COVID-19 and the workplace: Implications, issues, and insights for future research and action

The impacts of COVID-19 on workers and workplaces across the globe have been dramatic. This broad review of prior research rooted in work and organizational psychology, and related fields, is intended to make sense of the implications for employees, teams, and work organizations. This review and preview of relevant literatures focuses on (a) emergent changes in work practices (e.g., working from home, virtual teamwork) and (b) emergent changes for workers (e.g., social distancing, stress, and unemployment). In addition, potential moderating factors (demographic characteristics, individual differences, and organizational norms) are examined given the likelihood that COVID-19 will generate disparate effects. This broad-scope overview provides an integrative approach for considering the implications of COVID-19 for work, workers, and organizations while also identifying issues for future research and insights to inform solutions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Individual differences and changes in subjective wellbeing during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably impacted many people's lives. This study examined changes in subjective wellbeing between December 2019 and May 2020 and how stress appraisals and coping strategies relate to individual differences and changes in subjective wellbeing during the early stages of the pandemic. Data were collected at 4 time points from 979 individuals in Germany. Results showed that, on average, life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect did not change significantly between December 2019 and March 2020 but decreased between March and May 2020. Across the latter timespan, individual differences in life satisfaction were positively related to controllability appraisals, active coping, and positive reframing, and negatively related to threat and centrality appraisals and planning. Positive affect was positively related to challenge and controllable-by-self appraisals, active coping, using emotional support, and religion, and negatively related to threat appraisal and humor. Negative affect was positively related to threat and centrality appraisals, denial, substance use, and self-blame, and negatively related to controllability appraisals and emotional support. Contrary to expectations, the effects of stress appraisals and coping strategies on changes in subjective wellbeing were small and mostly nonsignificant. These findings imply that the COVID-19 pandemic represents not only a major medical and economic crisis, but also has a psychological dimension, as it can be associated with declines in key facets of people's subjective wellbeing. Psychological practitioners should address potential declines in subjective wellbeing with their clients and attempt to enhance clients' general capability to use functional stress appraisals and effective coping strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining positive and negative perceptions of older workers: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

This article presents an updated meta-analysis of field and laboratory studies that examine the influence of age on a number of evaluative workplace outcomes (advancement, selection, general evaluations, interpersonal skills, and reliability). Method. A random effects meta-analytic procedure was used.

RESULTS

In line with the perspective that perceptions of older workers are multidimensional, the observed meta-analytic correlations indicate that age has medium-sized negative effects on majority of the outcomes investigated (r(advancement) = -.21, r(selection) = -.30, r(general evaluations) = -.24, and r(interpersonal skills) = -.23, and a medium-sized positive effect on perceptions of reliability (r(reliability) = .31). Additionally, evidence of moderation by study design for the selection outcome is presented, such that within-subjects designs elicit stronger effects of age than between-subjects designs. Discussion. The present study demonstrates that it is likely that older workers are not viewed entirely negatively or entirely positively in the workplace; rather, the perceptions of older workers are more are varied, and even positive in some cases.

Evaluating the Structure of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Using Confirmatory Factor Analytic and Bifactor Modeling With Parent and Youth Ratings

The primary goals of this study were to evaluate the dimensionality of the Penny et al. Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Scale and to compare model fits for parent- and youth self-report versions. Participants were 262 young adolescents (ages 10-15) comprehensively diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and bifactor modeling were used to determine if the proposed three-factor structure previously identified through exploratory factor analysis could be confirmed. Results showed that although the three-factor CFA had better fit statistics than a one- or two-factor CFA, the bifactor model was the best-fitting model for both parent report and self-report. This implies that Sluggish Cognitive Tempo Scale is best conceptualized as having an underlying general factor, with three specific factors that may represent different etiologies. Importantly, results also showed low-to-moderate correlations between raters and equivalent or better fit statistics for self-report in comparison with parent report.

"The COVID-19 Generation": A Cautionary Note

With COVID-19 presenting as a global pandemic, we have noticed an emerging rhetoric concerning "the COVID-19 Generation," both anecdotally and across various media outlets. The narratives advanced to support such rhetoric have distinct implications for the study of work, aging, and retirement. In this commentary, we review this emerging issue and present evidence against attempts to define "the COVID-19 Generation" as a new construct along conceptual, methodological, as well as practical lines, with a specific focus on identifying real dangers associated with investigating and potentially managing a new generation associated with this pandemic. We strongly caution against the adoption of "the COVID-19 Generation" as a concept of study and instead offer several suggestions to researchers, organizations, and practitioners seeking answers to complicated questions about links between COVID-19 and various processes relevant to work, aging, and retirement during this time of uncertainty.

COVID-19 and careers: On the futility of generational explanations

It is common to broadly group people of different ages into "generations" and to speak of distinctions between such groups in terms of "generational differences." The problem with this practice, is that there exists no credible scientific evidence that (a) generations exist, (b) that people can be reliably classified into generational groups, and (c) that there are demonstrable differences between such groups. We have already noted an emerging generationalized rhetoric that has characterized how people of different ages have been affected by and reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic. These narratives have been especially present in discussions of how work and careers will be affected by this crisis. In this essay, we outline problems with applying the concept of generations, especially for researchers seeking explanations for how COVID-19 will affect careers and career development. We urge researchers to eschew the notion of generations and generational differences and consider alternative lifespan development theoretical frameworks that better capture age-graded processes.

Generations and Generational Differences: Debunking Myths in Organizational Science and Practice and Paving New Paths Forward

Talk about generations is everywhere and particularly so in organizational science and practice. Recognizing and exploring the ubiquity of generations is important, especially because evidence for their existence is, at best, scant. In this article, we aim to achieve two goals that are targeted at answering the broad question: "What accounts for the ubiquity of generations despite a lack of evidence for their existence and impact?" First, we explore and "bust" ten common myths about the science and practice of generations and generational differences. Second, with these debunked myths as a backdrop, we focus on two alternative and complementary frameworks-the social constructionist perspective and the lifespan development perspective-with promise for changing the way we think about age, aging, and generations at work. We argue that the social constructionist perspective offers important opportunities for understanding the persistence and pervasiveness of generations and that, as an alternative to studying generations, the lifespan perspective represents a better model for understanding how age operates and development unfolds at work. Overall, we urge stakeholders in organizational science and practice (e.g., students, researchers, consultants, managers) to adopt more nuanced perspectives grounded in these models, rather than a generational perspective, to understand the influence of age and aging at work.

Differential Reactivity and the Within-person Job Stressor-Satisfaction Relationship

An experience sampling methodology was used to study the direct and conditional within-person relationship between job stressors and job satisfaction. One hundred and one full-time administrative staff completed momentary measures of job stressors and job satisfaction three times a day on six different workdays over a 3-week period (N = 1818 observations). Multilevel random coefficients models were specified, and the results suggest that within-person stressors are negatively related to within-person job satisfaction. These results stand when controlling for the effects of time, demographics, work characteristics, baseline levels of job stressors and satisfaction, and between-person effects of job stressors. Furthermore, consistent with the differential reactivity model, the results suggest that the observed within-person stressors-satisfaction relationship is conditional upon locus of control and positive affect. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Researching employee experiences and behavior in times of crisis: Theoretical and methodological considerations and implications for human resource management

Over the past 2 years, numerous empirical studies in the fields of human resource management, organizational behavior, and industrial, work, and organizational psychology have investigated employee experiences and behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this paper is to take a step back and to outline several theoretical and methodological considerations when researching employee experiences and behavior in times of crisis more generally. These insights may be useful when developing conceptual models, designing empirical studies, and managing people in the context of future crises. We first review theoretical approaches that could be applied to explain changes in employee experiences and behavior in times of crisis, including stress theories, theories of adjustment to work-related changes, career construction theory, event system theory, transition-adaptation theories, the crisis management and resilience framework, and the social identity model of identity change. Second, we outline methodological considerations and best practices regarding the research design of quantitative empirical studies, sampling, measurement, and analytic strategies. Throughout, we highlight empirical studies on employee experiences and behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic that have adopted these theoretical approaches and methodological best practices. We conclude with several suggestions for future theory development and empirical studies on employee experiences and behavior as well as human resource management in times of crisis.

Age-Differentiated Leadership and Healthy Aging at Work: Evidence from the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Little is known about the relative influence of age-differentiated leadership on healthy aging at work. Likewise, the age-conditional influence of age-differentiated leadership is understudied, and especially so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a three-wave longitudinal study, we examined the role that age-differentiated leadership plays in the prediction of work ability, as measured three times over six months (n = 1130) during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany (i.e., December 2019, March 2020, and June 2020). The results suggest that although there were no systematic changes in work ability on average, there was notable within-person variability in work ability over time. Additionally, we find that a balanced approach to age-differentiated leadership that considers the needs of both older and younger employees matters most and complements the positive influence of leader–member exchange for predicting within-person variability in work ability. We also find that older employees’ work ability benefits from an approach to age-differentiated leadership that considers older employee’s needs, whereas younger employees’ work ability especially benefits from leader–member exchange and a balanced approach to age-differentiated leadership. Overall, these results provide initial support for the idea that an age-differentiated approach to leadership is important when considering healthy aging at work.

Individual Differences and Changes in Self-Reported Work Performance During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract. This longitudinal study examines how three dimensions of self-reported work performance, including task proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity, changed between December 2019 and September 2020 in Germany. Based on event system and transition theories, we expected work performance to decline because of the “lockdown” between early April and early May 2020 and to subsequently increase when restrictions were eased between early May and early September 2020. Additionally, we hypothesized that high levels of core self-evaluations (i. e., employees’ fundamental evaluations about themselves) buffer the decline and strengthen the recovery in work performance. Data were collected from N = 591 full-time employees across eight measurement points. Results based on discontinuous latent growth curve modeling largely supported the expected trajectories in work performance. Moreover, core self-evaluations positively predicted the levels of work performance as well as the slopes indicating recovery in task proficiency and adaptivity, but not proactivity.