Intolerance of Uncertainty and Fear of COVID-19 Moderating Role in Relationship Between Job Insecurity and Work-Related Distress in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia was followed by strict restrictions that negatively affected the economy, particularly small size companies. The complete lockdown and the prohibition of certain services have led to an unstable employment situation. Only several studies investigated the job insecurity and its consequences during COVID-19 pandemic, and some of them highlight the fear of COVID-19 as a significant moderator of mental health. Other studies emphasize the huge effect that intolerance of uncertainty could have in explaining distress, especially during pandemic. In addition, intolerance of uncertainty was considered as a possible moderator of the relationship between the objective and subjective job threat, as well their consequences for mental health. This study aimed to examine the presence of job insecurity and work related distress in Serbia during the first wave of COVID-19. We wanted to measure the effect of the job insecurity on experienced work distress, as well the moderation potential of the intolerance of uncertainty as an individual-level and the fear of coronavirus as a situation-dependent variable. Five hundred and twenty five employed participants took part in an online study during the first wave of coronavirus infection in Serbia. To measure job insecurity, we used Perception of job insecurity scale (PJIS), while distress was assessed with Distress scale from 4DSQ. Fear of COVID-19 was measured on three items. The intolerance of uncertainty was measured by the IUS-11 scale. The results showed that 30.4% of the participants consider their employment as moderately or highly insecure, and 15.1% thought they can lose their jobs. 63.4% of participants expressed increased levels of distress. The moderation analysis revealed that the effect of job insecurity on distress can be moderated by interaction of intolerance of uncertainty and COVID-related fear. In general, distress scores were increasing with increasing job insecurity, intolerance of uncertainty and fear of COVID-19. This pattern is not observed only when fear and intolerance of uncertainty were both low, when job instability could not influence distress. This study also showed that emotional appraisal of the job threat had higher impact on distress than the perceived threat, that shed the light on the importance of considering general resilience capabilities as a protective factor in the work environment in the time of crisis.

The fear of COVID-19 and job insecurity impact on depression and anxiety: An empirical study in China in the COVID-19 pandemic aftermath

“…Unlike other related epidemics and disasters, the outbreak has touched upon all frontiers – personal, social, monetary, physiological (Aguiar-Quintana et al, 2021 ; Godinic et al, 2020 ). Contrary to our assumption that the fear brought on by the pandemic will increase the job insecurity, we were not able to establish statistically significant relationship between the two, which is at odds with findings gathered by Blanuša et al ( 2021 ) and Ruffolo et al ( 2021 ).…”

“…However, excessive fear may paralyze and lead to personality collapse, wherein each action may seem futile and meaningless. There is now already extensive empirical support for the claim that job uncertainty during COVID-19 leads to strain and depression (Blanuša et al, 2021 ; Godinic et al, 2020 ; Nelson & Kaminsky, 2020 ). Hypothesis 4: The fear of COVID-19 leads to depression Hypothesis 5: The fear of COVID-19 leads to anxiety …”

The Threat of COVID-19 and Job Insecurity Impact on Depression and Anxiety: An Empirical Study in the USA

“…The findings are consistent with cross-national evidence on adverse mental health outcomes generated during the assessment of coronavirus uncertainty repercussions (Godinic et al, 2020;Aguiar-Quintana et al, 2021;Blanuša et al, 2021;Ganson et al, 2021;Ruffolo et al, 2021). Blanuša et al (2021) found that the distress increases proportionately to the rise of job uncertainty and fear of COVID-19. Nelson and Kaminsky (2020) asserted that the ongoing crisis concerning health and social and monetary security significantly contributes to intense anxiety and depression.…”

“…There is lack of support in the literature that would explain how exposure to hazard-related information influences the formation of adaptive or maladaptive coping strategies of employees aimed at psychological well-being retention. Also, although many studies have previously corroborated that uncertainty influences psychosocial and occupational functioning (Aguiar-Quintana et al, 2021 ; Blanuša et al, 2021 ; Ganson et al, 2021 ; Ruffolo et al, 2021 ), there are not many studies in the field of occupational psychology examining how job uncertainty leads to protective motivation when EPPM perpetuates the insecurity.…”

Relationships between Occupational Stress, Change in Work Environment during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms among Non-Healthcare Workers in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…No studies have focused on the relationship between variance in workload and depressive and anxiety symptoms, and a few studies have focused on the relationship between job future ambiguity and depressive and anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. A study in Serbia among different categories of employees, demonstrated that job uncertainty and the fear of COVID-19 related to work-related distress [ 48 ]. In the U.S.A., another study among white-collar employees indicated that job insecurity has a substantial impact on depressive and anxiety symptoms, [ 49 ].…”