Depending on your own kindness: The moderating role of self-compassion on the within-person consequences of work loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has transformed the way we work, with many employees working under isolating and difficult conditions. However, research on the antecedents, consequences, and buffers of work loneliness is scarce. Integrating research on need for belonging, regulatory loop models of loneliness, and self-compassion, the current study addresses this critical issue by developing and testing a conceptual model that highlights how COVID-related stressors frustrate employees' need for belonging (i.e., telecommuting frequency, job insecurity, and a lack of COVID-related informational justice), negatively impacting worker well-being (i.e., depression) and helping behaviors [i.e., organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)] through work loneliness. Furthermore, we examine the buffering role of self-compassion in this process. Results from a weekly diary study of U.S. employees conducted over 2 months during the initial stage of the pandemic provide support for the mediating role of work loneliness in relations between all three proposed antecedents and both outcomes. In addition, self-compassion mitigated the positive within-person relationship between work loneliness and employee depression, indicating that more self-compassionate employees were better able to cope with their feelings of work loneliness. Although self-compassion also moderated the within-person relationship between work loneliness and OCB, this interaction was different in form from our prediction. Implications for enhancing employee well-being and helping behaviors during and beyond the pandemic are discussed.

Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Accelerated the Future of Work or Changed Its Course? Implications for Research and Practice

“…Leadership styles, behaviors, and performance management strategies may all require adjustment, and research is needed to understand how leadership of fully remote or teleworking teams can promote or detract from healthy work design and worker well-being. Of particular concern are issues surrounding technostress and worker isolation [87,88], which require greater research attention. Remote work during the pandemic has been linked to fatigue and depression [87,88] while home confinement has been associated with decreased physical activity and less healthy eating [89], although research is needed to understand the extent to which this was due to the particular circumstances of remote work during the pandemic.…”

“…Of particular concern are issues surrounding technostress and worker isolation [87,88], which require greater research attention. Remote work during the pandemic has been linked to fatigue and depression [87,88] while home confinement has been associated with decreased physical activity and less healthy eating [89], although research is needed to understand the extent to which this was due to the particular circumstances of remote work during the pandemic. Additionally, the proliferation of electronic performance monitoring (EPM), which involves tracking software, raises challenges for employee privacy, trust, and their consequent effects on well-being [90,91].…”

“…Organizational leadership will need to ensure that remote employees, many of whom may be women and mothers, are not overlooked for deserved career opportunities [24]. Considering the health concerns associated with remote work and home confinement [87][88][89], leaders will also want to consider how they treat newly remote employees and engage in behaviors that will promote employee well-being. Authors have made a variety of recommendations for leaders to support their newly remote teams, such as emphasizing psychological safety and facilitating interpersonal connection [27].…”

Pandemic paradoxes and how they affect your workers

“…Cigna's national survey of 10,400 adults working in the US, for example, found a 7% increase in loneliness from their 2018 survey (Nemecek, 2020). Loneliness is a psychologically painful emotion that results from people's subjective feelings that their intimate, social, and "sense of belonging" needs are not being met (Cacioppo et al, 2006;Andel et al, 2021).…”

Relational Capital and Post-Traumatic Growth: The Role of Work Meaning

“…The formation of trust, reciprocity, and identification within the organization create a special kind of capital, that is, relational capital [ 7 ]. Since COVID-related stressors can frustrate employees’ sense of belonging, increase their sense of insecurity, and have a negative impact on their behaviors [ 8 ], it is meaningful for us to explore whether mutual trust and cooperation within the organization and a high degree of identification can help medical staff have a positive sense of belonging so as to better engage in work and obtain growth opportunities during the COVID-19 crisis; namely, can relationship capital promote the occurrence of post-traumatic growth by improving the individual’s psychological security? In particular, when the individual has a high sense of work meaning, will this promotion effect be strengthened?…”