Background The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has dramatically changed societies in 2020. Since the end of February, Europe has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19, but there are major country differences in both the spread of the virus and measures taken to stop the virus. Social psychological factors such as institutional trust could be important in understanding the development of the epidemic. Objective The aim of this study was to examine country variations of COVID-19 mortality in Europe by analyzing social risk factors explaining the spread of the disease, restrictions and control measures, and institutional trust. Methods The present study was based on a background analysis of European Social Survey data on 25 European countries (N=47,802). Multilevel mixed effects linear regression models focused on 84 days of the COVID-19 epidemic (January 22 to April 14, 2020) and modelled the daily COVID-19 mortality. Analysis focused on the impact of social relations, restrictions, and institutional trust within each country. Results The spread of the COVID-19 epidemic has been fast everywhere, but the findings revealed significant differences between countries in COVID-19 mortality. Perceived sociability predicted higher COVID-19 mortality. Major differences between the 25 countries were found in reaction times to the crisis. Late reaction to the crisis predicted later mortality figures. Institutional trust was associated with lower COVID-19 mortality. Conclusions The analyses demonstrated the importance of societal and social psychological factors in the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic. By considering multiple perspectives, this study showed that country differences in Europe are major, and this will have an impact on how countries will cope with the ongoing crisis in the following months. The results indicated the importance of timely restrictions and cooperation with people.

Robots today are working in both industrial and service sectors. Robots have evolved from one-function automatons to intelligent systems of versatile features, and the new generation of service robots are sharing same space and tasks with humans. The aim of this systematic literature review was to examine how the social acceptance of robots in different occupational fields has been studied and what kinds of attitudes the studies have discovered regarding robots as workers. The data were collected in October 2016 from four major bibliographic databases. Preliminary search results included 336 research articles from which 42 were selected to the final research through inclusion criteria. Of the studies, 69 percent concerned robots working in health and social services. Positive attitudes occurred more frequently in studies exposing participants to robots. Robots were considered appropriate for different work tasks. Telepresence robots were highly approved by health care staff. The criticism was directed to decreasing human contact and unnecessary deployment of new technology. Our results imply that attitudes toward robots are positive in many fields of work. Yet there is a need for validated measures and nationally representative data that would help us to further our understanding of social acceptance of robots in work.

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Background: The COVID-19 crisis has changed the conditions of many all over the globe. One negative consequence of the ongoing pandemic is anxiety brought about by uncertainty and the COVID-19 disease. Increased anxiety is a potential risk factor for wellbeing at work. This study investigated psychological, situational, and socio-demographic predictors of COVID-19 anxiety using longitudinal data. Methods: A nationally representative sample of Finnish workers (N = 1308) was collected before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Eighty percent of the participants responded to the follow-up study (N = 1044). COVID-19 anxiety was measured with a modified Spielberger State–Trait Anxiety Inventory. Psychological and situational predictors included perceived loneliness, psychological distress, technostress, personality, social support received from the work community, and remote working. A number of socio-demographic factors were also investigated. Results: Perceived loneliness, psychological distress, technostress, and neuroticism were identified as robust psychological predictors of COVID-19 anxiety. Increase in psychological distress and technostress during the COVID-19 crisis predicted higher COVID-19 anxiety. A recent change in their field of work and decreased social support from work communities predicted COVID-19 anxiety. Women and young people experienced higher anxiety. Conclusions: Different factors explain workers’ COVID-19 anxiety. Increased anxiety can disrupt wellbeing at work, emphasizing the organizations’ role in maintaining an inclusive and caring work culture and providing technical and psychological support to workers during crisis.

Social media enables information sharing and social interaction within organization. This research aims to analyze how both work- and nonwork-related communication with colleagues and the work community on social media is associated with work engagement among Finnish professionals. A total of five Finnish professional organizations ( N = 563) and a representative sample of the Finnish working population ( N = 1817) contributed to the survey data, which was analyzed with structural equation modeling. We found a direct positive association between work-related communication and work engagement among Finnish working population, and a positive indirect associations between both work- and nonwork-related communication and work engagement via organizational identification and social support. Findings suggest that communication in social media supports work engagement via organizational identification and social support. Organizations should pay more attention to social media communication practices and provide opportunities to build organizational identification and receive social support in social media.

Aims The global crisis caused by the outbreak of a novel coronavirus rapidly increased working remotely in many countries. The aim of this study was to analyze psychological stressors predicting increased drinking during the COVID-19 crisis. Also, individual and socio-demographic differences were analyzed. Methods A nationally representative sample of Finnish workers (N = 1308) was collected before the crisis in September–October 2019 and 82.02% of them responded to a follow-up survey conducted in March–April 2020. Increased drinking was the outcome variable and it was measured with the AUDIT-C before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Predictors measured before the crisis included cyberbullying victimization at work, psychological distress, burnout and work climate. Additional measures included personality factors, socio-demographic factors and occupational information. Results One-fourth of Finnish workers (25.37%) reported increased drinking during the COVID-19 crisis. Cyberbullying victimization at work and psychological distress before the crisis predicted increased drinking during the crisis. Conscientious workers and those working in educational and health and welfare sectors were less likely to increase drinking, while increased drinking was most common among workers under 30 years of age. Conclusions Psychological stressors are risk factors for increased drinking in unusual times such as the COVID-19 crisis. Cyberbullying victimization at work and psychological distress were found as major risk factors. The results suggest that preventive work should be done at workplaces. This is particularly important if alcohol consumption is used as a means of coping during a stressful time.

Gambling opportunities are facilitated by the growth of the Internet and social media platforms. Digital games also increasingly include monetary features, such as microtransactions, blurring the line between gambling and gaming. The Internet provides a variety of virtual communities for gamblers and gamers, but comprehensive research on these communities and their relevance in gambling and monetary gaming behaviors remains scarce. This paper summarizes research of online gambling and monetary gaming communities based on a systematic literature review. A systematic literature search was conducted from five databases: Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Social Science Premium Collection, and EBSCOhost. The search was limited to empirical articles that focused on gambling or gaming involving money and examined online interaction between gamblers or gamers. Preliminary search resulted in 1056 articles, from which 55 were selected for the analyses based on predetermined criteria. According to results, online communities serve different functions in gambling and gaming behaviors. Gambling communities are typically forums for discussing and sharing gambling experiences, strategies, and tips as well as gambling problems, while gaming communities are inherently embedded inside a game being an essential part of the gaming experience. Identification with virtual communities influences gambling behavior and monetary gaming behavior through mechanisms of perceived norms, social influence, and community feedback. Whereas some gambling communities may provide protection from excessive gambling habits, gaming communities seem to solely motivate gaming behavior and purchase intentions. The role of online communities should be acknowledged in prevention and treatment of gambling and gaming problems.