Kotera Yasuhiro, Mayer Claude-Hélène, Vanderheiden Elisabeth
Human Sciences Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom.
Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Front Psychol. 2021 Jun 22;12:627851. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.627851. eCollection 2021.
The negative impact of the coronavirus disease outbreak 2019 (COVID-19) on work mental health is reported in many countries including Germany and South Africa: two culturally distinct countries. This study aims to compare mental health between the two workforces to appraise how cultural characteristics may impact their mental health status. A cross-sectional study was used with self-report measures regarding (i) mental health problems, (ii) mental health shame, (iii) self-compassion, (iv) work engagement and (v) work motivation. 257 German employees and 225 South African employees have completed those scales. This study reports results following the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. -tests, correlation and regression analyses were performed. German employees had lower mental health problems and mental health shame, and higher self-compassion than South Africans. Mental health problems were positively associated with mental health shame and amotivation, and negatively associated with work engagement and intrinsic motivation in both groups. Lastly, self-compassion, a PP 2.0 construct, was the strongest predictor for mental health problems in both countries. Our results suggest (i) that German culture's long-term orientation, uncertainty avoidance and restraint may help explain these differences, and (ii) that self-compassion was important to mental health in both countries. While the levels of mental health differed between the two countries, cultivating self-compassion may be an effective way to protect mental health of employees in those countries. Findings can help inform managers and HR staff to refine their wellbeing strategies to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic, especially in German-South African organizations.
包括德国和南非在内的许多国家都报告了2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）疫情对工作心理健康的负面影响：这是两个文化截然不同的国家。本研究旨在比较这两个国家劳动力的心理健康状况，以评估文化特征如何影响他们的心理健康状况。采用横断面研究方法，使用自我报告测量工具，内容涉及（i）心理健康问题、（ii）心理健康羞耻感、（iii）自我同情、（iv）工作投入和（v）工作动机。257名德国员工和225名南非员工完成了这些量表。本研究按照加强流行病学观察性研究报告（STROBE）指南报告结果。进行了t检验、相关性分析和回归分析。德国员工的心理健康问题和心理健康羞耻感低于南非员工，自我同情程度高于南非员工。在两组中，心理健康问题与心理健康羞耻感和无动机呈正相关，与工作投入和内在动机呈负相关。最后，自我同情作为一种个人心理资本2.0结构，是两国心理健康问题的最强预测因素。我们的研究结果表明：（i）德国文化的长期导向、不确定性规避和克制可能有助于解释这些差异；（ii）自我同情对两国的心理健康都很重要。虽然两国的心理健康水平存在差异，但培养自我同情可能是保护这些国家员工心理健康的有效方法。研究结果可以帮助管理者和人力资源人员完善他们的幸福策略，以减少疫情的负面影响，特别是在德裔南非组织中。
