The mediator role of well-being in the effect of COVID-19 anxiety on occupational commitment: research in the aviation sector

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which emerged in China in December 2019, has severely affected many industries across the world and created substantial psychological, social and economic impact on individuals. With the coronavirus outbreak labelled as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, the first measures have been taken for the aviation industry. The crisis environment created by the pandemic had a negative impact on aviation personnel. The main purpose of this research is to investigate the mediator role of employee well-being in the effect of COVID-19 anxiety on occupational commitment. The data were collected through a survey of cabin and cockpit staff (n = 3862). After the analyses, it was found that the effect of COVID-19 anxiety on well-being, and occupational affective and normative commitment was significant. Moreover, it is among the findings that well-being has a partial mediator role in the effect of COVID-19 anxiety on occupational affective and normative commitment.

Keywords:

• aviation sector
• COVID-19 anxiety
• flight personnel
• occupational commitment
• well-being

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the time, efforts and patience of the anonymous reviewers, editorial board members and aviation sector employees in Turkey who participated to the research. Without their contribution, the study would not have reached its current quality.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.