Redemption from SRHRM under COVID-19: How business threat due to COVID-19 affects employee insomnia via hope and workplace anxiety

ABSTRACT

Existing studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic influences employee outcome in the work domain. However, the impact of business threat due to COVID-19 on employee daily insomnia remains unexplored. Addressing this research gap can help scholars understand the risks of COVID-19 in the non-work domain. Drawing on appraisal theories of emotion, we explore how and when business threat due to COVID-19 triggers employee insomnia. Using an experience sampling methodology where 89 employees are surveyed for 7 workdays, our multilevel analyses show that employee daily hope and workplace anxiety mediate the effects of business threat due to COVID-19 on employee insomnia. Furthermore, socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) practices weaken the negative relationship between business threat due to COVID-19 and employees' hope and mitigate the positive relationship between business threat due to COVID-19 and their workplace anxiety. We also find that SRHRM practices influence the indirect effect of business threat due to COVID-19 on employee insomnia via workplace anxiety. Our study helps understand the underlying mechanisms in the relationship between business threat due to COVID-19 and employee insomnia and further sheds light on the role of SRHRM in mitigating the destructive effect of business threat due to COVID-19.