The impact of public health emergency perception on psychological crisis in the Chinese context: the role of social support and psychological targeting

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many barriers in workplaces, including employees’ psychological crises. This study explores how employees respond to public health emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a survey of employees working in different sectors in China during the pandemic, we examined the relationship between public health emergency perception and psychological crisis. Multi-level regressions as well as mediation and moderation tests were used to test the hypotheses. The findings indicate that public health emergency perception reduces psychological crisis, and social support mediates the relationship between public health emergency perception and psychological crisis. Not only that, but psychological targeting moderates the relationship between public health emergency perception and psychological crisis, in such a way that the negative effect between public health perception and psychological crisis is attenuated when psychological targeting is at a higher level. The research provides unique theoretical implications for the emergency management of public health emergencies and has important practical implications for the orderly restoration of work order and the protection of employee health after the COVID-19 pandemic.