19 environment. 23 , 24 COR theory produces additional resources, especially psychological resources, which have a favorable impact on lowering psychological losses, reducing negative emotions, igniting excitement at work and improving work performance. 25 Hobfoll studied the mechanisms by which COR theory affects employee performance.…”

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“…В зарубежных исследованиях описан положительный опыт развития эмоциональной составляющей в ходе специальных занятий недистанционного формата [75; 76], развития навыков психологической выносливости в условиях вынужденного дистанционного общения [77].…”