Crisis and mental health of working women: risk factors and integrated care interventions based on organizational, individual, and institutional partnership

Abstract

PurposeCrises can weigh heavily on individuals' mental health. COVID-19 is a crisis that has shaken humanity, plunging it into a great wave of fear, ambiguity and uncertainty, due to its novelty and rapid spread, as well as lethality. Mental health disparities between women and men have widened as a result of this pandemic. Stress factors have multiplied, especially among working women, making them more psychologically vulnerable than they were before this pandemic and easy prey to psychological distress. This emphasized the importance of having integrated care interventions that take into consideration the organizational context, with gendered lenses. This paper discusses the relationship between COVID-19 and psychological distress among women in the workforce. It presents the main sources of stress and addresses integrated care interventions that can help to prevent psychological distress among women.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a viewpoint and critique of the recent literature.FindingsInterventions based on a partnership between employers, employees, and government, including health and social services are needed to prevent mental health problems among women in the workplace that can result from crises. In this case, a gendered approach as well as an optimization of the use of new technologies should be favored.Originality/valueThere is little focus on the development of integrated care approaches to address psychological distress among working women in times of crisis and beyond. This paper helps to expand the scope of integrated care to work-related mental health research by exploring the impact of an unprecedented health crisis on a vulnerable group that suffers from disparities in mental health. It also provides insights into preventive interventions, built upon an integrated care approach, based on a tripartite partnership between working women, employing organizations, and governmental institutions, facilitated by the integration of new technologies. By doing this, the author aims to contribute to the prevention of mental health issues that can result from this crisis.

Teleworkers' job performance: a study examining the role of age as an important diversity component of companies' workforce

“…During the pandemic, teleworking created blurred work-private life boundaries for individuals (Hamouche, 2021b), with the possibility of multiple family interruptions (Prajogo et al, 2020). Furthermore, it generated social isolation, which had negative impacts on employees' mental health (Hamouche, 2021b(Hamouche, , 2022Straus et al, 2022). In this context, the study by Golden et al (2008) on teleworkers revealed that professional isolation generated by teleworking negatively impacts job performance, which can be intensified based on the amount of time spent teleworking.…”

“…Job performance is essential to sustain organizations and ensure their success (Bruggen, 2015), however, it can be significantly challenged in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken organizations worldwide, generating a financial shock, instability and uncertainty. Organizations needed to ensure the implementation of non-pharmaceutical measures (physical distancing, lockdown and quarantines) to prevent the spread of the virus among their employees, but also to find effective ways to sustain their business and maintain employees' performance (Liu et al, 2021;Hamouche, 2021aHamouche, , 2022. In this context, teleworking is a work arrangement that has been widely adopted (Lee, 2021), to ensure the continuity of organizational operations and maintain employees' performance, mainly in the case of industries and job positions that can be performed remotely, from home.…”

“…Organizations needed to ensure the implementation of non-pharmaceutical measures (physical distancing, lockdown and quarantines) to prevent the spread of the virus among their employees, but also to find effective ways to sustain their business and maintain employees' performance (Liu et al. , 2021; Hamouche, 2021a, 2022). In this context, teleworking is a work arrangement that has been widely adopted (Lee, 2021), to ensure the continuity of organizational operations and maintain employees' performance, mainly in the case of industries and job positions that can be performed remotely, from home.…”

Antecedents of physicians' intentions to engage in digital volunteering work: an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) approach

“…In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, reports indicate that the prevalence of fear, loneliness, boredom, loss of control, as well as feelings of insecurity, is very high (Xiao, 2020). Thus, COVID-19 has triggered feelings of fear in most people (Hamouche, 2023;Yıldırım and G€ uler, 2022), which made them adopt preventive behaviors. One of these behaviors may be avoiding engaging in volunteer activities.…”

Workforce's crisis-induced career shock, career preferences, job insecurity, layoff and perceived employability: examining variations based on gender, education level and ethnic origin

“…Indeed, studies revealed that COVID-19 generated a “great resignation” sweeping worldwide workplaces (Allman, 2021; Sheather and Slattery, 2021). Many individuals were either quitting their job or looking for a career change (Allman, 2021), and this can weigh heavily on sectors already suffering from a workforce shortage, such as healthcare (Hamouche and Chabani, 2021; Sheather and Slattery, 2021; Hamouche, 2022). In the US, for example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021) showed that the quitting level and rate increased to a series high of 4 million and 2.7%, in April 2021.…”