학술논문

Impact of Environmental Uncertainty on Depression and Anxiety Among Chinese Workers: A Moderated Mediation Model
Document Type
article
Author
Source
Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Vol Volume 17, Pp 1867-1880 (2024)
Subject
environmental uncertainty
anxiety
depression
union practices
work pressure
Psychology
BF1-990
Industrial psychology
HF5548.7-5548.85
Language
English
ISSN
1179-1578
Abstract
Chenlu Ma,1 Wen Zhang,1 Shu Da,2 Huan Zhang,3 Xichao Zhang1 1Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210024, People’s Republic of China; 3Academy of Global Innovation & Governance, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xichao Zhang, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 XinJieKouWai Street, HaiDian District, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China, Email xchzhang@bnu.edu.cnPurpose: Environmental uncertainty has reached unprecedented levels in recent years. While there is substantial knowledge about the connection between environmental uncertainty and organizational outcomes, limited attention has been devoted to investigating its impact on employees’ depression and anxiety symptoms. Grounded in job demands-resources theory, this study aims to explore the relationship between environmental uncertainty and employees’ depression and anxiety symptoms, and it further investigates the mediating role of work pressure and the moderating role of union practices.Methods: In September 2022, we undertook a cross-sectional survey study, gathering data from 1081 employees across various enterprises situated in Liaoning, China. Throughout this timeframe, notable global occurrences heightened the awareness of environmental uncertainty. Following the exclusion of participants who did not provide information on the main variables, the final valid sample comprised 940 employees. To test all hypotheses, a series of confirmatory factor analyses and path-analytic procedures were conducted using Mplus 7.0.Results: Our results confirm that environmental uncertainty, as a high job demand, increases employees’ work pressure, thereby elevating rates of anxiety and depression; the indirect relationship between environmental uncertainty and employees’ anxiety and depression through work pressure is stronger when union practices are lower.Conclusion: Our findings indicate the detrimental impact of environmental uncertainty on employees’ mental health, and highlight the roles of work pressure and union practices. In light of this, organizations should take steps to mitigate employees’ perceptions of environmental uncertainty and establish mental health programs, in cooperation with union practices, to protect employees’ mental well-being.Keywords: environmental uncertainty, anxiety, depression, union practices, work pressure