Working in lockdown: the relationship between COVID-19 induced work stressors, job performance, distress, and life satisfaction

Abstract

Background & aim In the wake of COVID-19, organizations all over India have closed their premises and shifted to work from home policy to curb the further spread of the virus. This has led to increased stress and anxiety among employees, which explicably affects their satisfaction with life. Thus, the present study analyses the effect of COVID-19 induced stressors (role overload, lifestyle choices, family distraction, and occupational discomfort) on employees’ distress levels and job performance. Subsequently, the impact of such distress and job performance on the employees’ life satisfaction is analyzed during the lockdown period. Methodology Data was collected from 433 working professionals of private and public organizations in the Delhi and NCR region of India during India’s third and fourth phase of lockdown via a survey, which was distributed online. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was applied first to establish the validity of this study’s model (measurement model validity) and subsequently test the hypothesized relationships in the model (structural model). Results The COVID-19 induced stressors, i.e., role overload, lifestyle choices, and occupational discomfort, were significant predictors of distress during the lockdown. It has been found that role overload and change in lifestyle choice did not significantly affect job performance. Family distraction, occupational discomfort, and distress were significant in impacting job performance, with distress being the most significant one. During the COVID-19 pandemic, life satisfaction has reduced due to a significant increase in distress levels and lowered job performances. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-01567-0.

The Influence of Work–Family Conflict on Burnout during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Effect of Teleworking Overload

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“…The teleworking context during the COVID-19 pandemic gives the impression that employees save commutation time; therefore, that saved time could be used to extend the working hours [ 119 ]. There is also the point of view that working hours can be easily extended given that the employee is at home.…”

Investigating the Impact of Fear Related to COVID-19 Disease on Situational Humor via Social Networking Sites

“…The study aimed to gain a better understanding of the impact of SNS usage in mediating the fear of a COVID-19 pandemic and situation humor. Although other researchers have looked into the influence of COVID-19 on individuals and employees (Cao et al, 2020;Zheng et al, 2020;Kumar et al, 2021), this study differs in that it studied the influence of COVID-19 on university students in a developing country (i.e., Pakistan) by looking at gender and class perspectives. Four hypotheses were examined in the study, namely, direct and indirect correlations, and also the hypothesized mediation model.…”

“…The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a serious threat to the worldwide society, affecting every aspect of life and continuing to pose a challenge to global nations. Since COVID-19 became a pandemic, the focus of the world has properly been on protecting the public, preventing virus transmission, and treating victims of COVID-19 (Kumar et al, 2021). During this time, governments all over the world have enacted rules to minimize human contact, such as quarantine (Lin et al, 2020), physical separation, and social isolation.…”

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“…In the field of human resource management, it has long been recognized that employees feel frustrated and stressed in situations of danger or uncertainty, such as COVID-19 ( Kumar et al, 2021 ). The stress caused by an outbreak can provide HRM practitioners with constructive insights to help them assess opportunities and developments in an environment of threat and uncertainty.…”