Fear of COVID-19 and employee mental health in quarantine hotels: The role of self-compassion and psychological resilience at work.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive and unprecedented impact on the mental health of individuals worldwide. Quarantine hotel employees not only endured enormous upheavals when providing service to quarantine guests during obligatory quarantine periods, but also experienced the high mental stress that comes with the risk of exposure and contagion of themselves, their friends, and their families. This study investigated the impact of the fear of COVID-19 on mental health problems. The moderating roles of self-compassion and psychological resilience were also examined. Data was collected from 360 employees from thirteen "Alternative State Quarantine" hotels in Thailand. The results suggested that fear of COVID-19 positively influenced mental health problems. Self-compassion and psychological resilience at work buffered the detrimental impact of fear of COVID-19 on mental health. This three-way interaction demonstrated that employees with high self-compassion and high resilience coped better. The theoretical and practical implications for hospitality managers are discussed.

Motivation-based segmentation of game meat consumers: A look at the beliefs of food consumers during the COVID-19 crisis in China.

OBJECTIVES: This research aims to explore the factors motivate consumers to eat game meat during a multi-state disease outbreak. METHODS: It proposes a segmentation of consumers based on their attitudes toward and reveals the consumers' food beliefs that motivate their actions. Three segments of game meat consumers were identified: identity seekers, health seekers, and taste seekers. RESULTS: A survey of the potential impact that the COVID-19 crisis has on these three clusters' future food choices showed that the identity and health seekers are more open to a change in food choices. However, the taste seekers are less likely to be influenced by external factors. CONCLUSIONS: This research indicates that for the policymakers, the key is to take game meat consumers as an effective intervention entry point. It is crucial to facilitate healthy food choices and to promote socially- and culturally-appropriate food beliefs by improving public awareness of the risks of game meat, and invest in organic food. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS: This research provides new insights into the food beliefs of game meat consumers via motivation-based segmentation.

Generational Differences in Perceptions of Food Health/Risk and Attitudes toward Organic Food and Game Meat: The Case of the COVID-19 Crisis in China.

In December 2019, a novel laboratory-confirmed coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection, which has caused clusters of severe illnesses, was first reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, China. This foodborne illness, which reportedly most likely originated in a seafood market where wild animals are sold illegally, has transmitted among humans through close contact, across the world. The aim of this study is to explore health/risk perceptions of and attitudes toward healthy/risky food in the immediate context of food crisis. More specifically, by using the data collected from 1008 respondents in January 2020, the time when China was hit hard by the "Corona Virus Disease 2019" (COVID-19), this study investigates the overall and different generational respondents' health/risk perceptions of and attitudes toward organic food and game meat. The results reveal that, firstly, based on their food health and risk perceptions of healthy and risky food, the respondents' general attitudes are positive toward organic food but relatively negative toward game meat. Secondly, older generations have a more positive attitude and are more committed to organic food. Younger generations' attitude toward game meat is more negative whereas older generations attach more importance to it because of its nutritional and medicinal values. In addition, this research also indicates that the COVID-19 crisis influences the respondents' perceptions of and attitudes toward organic food and game meat consumption. However, the likelihood of its impact on older generations' future change in diets is smaller, which implies that older generations' food beliefs are more stable.