Hardiness and Burnout in Adult U.S. Workers.

OBJECTIVE: Burnout is a costly problem, and it appears to be getting worse due to COVID-related stressors. It is thus important for organizations to find better tools to prevent and mitigate worker burnout. METHODS: Conditional PROCESS path analysis was used to assess the relation of hardiness to burnout in a representative sample of U.S. workers, with sex and age as potential moderators. RESULTS: Hardiness is associated with reduced burnout symptoms. Sex did not moderate this relation. A moderating effect for age was observed, with more burnout appearing in younger, less hardy workers. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest hardiness operates similarly for men and women as a buffer against burnout, and that older workers are less vulnerable to burnout. Training programs to increase stress appraisals and coping skills used by more experienced, hardy workers may be beneficial in reducing burnout.

Hardiness moderates the effects of COVID-19 stress on anxiety and depression.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to sharp increases in mental health problems around the world, most notably in anxiety and depression. The present study examines hardiness and age as potential protective factors against the mental health effects of COVID-related stress. A sample of Canadians balanced across age and gender, completed an online survey including measures of COVID related stressors, hardiness, depression, and anxiety, along with age, gender, and other demographics. Conditional PROCESS analysis showed that COVID stressors led to significant increases in anxiety and depression. Hardiness moderated these relations, with those high in hardiness showing less anxiety and depression. Age was negatively related to anxiety and depression, with highest levels observed among the younger respondents. At the same time, a moderating effect of age was found with respect to depression, with older people showing sharper increases in depression as COVID-related stress goes up. Gender was not a significant factor in any of these relations, meaning that the results apply equally well to both women and men. This study provides evidence that younger people who are also low in hardiness are most vulnerable to developing anxiety and depression while under COVID stress, and so would likely benefit from preventive intervention strategies. While anxiety and depression symptoms are highest among the young, older age groups appear more vulnerable to increasing rates of depression symptoms related to COVID stress. Clinicians and practitioners should thus be especially vigilant for COVID related increases in depression among older people, and those low in psychological hardiness.