Research on Unrealistic Optimism among HoReCa Workers as a Possible Future Hotspot of Infections

Abstract

As we are facing a new surge of the highly infectious delta variant of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for research to reduce the harm before this next wave hits. In the present paper, we present data that is alarming. We have found that HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, and catering services) workers, who are highly exposed to many new social interactions in close contact, present an unrealistic optimism (UO) bias: they perceive themselves as less at risk to this virus in comparison to others. From the literature, we already know that individuals holding this view are less involved in preventive actions and present more risky behaviors. In the face of the delta variant, this leads to the conclusion that restaurants will be new hot spots. What is more, we found that these unrealistic expectations are more pervasive: workers of the restaurant industry estimate low chances of bankruptcy, which may lead to unrealistic salary expectations, leading owners to a new upcoming wave of crisis: COVID-19 and bankruptcy—both of which may be caused by their workers.

Analysis of adolescents' views on the role of vaccination and limitations in psychosocial functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…According to Blaszczyk [12], young people may not have felt particularly threatened, because in the dominant narrative, the virus was not supposed to be particularly dangerous for them. A study of Krakow youth carried out by Dlugosz [14] showed that young people perceive the virus epidemic to be more dangerous for others than for themselves, which is related to the notion of unrealistic optimism [15,16]. The notion expresses the conviction of a specific group of people to be less inclined to experience negative events (e.g., the threat of the virus) and more likely to have positive experiences compared to others.…”

“…The notion expresses the conviction of a specific group of people to be less inclined to experience negative events (e.g., the threat of the virus) and more likely to have positive experiences compared to others. According to Dolinski et al [16], these unrealistic expectations are more ubiquitous, and people adhering to this view are less engaged in prevention activities and display risky behaviour. Just take a look at the interesting material collected by Ciesek-Slizowska et al [17].…”

It Matters to Whom You Compare Yourself: The Case of Unrealistic Optimism and Gender-Specific Comparisons

“…The main reason for this choice was a naturally occurring global event, that is, the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, the UO bias had already been reported under those circumstances in many places around the world proving its robustness: in Italy and Romania ( Druică et al., 2020 ), Kazakhstan and Iran ( Kulesza et al, 2021 ), France, Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom ( McColl et al, 2022 ), and Poland ( Dolinski et al, 2021 ). In all of this research, participants perceived themselves as less threatened by COVID-19 in comparison with similar peers.…”

“…The fact that we could also run our studies in the same circumstances of the already investigated COVID-19 pandemic provided a further reason in favor of targeting UO. The study setting provides solid grounds for comparison with previous studies (e.g., Dolinski et al, 2021 ) and allows for gender-specific social comparisons, avoiding confounding factors related to different measures or evaluated risks.…”

Exposing People to Others Not Following Recommendations Reduces Unrealistic Optimism. An Experiment During a Pandemic

“…Subsequent studies supported this notion. For example, Dolinski and colleagues (Dolinski et al, 2021) expected that showing participants examples of behaviors of others who (do not) protect their health while being exposed to COVID-19 infection danger might -similarly to Weinstein's study -reduce egocentrism. In Experiment 1, participants read information ostensibly from a news website describing people following (or not) medical recommendations laid out for curbing the spread of COVID-19.…”