Fear of COVID-19: stress and job satisfaction among Polish doctors during the pandemic

PURPOSE: The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused fear and anxiety around the world. Health care workers are particularly exposed to stress. Fear of COVID-19 and stress can negatively affect job satisfaction. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between fear of COVID-19, stress and job satisfaction among Polish doctors during the pandemic. METHODS: 97 doctors participated in the study. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FOC-6), and Job Satisfaction Scale (BJSS) were used. RESULTS: Fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress are related to job satisfaction. The stronger the perceived stress and the greater the fear, the lower the job satisfaction. Perceived stress and fear of COVID-19 as predictors of work satisfaction turned out to be statistically significant and explained 15.7% of job satisfaction variance. Fear of COVID-19 was a mediator between perceived stress and job satisfaction. It increases the negative impact of perceived stress on job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers experience severe stress and perceive SARS-CoV-2 as a significant threat to their health and safety, which affects their job satisfaction and can lead to burnout. Doctors should not only be protected from infection but should also be provided with psychological help and support, which could prevent the negative impact of COVID-19 on their professional functioning.