Predictive Role of Boredom Proneness and Self-Efficacy on Perceived Stress among Civil Servants Working from Home during COVID-19 Lockdown

Abstract

The study investigates the predictive role of boredom proneness and self-efficacy on perceived stress among civil servants working from home during COVID-19 lockdown in Ibadan metropolis. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey using an anonymous online questionnaire to collect data from respondents. A snowball sampling technique was employed to recruit 206 participants (136 males and 70 females) with a mean age of 42.11 (SD of 4.12) recruited from Ibadan metropolis. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis and t-test for independent sample. Result showed that boredom proneness and self-efficacy jointly predicted perceived stress (R2=0.21, F(2, 203) = 30.54, p < .01).Finally, there was no gender difference in perceived stress among civil servants [t(204) = -1.37, p>.05]. Based on these findings, the study concluded that boredom proneness and self-efficacy are determinants of perceived stress among civil servants during COVID-19 lockdown. We therefore recommended that behavioural scientists should design intervention programme tailored toward reducing boredom proneness and boosting self-efficacy of all civil servants such that it will help reduce stress during and after COVID-19 lockdown.

Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries

“…Although we did not observe effects consistent with the hypothesis that boredom leads to risky public behaviors, other recent work has also found cross-sectional relationships between pandemic boredom and impaired well-being (e.g., Chao et al, 2020;Deng et al, 2020;Olaigbe et al, 2021;Waterschoot et al, 2021). In exploratory analyses, we were able to additionally examine whether such results replicate longitudinally, by determining the extent to which pandemic-related boredom predicted downstream well-being across several timepoints, as measured by self-reported life satisfaction and happiness, as well as meaning in life.…”

“…However, because these findings rely on cross-sectional correlations, they cannot determine the extent to which: a) boredom leads to failures of social distancing, b) failure to social distance increases boredom, or c) known third variables (e.g., dispositional sensation-seeking; Zuckerman, 1971Zuckerman, , 1979) account for both. Similar issues exist for work linking pandemic boredom to decreased well-being (e.g., Chao et al, 2020;Deng et al, 2020;Olaigbe et al, 2021;Waterschoot et al, 2021). Furthermore, in these studies boredom was assessed largely indirectly via trait boredom, or boredom proneness.…”

Pandemic boredom: Little evidence that lockdown-related boredom affects risky public health behaviors across 116 countries.

“…Forty-five percent of Americans and 34% of Britons (up from 19%) reported experiencing boredom by late March 2020, in the weeks after initial lockdowns in response to widespread outbreaks of COVID-19. Furthermore, cross-sectional research has linked pandemic boredom to greater stress, anxiety, depression, and lower life satisfaction (Chao et al, 2020; Deng et al, 2020; Olaigbe et al, 2021; Waterschoot et al, 2021), while boredom proneness during the pandemic has been linked to depression and anxiety (Yan et al, 2021).…”

“…Furthermore, because boredom proneness is thought to represent individual differences in people's tendency to experience boredom more easily or more intensely, it is difficult to determine whether associations with trait boredom (as an individual difference; between-people) generalize to state boredom (as an emotion; within-people; see Fisher et al, 2018). Similar challenges exist for cross-sectional studies linking pandemic boredom to decreased well-being (e.g., Chao et al, 2020;Deng et al, 2020;Olaigbe et al, 2021;Waterschoot et al, 2021).…”

Examining the Longitudinal Associations between Adjustment Disorder Symptoms and Boredom during COVID-19

“…Cross-sectional studies conducted during the pandemic have specifically found that the feeling of boredom mediates the relationship between loneliness and depression among college students [ 39 ]; is one of the most frequently cited reasons for increased alcohol and substance use (e.g., smoking, vaping) among adults in the general population [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]; is inversely related to feelings of happiness [ 18 ]; is positively related to symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia among healthy controls and among psychiatric outpatients and inpatients [ 47 , 48 ], as well as a marked fear of COVID-19 among adolescents [ 49 ]; and is positively associated with problematic social media use among adult users [ 50 ]. Cross-sectional studies examining the link between trait boredom and mental health during COVID-19 have found positive associations between the former and perceived stress among civil servants working from home [ 51 ] and among university students [ 52 ], as well as depression, fear, obsessions and compulsions, illness anxiety, psychological distress, and internet addiction among adolescents [ 53 ] and adults in the general population [ 54 , 55 , 56 ].…”