A Moderated Mediation Analysis of New Work-Related Stressors, Psychological Distress, and Absenteeism in Health Care During a Pandemic: Is Recognition the Cure for Preventing Falling in Battle?

Abstract

We aimed to evaluate the effects of new work-related stressors on psychological distress and absenteeism and the role of recognition in these relationships. Moderated path analyses were carried out on a sample of 1128 health care workers. Increased workload related to COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) ( β = 1.511, P ≤ 0.01) and fear of COVID-19 ( β = 0.844, P ≤ 0.01) were directly associated with a higher level of psychological distress and indirectly ( β = 2.306, P ≤ 0.01; and β = 1.289, P ≤ 0.05, respectively) associated with a higher level of absenteeism. Recognition ( β = 0.260, P ≤ 0.001) moderated the association between teleworking and psychological distress. Furthermore, this significant moderation effect had a significant impact on absenteeism ( β = 0.392, P ≤ 0.05). Regardless of the workplace (on site or teleworking), high recognition was beneficial for psychological distress. This effect seems more important when working on site. The results propose that specific new work-related stressors should be addressed in the context of organizational change (eg, a pandemic).