THE MEDIATING ROLE OF THE ANXIETY LEVEL IN THE EFFECT OF TRUSTING CO-WORKERS ON HELPING BEHAVIOURS TO CO-WORKERS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to determine the mediating role of the anxiety level in the effect of trusting co-workers on helping behaviours to co-workers during COVID-19 pandemic. Hospital-based cross-sectional research design was used in the study. The population of the study consisted of nurses working in four different public hospitals providing secondary health services in different regions of Istanbul. Convenience sampling method was preferred in the study. The data were collected by the researchers themselves using the online questionnaire technique. The total number of questionnaires that were evaluated and used in the analysis of the data is 527. SPSS 26 and AMOS 24 package programs were used in the analysis of the data. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, ANOVA test and structural equation modeling were applied to the data. The findings obtained with the structural equation analysis showed that the construct validity of the model was provided. The empirical result of the study revealed that the outbreak of COVID-19 increased the anxiety levels of nurses. In addition, it has been determined that the effect of nurses' trust towards each other on their helping behaviour towards each other is partially mediated by COVID-19 anxiety. The COVID-19 anxiety levels of the nurses, who acted with a high sense of trust in their colleagues, decreased their helping behaviour towards each other.