University of Toronto, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Health Serv Manage Res. 2023 Aug;36(3):215-227. doi: 10.1177/09514848231165894. Epub 2023 Mar 23.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a major heath crisis that continues to impact healthcare organizations worldwide. As infection rates surged, there was a global shortage of personal protective equipment, critical medications, ventilators, and hospital beds, meaning that healthcare professionals faced increasingly difficult workplace conditions. In this conceptual study, we argue these situations can lead to healthcare professionals experiencing moral emotions - defined as specific emotions which relate, or occur in response, to the interest or welfare of others - towards their organizations. This paper explores the three moral emotions of contempt, anger and disgust, and their potential influence on healthcare professionals' workplace commitment in the context of a pandemic. Drawing from the moral emotions and organizational commitment literature, we develop a process model to demonstrate how healthcare professionals' affective and continuous commitment are likely to decrease while, paradoxically, normative, and professional commitment may become amplified. The possible potential for positive outcomes from negative moral emotions is discussed, followed by theoretical and practical contributions of the model, and finally, directions for future research.
新型冠状病毒（COVID-19）大流行是一场重大的卫生危机，继续影响着全球的医疗机构。随着感染率的飙升，个人防护设备、关键药物、呼吸机和病床出现了全球性短缺，这意味着医护人员面临着日益艰难的工作环境。在这项概念研究中，我们认为这些情况可能导致医护人员对其所在的组织产生道德情感——即与他人的利益或福利相关或作为回应而产生的特定情感。本文探讨了轻蔑、愤怒和厌恶这三种道德情感，以及它们在大流行背景下对医护人员工作场所承诺的潜在影响。本研究借鉴道德情感和组织承诺文献，提出了一个过程模型，以展示医护人员的情感承诺和持续承诺如何可能会降低，而规范性承诺和职业承诺则可能会增强。还讨论了从消极道德情感中获得积极结果的可能性，然后介绍了该模型的理论和实际贡献，最后为未来的研究指明了方向。
