Background: The COVID-19 crisis has changed the conditions of many all over the globe. One negative consequence of the ongoing pandemic is anxiety brought about by uncertainty and the COVID-19 disease. Increased anxiety is a potential risk factor for wellbeing at work. This study investigated psychological, situational, and socio-demographic predictors of COVID-19 anxiety using longitudinal data. Methods: A nationally representative sample of Finnish workers (N = 1308) was collected before and during the COVID-19 crisis. Eighty percent of the participants responded to the follow-up study (N = 1044). COVID-19 anxiety was measured with a modified Spielberger State–Trait Anxiety Inventory. Psychological and situational predictors included perceived loneliness, psychological distress, technostress, personality, social support received from the work community, and remote working. A number of socio-demographic factors were also investigated. Results: Perceived loneliness, psychological distress, technostress, and neuroticism were identified as robust psychological predictors of COVID-19 anxiety. Increase in psychological distress and technostress during the COVID-19 crisis predicted higher COVID-19 anxiety. A recent change in their field of work and decreased social support from work communities predicted COVID-19 anxiety. Women and young people experienced higher anxiety. Conclusions: Different factors explain workers’ COVID-19 anxiety. Increased anxiety can disrupt wellbeing at work, emphasizing the organizations’ role in maintaining an inclusive and caring work culture and providing technical and psychological support to workers during crisis.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being and mental health are a concern worldwide. This article is based on two longitudinal studies that investigated the role of social media use in loneliness and psychological distress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study 1 utilized nationally representative 3-point longitudinal data (n = 735) collected in 2017–2020 on the Finnish population. Study 2 utilized 5-point longitudinal data (n = 840) collected in 2019–2021 representing the Finnish working population. We analyzed the data using multilevel mixed-effects regression analysis. A longitudinal analysis of Study 1 showed that perceived loneliness did not increase among the Finnish population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stronger involvement in social media identity bubbles predicted lower loneliness during the pandemic. Study 2 results showed that since the outbreak of the pandemic, psychological distress has increased among lonely individuals but not among the general working population. Involvement in social media identity bubbles predicted generally lower psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it did not buffer against higher psychological distress among lonely individuals. The findings suggest that perceived loneliness is a risk factor for prolonged negative mental health effects of the pandemic. Social media identity bubbles can offer meaningful social resources during times of social distancing but cannot protect against higher psychological distress among those who perceive themselves as often lonely.

Social media enables information sharing and social interaction within organization. This research aims to analyze how both work- and nonwork-related communication with colleagues and the work community on social media is associated with work engagement among Finnish professionals. A total of five Finnish professional organizations (N = 563) and a representative sample of the Finnish working population (N = 1817) contributed to the survey data, which was analyzed with structural equation modeling. We found a direct positive association between work-related communication and work engagement among Finnish working population, and a positive indirect associations between both work- and nonwork-related communication and work engagement via organizational identification and social support. Findings suggest that communication in social media supports work engagement via organizational identification and social support. Organizations should pay more attention to social media communication practices and provide opportunities to build organizational identification and receive social support in social media.

Hostile online communication is a global concern. Academic research and teaching staff are among those professionals who routinely give public comments and are thus vulnerable to online attacks. This social psychological and criminological study investigated online harassment victimization among university researchers and teachers. Survey participants (N = 2,492) were university research and teaching staff members from five major universities in Finland. Victimization was assessed with a 20-item inventory. The study included a wide range of both background and general measures on well-being at work. Participants also took part in an online experiment involving a death threat targeting a colleague. Results showed that 30% of the participants reported being victims of online harassment during the prior 6 months. Victims were more often senior staff members, minority group members, and from the social sciences and humanities. Those active in traditional or social media were much more likely to be targeted. Victims reported higher psychological distress, lower generalized trust, and lower perceived social support at work than non-victims. Individuals who were targeted by a colleague from their work community reported higher post-traumatic stress disorder scores and a higher impact of perceived online harassment on their work compared to other victims. In the experimental part of the study, participants reported more anxiety when a close colleague received a death threat. Participants also recommended more countermeasures to a close colleague than to an unknown person from the same research field. Results indicate that online harassment compromises well-being at work in academia. There is an urgent need to find ways of preventing online harassment, both in workplaces and in society at large.

Working life has digitalized considerably in recent decades and organizations have taken into use new forms of collaborative technologies such as social media platforms. This study examined the relationship between social media use at work and well-being at work for millennials and members of former generations in Finland. The research data contained focus group interviews (N = 52), an expert organization survey (N = 563), and a nationally representative survey (N = 1817). Well-being measures included technostress, burnout, psychological distress, and a set of background variables. Content analysis and linear regression models were used as analysis methods. The results showed that millennials have various intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for social media use at work. Intrinsic motivations included employees’ personal choice and their pure interest to follow the market and discussions in their own field. Extrinsic motivations were related mainly to organizations’ work culture and personal branding. The survey findings revealed, however, that millennials were not only more active social media users for work, but they also experienced higher technostress and burnout than members of former generations. Social media use motivations were associated with both higher and lower technostress and burnout depending on motivation, indicating that social media use can have both positive and negative effects. Overall, our findings suggest that employees tend to utilize social media more if their needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are fulfilled.