Author(s)

Pan Yifei ¹, Feng Yilinna ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ UCSI University, Jalan Puncak Menara Gading, Taman Connaught, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Corresponding Author

Pan Yifei

ABSTRACT

With the destructive COVID-19 issues in China, the problem of job satisfaction has influenced more and more people, especially fresh graduates. Although existing research has discovered the association between job satisfaction and psychological distress, this study made contributions to the knowledge base and future researchers by investigating the mediation effect of coping on the above relationship. Fresh Graduates (N=384) completed questionnaires namely the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form, the 4-item Brief Resilient Coping Scale, and The 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Results showed there is a negative relationship between job satisfaction and psychological distress, and coping would partially mediate the above relationship. It was seen that job satisfaction is related with higher coping, while individuals with lower coping are more likely to experience higher levels of psychological distress, which may have a negative impact on their mental health and well-being. This study provides knowledge implications for society, policymakers, employers, and universities to be aware of the significance of fostering job satisfaction and promoting healthy coping strategies in order to improve the well-being of fresh graduates entering the workforce during difficult periods.

KEYWORDS

Job satisfaction, psychological distress, coping, fresh graduate

CITE THIS PAPER

Pan Yifei, Feng Yilinna, Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Psychological Distress among Fresh Graduates during COVID-19 Pandemic in Zhejiang, China: The Mediating Role of Coping. Advances in Educational Technology and Psychology (2023) Vol. 7: 119-129. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/aetp.2023.070520.

REFERENCES

[1] Aazami, S., Shamsuddin, K., Akmal, S., & Azami, G. (2015). The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Psychological/Physical Health among Malaysian Working Women. The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences: MJMS, 22(4), 40–46. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4683848/
[2] Akbar, Z., & Aisyawati, M. S. (2021). Coping Strategy, Social Support, and Psychological Distress among University Students in Jakarta, Indonesia during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.694122
[3] Aliakbari, A. (2015). The impact of job satisfaction on teachers’ mental health: A case study of the teachers of Iranian Mazandaran province. World Scientific News, 12(12), 1–11. www.worldscientificnews.com
[4] Arvidsdotter, T., Marklund, B., Kylén, S., Taft, C., & Ekman, I. (2015). Understanding persons with psychological distress in primary health care. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 30(4), 687–694. https: // doi. org/ 10. 1111/ scs. 12289
[5] Atif, K., Teimori Boghsani, G., Javed, A., & Javed, S. (2018). Does lack of job satisfaction intensify psychological distress among clinicians, and vice versa? Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 15(5). https: // doi. org/ 10. 29333/ ejgm/92619
[6] Atkinson, S. R. (2020). Elevated psychological distress in undergraduate and graduate entry students entering first year medical school. PLOS ONE, 15(8), e0237008. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237008
[7] Batty, G. D., Russ, T. C., Stamatakis, E., & Kivimäki, M. (2014). Psychological distress and risk of peripheral vascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and heart failure: Pooling of sixteen cohort studies. Atherosclerosis, 236(2), 385–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2014.06.025
[8] Batty, G. D., Russ, T. C., Stamatakis, E., & Kivimäki, M. (2017). Psychological distress in relation to site specific cancer mortality: pooling of unpublished data from 16 prospective cohort studies. BMJ, j108. https: // doi. org/ 10. 1136/ bmj.j108
[9] Berjot, S., & Gillet, N. (2011). Stress and Coping with Discrimination and Stigmatization. Frontiers in Psychology, 2(33). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00033
[10] Boswell, C. A. (1992). Work Stress and Job Satisfaction for the Community Health Nurse. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 9(4), 221–227. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327655jchn0904_3
[11] Boudreaux, E., Mandry, C., & Brantley, P. J. (1997). Stress, job satisfaction, coping, and psychological distress among emergency medical technicians. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 12(4), 242–249. https: // pubmed. ncbi. nlm. nih.gov/10179201/
[12] Buitendach, J. H., & Moola, M. A. (2011). Coping, Occupational Wellbeing and Job Satisfaction of Nurses. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 21(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2011.10820428
[13] Bukhari, S. R., & Ejaz, T. (2020). Relationship between Psychological Distress, Coping Strategies and Adjustment to University Life among University Freshmen. Pakistan Journal of Medical Research, 59(2), 66–69. https:// pjmr. org.pk/index.php/pjmr/article/view/113/31
[14] Gee, G. C., & Takeuchi, D. (2008). Relationship between Job Dissatisfaction and Physical and Psychological Health among Filipino Immigrants. AAOHN Journal, 56(1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.3928/08910162-20080101-01
[15] Do, A. (2016). Understanding Psychological Distress, Job Satisfaction and Academic Performance in College Students. Reflections: A Journal of Exploratory Research and Analysis, 43–47. https: // www. csustan. edu/ sites/ default/ files/groups/University%20Honors%20Program/Journals/amelia_do.pdf
[16] Drapeau, A., Marchand, A., & Beaulieu-Prevost, D. (2012). Epidemiology of Psychological Distress. Mental Illnesses - Understanding, Prediction and Control, 69(2), 105–106. https://doi.org/10.5772/30872
[17] Faragher, E. B., Cass, M., & Cooper, C. L. (2013). The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Health: A Meta-Analysis. From Stress to Wellbeing Volume 1, 254–271. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137310651_12
[18] Feng, D., Su, S., Wang, L., & Liu, F. (2018). The protective role of self-esteem, perceived social support and job satisfaction against psychological distress among Chinese nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 26(4), 366–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12523
[19] Guveli, H., Anuk, D., Oflaz, S., Guveli, M. E., Yildirim, N. K., Ozkan, M., & Ozkan, S. (2015). Oncology staff: burnout, job satisfaction and coping with stress. Psycho-Oncology, 24(8), 926–931. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.3743
[20] Haftgoli, N., Favrat, B., Verdon, F., Vaucher, P., Bischoff, T., Burnand, B., & Herzig, L. (2010). Patients presenting with somatic complaints in general practice: depression, anxiety and somatoform disorders are frequent and associated with psychosocial stressors. BMC Family Practice, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-11-67
[21] Hayes, A. (2013). Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis A Regression-Based Approach Second Edition. https://toc.library.ethz.ch/objects/pdf_ead50/5/E50_011157609_TB-Inhalt _ 006419631. pdf
[22] Ibikunle, M. A., Afolabi, R. F., & Bello, S. (2021). Job Satisfaction and Psychological Distress among Teachers in Selected Schools in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria in 2021: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Occupational Health and Epidemiology, 10(4), 266–273. https://doi.org/10.52547/johe.10.4.266
[23] Ismail, M., Lee, K. Y., Sutrisno Tanjung, A., Ahmad Jelani, I. A., Abdul Latiff, R., Abdul Razak, H., & Ahmad Shauki, N. I. (2020). The prevalence of psychological distress and its association with coping strategies among medical interns in Malaysia: A national‐level cross‐sectional study. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 13(2). https: // doi. org/ 10. 1111/ appy. 12417
[24] Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., Normand, S.-L. .T., Walters, E. E., & Zaslavsky, A. M. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32(6), 959–976. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291702006074
[25] Khan, M. M. R. (2020). Covid-19’s impact on Fresh Graduate’s Job Market in Bangladesh: An observational study. Journal of Business and Management Studies, 2(1), 40–48. https://www.al-kindipublisher.com/ index. php/ jbms/ article/ view/432/420
[26] Kurt, N., & Demirbolat, A. O. (2019). Investigation of the Relationship between Psychological Capital Perception, Psychological Well-Being and Job Satisfaction of Teachers. Journal of Education and Learning, 8(1), 87–99. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1202031
[27] Lathabhavan, R., & Sudevan, S. (2022). The Impacts of Psychological Distress on Life Satisfaction and Wellbeing of the Indian General Population during the First and Second Waves of COVID-19: A Comparative Study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00735-4
[28] Lazarus, R. S., & Lazarus, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. In Google Books. Springer Publishing Company.https://books.google.com/books?hl=zh-CN&lr=&id=i-ySQQuUpr8C&oi = fnd&pg = PR5&ots = DgHUkohjNd&sig =gvNYCEhyib2zJ7iR6YCUEo4mcMc#v=onepage&q&f=false
[29] Lazzarino, A. I., Hamer, M., Stamatakis, E., & Steptoe, A. (2013). Low Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Distress as Synergistic Predictors of Mortality from Stroke and Coronary Heart Disease. Psychosomatic Medicine, 75(3), 311–316. https://doi.org/10.1097/psy.0b013e3182898e6d
[30] Leung, T., Siu, O., & Spector, P. E. (2000). Faculty Stressors, Job Satisfaction, and Psychological Distress among University Teachers in Hong Kong: The Role of Locus of Control. International Journal of Stress Management, 7(2), 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1009584202196
[31] Mclean, J., Strongman, K., & Neha, T. (2007). Psychological Distress, Causal Attributions, and Coping. • 85 • New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 36(2). https://www.psychology.org.nz/journal-archive/NZJP36-2_ Mclean Strongman Neha85. pdf
[32] Melnyk, B. M., Hrabe, D. P., & Szalacha, L. A. (2013). Relationships among Work Stress, Job Satisfaction, Mental Health, and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in New Graduate Nurses Attending the Nurse Athlete Program. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 37(4), 278–285. https://doi.org/10.1097/naq.0b013e3182a2f963
[33] Mohammed, Z., Nandwani, D., Saboo, A., & Padakannaya, P. (2022). Job satisfaction while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: do subjective work autonomy, work-family conflict, and anxiety related to the pandemic matter? Cogent Psychology, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2022.2087278
[34] Morris, N., Moghaddam, N., Tickle, A., & Biswas, S. (2017). The relationship between coping style and psychological distress in people with head and neck cancer: A systematic review. Psycho-Oncology, 27(3), 734–747. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4509
[35] Nadinloyi, K. B., Sadeghi, H., & Hajloo, N. (2013). Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Employees Mental Health. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 84(84), 293–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.554
[36] Nieuwoudt, J. (2021). Psychological distress among students in enabling education: An exploratory study. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 61(1), 6–25. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1299489.pdf
[37] Parmar, N., Kasundra, V., & Vaghasiya, A. (2021). The Detrimental Effect of Depression, Anxiety & Stress on Under-Graduates, Post-Graduates, and Freshly Graduates Students and Their Psychological Distress Triggered by COVID-19 Crisis. International Journal of Research and Review, 8(4), 37–46. https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20210407
[38] Pepe, A., Addimando, L., Dagdukee, J., & Veronese, G. (2019). Psychological distress, job satisfaction, and work engagement among Palestinian teachers: a cross-sectional study. The Lancet, 393(393), S40. https: // doi. org/ 10. 1016/s0140-6736(19)30626-9
[39] Qiu, D., Li, R., Li, Y., He, J., Ouyang, F., Luo, D., & Xiao, S. (2021). Job Dissatisfaction Mediated the Associations Between Work Stress and Mental Health Problems. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12(12). https: // doi. org/ 10. 3389/ fpsyt. 2021. 711263
[40] Roth, S., & Cohen, L. J. (1986). Approach, avoidance, and coping with stress. American Psychologist, 41(7), 813–819. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.41.7.813
[41] Russ, T. C., Stamatakis, E., Hamer, M., Starr, J. M., Kivimaki, M., & Batty, G. D. (2012). Association between psychological distress and mortality: individual participant pooled analysis of 10 prospective cohort studies. BMJ, 345(jul31 4), e4933–e4933. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e4933
[42] Sapkota, A., Poudel, U. K., Pokharel, J., Ghimire, P., Sedhain, A., Bhattarai, G. R., Thapa, B., & K.C, T. (2019). Factors associated with job satisfaction among graduate nursing faculties in Nepal. BMC Nursing, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-019-0379-2
[43] Shahruddin, S. A., Saseedaran, P., Dato Salleh, A., Azmi, C. A. A., Alfaisal, N. H. I. M., Fuad, M. D., Al-Zurfi, B. M. N., & Abdullah, M. R. (2016). Prevalence and Risk Factors of Stress, Anxiety and Depression among House Officers in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Education in Medicine Journal, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.5959/eimj.v8i1.398
[44] Shimizu, T., & Nagata, S. (2003). Relationship between coping skills and job satisfaction among Japanese full-time occupational physicians. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 8(4), 118–123. https: // doi. org/ 10. 1007/bf02897915
[45] Simard, A. A. P., Seidler, Z. E., Oliffe, J. L., Rice, S. M., Kealy, D., Walther, A., & Ogrodniczuk, J. S. (2022). Job Satisfaction and Psychological Distress among Help-Seeking Men: Does Meaning in Life Play a Role? Behavioral Sciences, 12(3), 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs12030058
[46] Sinclair, V. G., & Wallston, K. A. (2004). The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Assessment, 11(1), 94–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191103258144
[47] Suls, J., & Fletcher, B. (1985). The relative efficacy of avoidant and nonavoidant coping strategies: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 4(3), 249–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.4.3.249
[48] Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High Self-Control Predicts Good Adjustment, Less Pathology, Better Grades, and Interpersonal Success. Journal of Personality, 72(2), 271–324. https: // doi. org/ 10. 1111/ j.0022-3506.2004.00263.x
[49] Viertiö, S., Kiviruusu, O., Piirtola, M., Kaprio, J., Korhonen, T., Marttunen, M., & Suvisaari, J. (2021). Factors contributing to psychological distress in the working population, with a special reference to gender difference. BMC Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10560-y
[50] Weiss, D. J., Dawis, R. V., England, G. W., & Lofquist, L. H. (1967). Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire--Short Form. PsycTESTS Dataset. https://doi.org/10.1037/t08880-000
[51] Weziak-Bialowolska, D., Bialowolski, P., Sacco, P. L., VanderWeele, T. J., & McNeely, E. (2020). Well-Being in Life and Well-Being at Work: Which Comes First? Evidence from a Longitudinal Study. Frontiers in Public Health, 8(103). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00103
[52] Windle, G., Bennett, K. M., & Noyes, J. (2011). A methodological review of resilience measurement scales. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 9(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-9-8
[53] Zautra, A. J., & Wrabetz, A. B. (1991). Coping success and its relationship to psychological distress for older adults. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(5), 801–810. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.61.5.801

Sponsors, Associates, and Links

---

• Curriculum and Teaching Methodology
  
  
• Transactions on Comparative Education
  
  
• Applied & Educational Psychology
  
  
• Advances in Vocational and Technical Education
  
  
• Adult and Higher Education