Economic stress, emotional contagion and safety outcomes: a cross-country study

BACKGROUND: Economic instability produced by financial crises can increase employment-related (i.e., job insecurity) and income-related (i.e., financial stress) economic stress. While the detrimental impact of job insecurity on safety outcomes has been extensively investigated, no study has examined the concurrent role of financial stress let alone their emotion-related predictors. OBJECTIVE: The present cross-country research sought to identify the simultaneous effects of affective job insecurity and financial stress in predicting employee safety injuries and accidents under-reporting, and to examine the extent to which emotional contagion of positive/negative emotions at work contribute to the level of experienced economic stress. METHODS: We performed multi-group measurement and structural invariance analyses. RESULTS: Data from employees in the U.S. (N= 498) and Italy (N= 366) suggest that financial stress is the primary mediator between emotional contagion and poor safety outcomes. Moreover, greater anger-contagion predicted higher levels of financial strain and job insecurity whereas greater joy-contagion predicted reduced economic stress. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the relevance of considering the concurrent role of income- and employment-related stressors as predictors of safety-related outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications for safety are discussed in light of the globally increasing emotional pressure and concerns of income- and employment-related economic stress in today’s workplace, particularly given the recent pandemic spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).