EMPLOYEES’ PERFORMANCE, WORK ORGANIZATION CONDITIONS AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE ERA OF CRISIS: THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL EXHAUSTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Abstract

Job performance during a period of crisis as intense as COVID-19 can be challenging for employees. Besides the risk that this pandemic represented for their physical health and their life, they were also at high risk of emotional exhaustion, which can jeopardize their performance. We examine the direct and indirect effects of work organization conditions and human resource management practices on emotional exhaustion and job performance during COVID-19. We also analyze the moderating and the moderated mediation effects of organizational communication. Data were collected during COVID-19 in Canada within 13 companies from a sample of 146 employees. The results revealed that workload was associated with a higher level of emotional exhaustion. Organizational communication was associated with a lower level of emotional exhaustion. Organizational support was associated with a higher level of job performance. Organizational communication moderated the relationship between job insecurity and emotional exhaustion.