Emotional exhaustion among the South Korean workforce before and after COVID-19

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea in January 2020, many South Korean employees have been experiencing work stressors, threats of job insecurity, and feelings of isolation, which together lead to emotional exhaustion. The present study aimed to compare the emotional exhaustion of South Korean employees before and after the pandemic, as well as to examine how the demographic characteristics of employees affected their emotional exhaustion. We administered surveys to 276 employees before the COVID-19 pandemic (from July to October 2019) and 301 employees after its onset (from March to April 2020). A series oft-tests demonstrated that both employee samples were similar demographically. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that even when controlling for baseline emotions, the employees assessed after the COVID-19 experienced significantly higher emotional exhaustion than those assessed before. Furthermore, in reaction to COVID-19, female employees felt more emotionally exhausted than their male counterparts. Finally, after the COVID-19 pandemic, younger and short-tenured employees reported higher emotional exhaustion than older and more experienced employees. These findings provide insight into managing the mental health of employees during the COVID-19 crisis. Practitioner points The emotional exhaustion of the South Korean workforce increased after the COVID-19 pandemic. After the pandemic, female employees experienced a higher level of emotional exhaustion than their male counterparts. After the pandemic, younger and short-tenured employees experienced a higher level of emotional exhaustion than older and long-tenured employees.