The Burden of Hate: How Nonwork Discrimination Experienced During the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Asian American Employees.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a sharp increase in prejudice and discrimination targeting Asian Americans in the USA. Thus, in addition to the public health risks associated with the virus, exposure to discrimination poses a unique threat to the health and well-being of Asian Americans. Indeed, empirical evidence has documented the linkage between experiencing anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic and health decrements among Asian Americans. The goal of this study was to expand that research to also consider the ways experiencing discrimination in a nonwork context may spill over to affect the general and job-related well-being of Asian American employees as well as the potential mitigating role of coworker compassion. Results from a sample of 311 Asian American employees demonstrated that experiencing nonwork discrimination was associated with decrements in physical health and increased depression and job-related exhaustion. Further, there were significant interactions between nonwork discrimination and coworker compassion for engagement, emotional exhaustion, and depressive symptoms such that nonwork discrimination was more strongly related to each outcome when coworker compassion was low. The findings from the current study suggest that experiences of racial derogation, even those that occur outside the workplace environment, are detrimental to the well-being of employees and that coworker compassion is a positive resource that may foster healthier and more inclusive work environments. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10869-022-09848-6.

Experiencing, anticipating, and witnessing discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for health and wellbeing among Asian Americans

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic spurred increased racial animus toward Asians and Asian Americans (A/AA) who have since been contending with increased racism and violence. While some of the harm associated with this increased prejudice may derive from personally experienced discrimination, the COVID-19 pandemic has also been marked by an increase in vicarious exposure to discrimination as well as increased anticipation of discrimination, both of which may be taxing for the mental and physical health of A/AA. The goal of this study, accordingly, was to examine the effects of personal experiences of discrimination, vicarious exposure to discrimination, and anticipated discrimination on depressive symptoms, physical health symptoms, sleep quality, and sleep disturbances among A/AA. Results from our two-wave field survey demonstrated that experiencing and anticipating discrimination were associated with mental and physical health symptoms as well as sleep disturbances. Further, personal experiences of discrimination interacted with vicarious discrimination to determine physical health symptoms such that greater vicarious exposure weakened the relationship between experienced discrimination and physical health symptoms. These findings demonstrate the need to mobilize resources to combat the multipronged, negative implications of the recent rise in anti-Asian prejudice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Burden of Hate: How Nonwork Discrimination Experienced During the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts Asian American Employees

The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a sharp increase in prejudice and discrimination targeting Asian Americans in the USA. Thus, in addition to the public health risks associated with the virus, exposure to discrimination poses a unique threat to the health and well-being of Asian Americans. Indeed, empirical evidence has documented the linkage between experiencing anti-Asian discrimination during the pandemic and health decrements among Asian Americans. The goal of this study was to expand that research to also consider the ways experiencing discrimination in a nonwork context may spill over to affect the general and job-related well-being of Asian American employees as well as the potential mitigating role of coworker compassion. Results from a sample of 311 Asian American employees demonstrated that experiencing nonwork discrimination was associated with decrements in physical health and increased depression and job-related exhaustion. Further, there were significant interactions between nonwork discrimination and coworker compassion for engagement, emotional exhaustion, and depressive symptoms such that nonwork discrimination was more strongly related to each outcome when coworker compassion was low. The findings from the current study suggest that experiences of racial derogation, even those that occur outside the workplace environment, are detrimental to the well-being of employees and that coworker compassion is a positive resource that may foster healthier and more inclusive work environments. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10869-022-09848-6.

The Role of News Consumption and Trust in Public Health Leadership in Shaping COVID-19 Knowledge and Prejudice.

The novelty of COVID-19 has created unique challenges to successful public health efforts because it has required the public to quickly learn and formulate knowledge and attitudes about the virus as information becomes available. The need to stay apprised of new information has also created a critical role for mass media and public institutions in shaping the public's knowledge of, attitudes about, and responses to the unfolding pandemic. In this study, we examine how media consumption and reliance on specific institutions for information shapes three critical outcomes associated with public health epidemics: the accumulation of knowledge and the endorsement of misinformation about COVID-19, and prejudicial responses to the virus. We surveyed 1,141 adults residing across the United States in March 2020. Using multivariate regression and t-tests, we found that participants had greater knowledge, were less likely to endorse misinformation, and reported less bias toward Asian Americans when they had higher trust in the CDC and lower trust in President Trump. Reliance on certain news formats and sources was also associated with knowledge, misinformation, and prejudice. Our findings suggest that trust and news consumption can pose critical barriers to health literacy and foster negative prejudicial responses that further undermine public health efforts surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

An experimental study of the effects of messaging strategies on vaccine acceptance and hesitancy among Black Americans.

Black Americans have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 but have comparatively low vaccination rates, creating a need for vaccine messaging strategies that are tailored to this population. We conducted an experimental study to examine the effects of three messaging strategies on Black Americans' reported willingness to receive the vaccine and vaccine hesitancy. We also recruited White and Hispanic Americans to assess any potential backfire effects of the tailored strategies for non-Black participants. A total of 739 participants completed the study. Results from 4x2 ANCOVAs indicate that, among Black participants, messaging that acknowledged past unethical treatment of Black Americans in medical research and emphasized current safeguards to prevent medical mistreatment was associated with significantly less vaccine hesitancy than the control condition. The same effects were not observed for messaging strategies that provided general safety information about the vaccine or that emphasized the role of the vaccine in reducing racial inequities. There were no significant differences across conditions for participants of other races. Results demonstrate that public health messages tailored to address specific vaccine concerns may aid future vaccination campaigns.

COVID-19 and the reimagining of working while sick

[...]there is great potential for attitudes and decision-making processes regarding working while sick to change, hopefully for the better. [...]what once was a largely private and personal decision based on a somewhat limited set of antecedents (see Miraglia & Johns, 2016) is now multifaceted, emotionally charged, and perhaps (hopefully?) more morally derived and other-focused than before. Research suggests that emphasizing harm to others, as compared with emphasizing harm to oneself, increases engagement in personal safety behaviors (e.g., Grant & Hoffman, 2011). [...]we suggest additional investigation as to whether considering other stakeholders in decision making can be leveraged for changing presenteeism beliefs and behaviors. An opportunity for lasting positive change At present, the many ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the world through premature loss of life, declining health, income and job insecurity, social tension, and more are clear.

The inequity of crisis: COVID-19 as a case for diversity management

COVID-19 as a case for diversity management In many ways, the emergence of a novel public health threat has both heightened and made more visible the inequities that have long existed in our society, and there is ample evidence of the unequal harmful effects of COVID-19 on minority populations. Organizations should correspondingly ensure that all employees are aware of employee assistance programs or other supportive resources and that such resources are equipped to respond to issues such as racial harassment, increased fatigue from trying to balance work and childcare, and other unique challenges minority employees may be experiencing. [...]perhaps most importantly, this is a time when organizations are making difficult financial decisions, as many are faced with the need to downsize, cut resources, or otherwise offset lost profits. Toward addressing the first question, specific research topics include documenting experiences of racial harassment among Asian American employees from both coworkers and customers and their consequences, satisfaction with technology-mediated forms of working and collaborating among employees with and without disabilities, anticipatory fears of physically returning to work among employees with chronic physical health

Beyond political affiliation: an examination of the relationships between social factors and perceptions of and responses to COVID-19.

A significant challenge in the United States' response to COVID-19 continues to be wide variation in the extent to which individuals believe the virus is a credible health threat and are willing to undertake measures to protect personal and public health. In this study, data were collected from a national sample of 1141 participants from the United States to examine how beliefs and behavioral responses to COVID-19 have been shaped by sociopolitical characteristics. The relationships between social predictors; perceived severity, knowledge, and fear of the virus; and health behaviors were tested using path analysis. Social characteristics significantly predicted perceived severity, knowledge, and fear, as well as health behaviors, even after controlling for an objective indicator of the risk of contracting the virus. Our findings suggest that perceptions and knowledge of the virus, especially believing that the virus poses a serious threat to one's individual health, are important determinants of behavior, but also that perceptions and knowledge are strongly driven by social and cultural factors above and beyond political affiliation.

Why public health framing matters: An experimental study of the effects of COVID-19 framing on prejudice and xenophobia in the United States.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a notable increase in the expression of prejudicial and xenophobic attitudes that threaten the wellbeing of minority groups and contribute to the overall public health toll of the virus. However, while there is evidence documenting the growth in discrimination and xenophobia, little is known about how the COVID-19 outbreak is activating the expression of such negative attitudes. The goal of the current paper therefore was to investigate what aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic may be contributing to this rise in expressions of prejudice and xenophobia. More specifically, this study used an experimental design to assess the effects of using stigmatized language to describe the virus as well as the threat to physical health and economic wellbeing posed by the virus on COVID-19 prejudice. Data were collected from a national sample of 1451 adults residing within the United States. Results from 2 × 2 x 2 between-subjects analyses of covariance demonstrated that emphasizing the connection between China and COVID-19, rather than framing the virus neutrally, increased negative attitudes toward Asian Americans, beliefs that resources should be prioritized for Americans rather than immigrants, and general xenophobia. Emphasizing the severity of the economic impact of the virus also increased beliefs that Asian Americans are a threat to resources and general xenophobia. In contrast, messages which emphasized the serious health risks of COVID-19 did not increase bias toward Asian Americans or xenophobia. Our findings suggest that specific types of public health messaging related to infectious diseases, especially framing the virus in terms of its country of origin or its likely economic impact, may elicit prejudice and xenophobia. Public health campaigns that emphasize the severity of the virus, however, are not likely to trigger the same negative attitudes. Implications for public health responses to health crises are discussed.

Unexpected public health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic: a national survey examining anti-Asian attitudes in the USA.

OBJECTIVES: This paper empirically examines whether and how COVID-19 may be activating bias and discrimination toward individuals of Asian descent. METHODS: In March 2020, we used a national online survey to collect data from 1141 US residents. Using descriptive statistics and multivariate regression, we estimated the prevalence and COVID-19-related predictors of bias toward people of Asian descent. RESULTS: We found over 40% of our sample reported they would engage in at least one discriminatory behavior toward people of Asian descent. Respondents who were fearful of COVID-19 (b = .09, p < 0.001) and had less accurate knowledge about the virus (b = - .07, p < 0.001) reported more negative attitudes toward Asians as did respondents with less trust in science (b = - .06, p < 0.001) and more trust in President Trump (b = .04, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Public health leaders must confront fear of the virus, improve knowledge, and bolster trust in science as these factors may evoke negative attitudes toward Asians and increase prejudice and discrimination. Specifically, our findings warrant the adoption of public health campaigns that provide health information and build trust in scientific knowledge.