The effect of perceived stress for work engagement in volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating role of psychological resilience and age differences

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) Vol. 11; p. e15704
• Main Authors: Li, Yatong, Xie, Pei, He, Liang, Fu, Xiaolong, Ding, Xiaobing, Jobe, Mary C, Ahmed, Md Zahir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States PeerJ. Ltd 17.07.2023; PeerJ Inc
• Subjects: Analysis; China; COVID-19; Epidemics; Mediation; Mental Health; Perceived stress; Psychiatry and Psychology; Psychological resilience; Stress (Psychology); Volunteers; Work engagement; China; COVID-19; Work engagement; Perceived stress; Psychological resilience; Volunteers
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15704

Volunteers played an important role throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the characteristics of perceived stress, psychological resilience and work engagement among 910 Chinese volunteers of different ages in the first month of pandemic in Gansu province, China. The present study tested the correlations between perceived stress and work engagement, the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship and the differences among age groups. The results of this study showed that work engagement and psychological resilience increased with the age of the volunteers. Work engagement and resilience levels were higher in middle adulthood than in early adulthood. As predicted, perceived stress negatively predicted work engagement. A mediation analysis showed that psychological resilience partially explained the correlations between perceived stress and work engagement. Specifically, the mediating effect of psychological resilience in early adulthood was significant, but not in middle adulthood. Overall, this study demonstrates that work engagement increased with age and was negatively predicted by perceived stress, showing these factors were important for volunteers' work during COVID-19. Further, for those in early adulthood, psychological resilience mediated this relationship-highlighting another age difference among volunteers during COVID-19.