Occupational stress among Generation-Y employees in the era of COVID-19: cases from universities in India

Abstract

Purpose Several organizations decided to work remotely after the Indian Government proclaimed a state of emergency on March 24, 2020, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Employees across all industries, particularly the Generation-Y, were stressed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The purpose of this study is to fills that gap by looking at the effects of occupational stress factors (such as coworker support, work–life balance [WLB] and role expectation conflict) on Generation-Y employees in the educational sector during COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach The causes and consequences of the three occupational stresses listed above were investigated. In total, 231 surveys from workers at private and public educational institutions in India were analyzed using partial least square-structural equation modeling analysis. Findings The results revealed that support from coworkers greatly reduced job stress, the WLB had a positive impact on the work and personal lives, and the lack of role specification in Generation-Y employees had a negative impact on their job performance. Originality/value This study has considered the occupational stress variables among Generation-Y in the era of COVID-19, which need attention to improve the performance of the academic sector.