Occupational stress and health during the Covid-19 pandemic: the role of work-related rumination, intolerance of uncertainty, and financial concern

Objectives: The objectives were to examine associations between work-related stress, work rumination, and psychiatric morbidity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesised that work-related stress due to COVID-19 would predict higher levels of perceived stress and psychiatric morbidity, and that affective work rumination would mediate these effects. Design: An online cross-sectional survey was used to measure our variables of interest. Methods: Participants (N = 185) who were employed or self-employed during the pandemic completed the questionnaire. Measures included demographic and occupational characteristics, an adapted version of the work-related stress scale, the workplace rumination scale, the perceived stress scale, and the general health questionnaire. Data were analysed using mediation and moderation analyses. Results: Work-related stress significantly predicted perceived stress and psychiatric morbidity. Affective work rumination, but not distraction-detachment or problem-solving pondering, significantly mediated the effect of work-related stress on our outcome measures. Conclusions: Affective work rumination is an important mechanism by which COVID-19 work-related stress predicts negative health outcomes. The findings suggest the negative impact of workplace stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic may be due to increased affective rumination in non-working hours.