Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Front Public Health. 2022 Jul 8;10:907797. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.907797. eCollection 2022.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has triggered several employment-related issues, followed by different response strategies. With retrenchment measures being a common response strategy during economic downturns, many individuals have been faced with unemployment. This study aimed to explore the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic related retrenchment on the psychological wellbeing of the Malaysian workforce, using a qualitative research approach and based on the Latent-deprivation Model. A purposive sample of 30 retrenched participants was interviewed via telephone during Malaysia's Movement Control Order (MCO). Thematic analysis was subsequently conducted to identify key themes in the data set. Six themes emerged from the thematic analysis: (1) Retrenchment leading to the deterioration of psychological wellbeing; (2) Unemployment, financial strain and economic uncertainty; (3) Emotions related to the COVID-19 virus; (4) Coping with lifestyle change; (5) Recommendations to improve the psychological wellbeing and mental health of the retrenched workforce, and (6) Career and financial support at the recovery phase. The present study provides valuable insight into the wellbeing of retrenched workforce who are forced to cope with both unemployment and a global pandemic, and workforce perspectives regarding types of support needed during the recovery phase.
持续的 COVID-19 大流行引发了一些与就业相关的问题，随后采取了不同的应对策略。在经济低迷时期，裁员措施是一种常见的应对策略，许多人因此失业。本研究旨在探讨 COVID-19 大流行相关裁员对马来西亚劳动力心理健康的影响，采用定性研究方法，并基于潜在剥夺模型。通过电话采访了在马来西亚行动管制令（MCO）期间被裁员的 30 名有目的的参与者。随后进行了主题分析，以确定数据集的关键主题。主题分析产生了六个主题：（1）裁员导致心理健康恶化；（2）失业、财务压力和经济不确定性；（3）与 COVID-19 病毒相关的情绪；（4）应对生活方式的改变；（5）改善被裁员劳动力心理健康和精神健康的建议，以及（6）在复苏阶段的职业和财务支持。本研究深入了解了被迫应对失业和全球大流行的被裁员劳动力的健康状况，以及劳动力在复苏阶段所需支持类型的观点。
