Perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers during COVID-19: a mediated moderated roles of teleworking and resilience

Abstract

PurposeThe present study examines the mediating role of teleworking and the moderating role of resilience in explaining the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being of working mothers in India. Conservation of resource theory (COR) is taken to support the present study.Design/methodology/approachThe data of 326 respondents has been collected from working mothers in various sectors of Delhi NCR region of India. Confirmatory factor analysis was used for construct validity, and SPSS Macro Process (Hayes) was used for testing the hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study found an inverse association between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Teleworking acted as a partial mediator and resilience proved to be a significant moderator for teleworking-well-being relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based at Delhi NCR of India, and future studies may be based on a diverse population within the country to generalize the findings in different cultural and industrial contexts. The present work is based only on the psychological well-being of the working mothers, it can be extended to study the organizational stress for both the genders and other demographic variables.Practical implicationsThe study extends the research on perceived stress and teleworking by empirically testing the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being in the presence of teleworking as a mediating variable. The findings suggest some practical implications for HR managers and OD Practitioners. The organizations must develop a plan to support working mothers by providing flexible working hours and arranging online stress management programs for them.Originality/valueAlthough teleworking is studied previously, there is a scarcity of research examining the impact of teleworking on psychological well-being of working mothers in Asian context. It would help in understanding the process that how teleworking has been stressful for working mothers and also deliberate the role of resilience in the relationship between teleworking and psychological well-being due to perceived stress, as it seems a ray of hope in new normal work situations.

Telework and Face-to-Face Work during COVID-19 Confinement: The Predictive Factors of Work-Related Stress from a Holistic Point of View

“…Research in the context of COVID-19 has generated many studies focused on the socio-labor conditions experienced during confinement. Most of these studies have analyzed factors that influenced the occurrence of stress or psychological distress of workers [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Whereas some have focused on telework [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 ], others have focused on face-to-face work, particularly on the socio-labor situation of social-health personnel [ 9 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

“…Most of these studies have analyzed factors that influenced the occurrence of stress or psychological distress of workers [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Whereas some have focused on telework [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 ], others have focused on face-to-face work, particularly on the socio-labor situation of social-health personnel [ 9 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. However, fewer studies have explored both work modalities together (to our knowledge, three: [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]).…”

Buffering the Effects of Burnout on Healthcare Professionals’ Health—The Mediating Role of Compassionate Relationships at Work in the COVID Era

“…At the same time, studies on employee well-being during the pandemic [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ] and even before the COVID-19 outbreak [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], conclude that employee perceptions of their organizational environments have a crucial role in preventing burnout and promoting well-being. According to these studies, elements such as trust [ 20 , 21 ], social support [ 22 , 23 ], good communication with colleagues and management [ 24 , 25 ], and effective teamwork [ 26 , 27 ] have a significant impact on burnout risks and personal well-being.…”

Organizational performance in the post-COVID-19 era: The predictors’ impacts

“…Teleworking is an organization with communication and information technologies that permit employees and managers to access their work events remotely (Sánchez et al, 2007). The work can be done from any employee's convenient location, where they can complete their duties with applications and technology (Kapoor et al, 2021).…”