Journal of Applied Communication Research

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The role of organizational and supervisor support

in young adult workers’ resilience, efficacy and
burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic

Heewon Kim, L. D. Mattson, Dacheng Zhang & Hee Jung Cho

To cite this article: Heewon Kim, L. D. Mattson, Dacheng Zhang & Hee Jung Cho (2022) The
role of organizational and supervisor support in young adult workers’ resilience, efficacy and
burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, Journal of Applied Communication Research, 50:6,
691-710, DOI: 10.1080/00909882.2022.2141070

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2022.2141070

Published online: 06 Nov 2022.

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JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
2022, VOL. 50, NO. 6, 691–710
https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2022.2141070

The role of organizational and supervisor support in young

adult workers’ resilience, efficacy and burnout during the
COVID-19 pandemic
a
Heewon Kim , L. D. Mattsona, Dacheng Zhang a
and Hee Jung Chob
a
The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; bInstitute of
Social Sciences, Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

As workers continue to grapple with the ongoing changes and Received 11 January 2022
uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to examine Accepted 5 July 2022
how to foster young adult workers’ resilience and efficacy, which
KEYWORDS
may prevent their burnout in a sustained crisis. This study Resilience; efficacy;
investigates the effects of the perceived qualities of change perceived organizational
communication, organizational support, and supervisor support support; perceived
on young adult workers’ resilience and efficacy in South Korea, supervisor support; burnout
which may mitigate disengagement and exhaustion. Our findings
demonstrated that: (a) Supervisor support was positively
associated with resilience and efficacy among young adult
workers, whereas organizational support and communication did
not have such effects. (b) Although young professionals who
perceived themselves as efficacious were not necessarily able to
prevent burnout, those who conceived of themselves as resilient
were indeed less susceptible to burnout. Drawing on these
findings, we discuss theoretical implications and practical
recommendations for building a supportive work environment
during a crisis.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, both organizations and individuals
have been suffering from not only financial challenges but also operational and rela-
tional ones. The socioeconomic disruption has created unprecedented ripple effects
that still influence many aspects of our work life, such as job security, income
inequality, organizational change, as well as psychological and physical well-being
(Li et al., 2021). As workers continue to grapple with ongoing changes and uncertain-
ties, it is critical to examine how organizations and managers can support workers’
resilience and efficacy, which can ultimately prevent burnout during the pandemic.
Indeed, research has suggested that resilience and efficacy can lead to a number of
positive outcomes including affirming identities, fostering constructive changes, and
promoting health and work satisfaction (Buzzanell, 2018; Luthans & Youssef-
Morgan, 2017).
The communicative and supportive practices that organizations and supervisors use
during a crisis can foster resilience and efficacy among employees who need to cope

CONTACT Heewon Kim Heewon.Kim@asu.edu

© 2022 National Communication Association
692 H. KIM ET AL.

with heightened stress and health challenges. As employees encounter unanticipated

changes in their work life (e.g. sudden shift to virtual work, changes of team composition
due to layoffs, modifications of product portfolios to respond to market disruptions),
timely and supportive communication from management and supervisors is crucial
for employee coping. Despite the critical role of internal communication in resilience
after a disaster, many organizations often fail to respond effectively to pandemic-
related crises in a timely manner (Gulati & Wiedman, 2020). As we have been facing
various forms of crises in the aftermath of the COVID-19 breakout, the role of organiz-
ations’ response in crisis organizing and recovery needs more scholarly attention (Fuller
et al., 2022).
Highlighting the significance of effective communication and support from organiz-
ations and supervisors during a crisis, we aim to reveal a possible mechanism for prevent-
ing young adult workers’ burnout during the pandemic. Young adult workers, who are
less experienced yet building professional careers, may be more sensitive to and affected
by the quality of relationships with their organization and supervisors particularly while
adapting to disruptive changes and uncertainties. In fact, attention from supervisors can
be important for young adult workers since they prefer to work with leaders who offer
coaching and caring (Valenti, 2019). Considering the unique contexts of the COVID-
19 pandemic and concomitant changes, we hope to find a way to better support young
professionals who have encountered unprecedented challenges in the early phases of
their careers.
Specifically, we examine the quality of change communication from management
(Kim & Scott, 2019), perceived organizational support (POS) (Eisenberger et al.,
1986), and perceived supervisor support (Eisenberger et al., 2002), all of which may cul-
tivate resilience and efficacy in employees who suffer from heightened uncertainties and
emotional strain caused by the pandemic. Next, we look into whether resilience and
efficacy can reduce the key symptoms of burnout: disengagement and exhaustion
(Demerouti et al., 2001). To ascertain these relationships, we constructed our hypoth-
esized model based on a theoretical framework that proposes a mediating role of resilience
and efficacy (Luthans et al., 2008). Namely, individuals’ resilience and efficacy at work can
be enhanced or undermined by organizational climate, practice, and relational quality;
and in turn, resilience and efficacy can improve one’s physical and psychological
health, organizational behaviors, and wellbeing.
Echoing recent conceptual development in communication and organizational
behavior, we also regard both efficacy and resilience in organizational settings not as
fixed personality traits but as abilities that can be developed, learned, or even
damaged (Agarwal & Buzzanell, 2015; Luthans et al., 2008). First, since the construct
of efficacy was developed and tested in educational institutions such as schools
(Bandura, 1986), scholars across disciplines have applied this concept to the workplace.
For example, researchers proposed a concept of social media communication self-
efficacy at work to determine its impact on work-related social media communication
(Pekkala & van Zoonen, 2022). Focusing on work-related self-efficacy in general, Staj-
kovic and Luthans (1998) defined work-related efficacy as the individual’s conviction or
confidence about their abilities to mobilize the motivation, resources, and courses of
action needed to successfully execute a specific task within a given context. Although
work-related efficacy can be enhanced by numerous factors, scholars have suggested
 JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 693

that previous experiences of mastery, vicarious learning, rewards and recognition, and
positive feedback and support may enhance efficacy (Luthans et al., 2008). In the
current study, we consider the role of communication and support from management
and supervisors, rather than individual experiences of success or recognition, to be our
primary elements of inquiry.
Second, resilience broadly refers to the ability to bounce back or reintegrate after
difficult life experiences (Buzzanell, 2010). In organizational contexts, such difficulties
may encompass loss of members, disruption in structures, toxic workplace interactions,
or failed entrepreneurial ventures (Buzzanell, 2018). Work-related resilience has been
defined along this line: capacity to rebound or bounce back from adversity, uncertainty,
conflict, failure, or even increased responsibility at work (Luthans, 2002). Workers’ resi-
lience can be developed or sustained through various communicative processes, such as
crafting normalcy and maintaining communication networks (Buzzanell, 2010). Such
mechanisms may also include communal coping to reduce the negative effects of uncer-
tainty during crises (Afifi et al., 2012), collective problem-solving (Afifi et al., 2020), and
constructing identity through connecting to various network ties (Agarwal & Buzzanell,
2015). That said, for individuals embedded in organizations, the quality of relational
support (e.g. communication from management and supervisors) is critical to build resi-
lience. Indeed, resilience at work can be viewed as a collaborative process wherein
members demonstrate their ability to persist when provided with the support from
their organizational community members (Buzzanell, 2010). We also posit that
support and communication in the workplace would be crucial resources for developing
resilience particularly during a sustained pandemic.
The mediation model proposed by Luthans et al. (2008) was constructed based on the
theoretical assumption that efficacy and resilience are states, which can be malleable and
also validly measured at a certain point in time. For our quantitative approach, we adopt
this mediation model to empirically ascertain whether and to what extent workers’
efficacy and resilience can be supported by change communication, organizational
support, and supervisor support in the midst of crisis. In turn, we investigate the relation-
ships between the different degrees of efficacy and resilience and the symptoms of
burnout. Although the outcomes of efficacy and resilience at work have been reported
widely (e.g. performance), the antecedents of them have not been investigated much,
especially regarding organizational communication and support. As we believe that
change communication, organizational support, and supervisor support may play par-
ticularly salient roles in a context of disruptive changes, we included these as potential
antecedents in our theoretical model.
In aggregate, we aim to examine the effects of the quality of change communication
from management, organizational support, and supervisor support on young adult
workers’ work-related efficacy and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sub-
sequently, we also test the effects of work-related efficacy and resilience on the two
primary symptoms of burnout: disengagement and exhaustion. Although resilience
and efficacy may be interrelated, they are clearly distinct concepts that can be developed
through various mechanisms and can exert differential impacts on one’s coping behavior
and health in the midst of a change. Hence, we delve into the antecedents and outcomes
of efficacy and resilience, which may have distinct effects on burnout during the
pandemic.
694 H. KIM ET AL.

The effects of internal communication and support on resilience and

efficacy
Navigating change in an organizational setting involves a communication effort. In
general, change communication has been viewed as a way of distributing information,
negotiating processes, and gaining control at different levels (Lewis, 2011). Emphasizing
the role of communication during change, scholars called for more attention to the
relationship between the quality of change communication and subsequent organizing
outcomes, which has received limited empirical attention (Lewis, 2011). With regard
to maneuvering around the inevitable changes induced by disasters such as the
COVID-19 pandemic, Fuller et al. (2022) argued that members’ perceptions of organiz-
ational change during a crisis have implications on their overall satisfaction with the
organization. Similarly, organizational members’ positive response to change communi-
cation contributes to a less stressful and more trustful working environment in times of
change (Nelissen & van Selm, 2008).
When employees have a positive relationship with their organization through open
and trustworthy communication, the organization is more capable of enhancing resili-
ence at work (Kim & Leach, 2021). Rather than an intervention-based approach (see
Vanhove et al., 2016), these supportive communication climates are constructed over
time. As such, internal communication may serve as proactive resilience building (e.g.
Kuntz et al., 2016; Tonkin et al., 2018). In terms of efficacy, its relationship with internal
management communication has received scant empirical attention. However, scholars
have demonstrated that perceived clarity of communication during a large-scale organ-
izational change (e.g. a merger) can enhance employees’ self-efficacy, which in turn helps
them better cope with the change (Amiot et al., 2006). These positive outcomes may be
attributed to uncertainty reduction during a crisis because uncertainty is one of the most
pronounced issues during such circumstances. As uncertainty can occasion stress, nega-
tive emotions, and hampered performance, strategic organizational communication
addressing various uncertainties during change is crucial (Bordia et al., 2003; Sellnow
& Seeger, 2013). The uncertainties and threats caused by a crisis often require immediate
responses toward multiple stakeholders to effectively mitigate or address threats and
harm (Seeger & Mitra, 2019). Extending this scholarship, we propose that the perceived
quality of change communication from management may foster young adult employees’
resilience and efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
H1: The perceived quality of change communication is positively associated with young
adult workers’ resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

H2: The perceived quality of change communication is positively associated with young
adult workers’ efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Next, it is also important for young adult workers to receive appropriate support from
their organization and supervisor during a crisis. POS indicates employees’ evaluation of
the amount of support offered by their organization (Eisenberger et al., 1986). POS has
been regarded as a useful construct to assess the quality of employee-organization
relationships, employees’ job satisfaction, and their overall wellbeing (Kurtessis et al.,
2017). Although POS has not been studied much in the context of a natural hazard or
disaster, we posit that POS is positively linked to young adult workers’ resilience and
 JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 695

efficacy during a pandemic where employees encounter multifaceted challenges that

interrupt their sense of normalcy.
Prior research has reported that supportive work environments can generally promote
employee resilience and efficacy (Luthans et al., 2008). For example, a study of Chinese
officers revealed that POS was positively associated with their resilience, which in turn
helped them combat depressive symptoms (Liu et al., 2013). Conceptualizing supportive
communication as messages of value, Brown and Roloff (2015) showed a positive
relationship between POS and resilience that enabled workers to cope with stressors.
Indeed, organizational endeavor for social support exchange is a key strategy to
enhance employee resilience, as social support may augment available resources at
work while complementing a lack of resources (Bardoel et al., 2014). Further, the positive
impact of resilience on decreasing fatigue among Chinese nurses became stronger when
employees were embedded in a higher POS work environment (Liu et al., 2020). POS can
also promote workers’ self-efficacy through various mechanisms. Employees with higher
POS were likely to feel more confident in executing job-related tasks and helping other
members achieve organizational goals (Kurtessis et al., 2017). Similarly, a supportive
organizational environment can help employees attempt to pursue a higher level of per-
formance and self-efficacy even during stressful times (Rockow et al., 2016). In aggregate,
POS may offer a foundation to build an organizational climate to increase resilience and
efficacy. Thus, we hypothesize:
H3: Perceived organizational support is positively associated with young adult workers’ resi-
lience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

H4: Perceived organizational support is positively associated with young adult workers’
efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PSS is another significant factor that affects employees’ resilience and efficacy. PSS has
been defined as an employee’s assessment of the extent to which their supervisors value,
acknowledge, and encourage their work and wellbeing (Eisenberger et al., 2002). Com-
munication scholars have suggested that employees’ perceptions and evaluations of
supervisor support reflect their interactions over time (Haas, 2020). Particularly for
young adults who are young adult workers advancing their knowledge and skills,
direct supervisors’ mentoring and support could make a substantive difference in their
work experiences, certainly during an unprecedented pandemic. For instance, Gist-
Mackey and Guy (2019) delineated how a supervisor’s material support helped
workers quickly bounce back from the unexpected challenge of homelessness and ulti-
mately return to work with great appreciation. A recent study also reported that respect-
ful treatment from supervisors enhanced young adult workers’ occupational resilience
(LaGree et al., 2021). Wright et al. (2022) also suggested social support that aims to
address work-life imbalance can reduce depression and stress.
Likewise, PSS augments workers’ confidence in their ability to weather stringent situ-
ations and maintain efficacy (Rathi & Lee, 2017). Supportive supervisors at work can
nourish reciprocal relationships whereby employees increase their motivation and
belief in the successful execution of work-related tasks (Dysvik & Kuvass, 2012; Haas,
2020). In comparison to POS, it is likely that PSS is more strongly associated with
employees’ wellbeing and makes a direct impact on their everyday work life (Rathi &
696 H. KIM ET AL.

Lee, 2017). Since PSS involves interpersonal and day-to-day assistance that can manifest
in numerous ways, it may fulfill workers’ immediate psychosocial and instrumental needs
that are not always satisfied with organizational-level support. Thus, we present the
following:
H5: Perceived supervisor support is positively associated with young adult workers’ resili-
ence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

H6: Perceived supervisor support is positively associated with young adult workers’ efficacy
during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effects of resilience and efficacy on burnout

Employee burnout has been an even more salient organizational concern since the COVID-
19 outbreak. Burnout has been theorized as a multidimensional construct that can encom-
pass a range of symptoms. Its two primary dimensions consist of disengagement (i.e. dis-
tanciation from one’s work, tasks, or job) and exhaustion (i.e. a consequence of
prolonged exposure to intensive physical, affective, and cognitive strain) (Demerouti
et al., 2003). In general, scholars have reported that high resilience was linked to decreased
burnout among healthcare professionals (Koh et al., 2020; McCain et al., 2018), although
the implementation of resilience intervention programs could fail to actually prevent
burnout (Conners et al., 2020). For disaster-relief workers, the discursive resilience pro-
cesses of overcoming physical and emotional challenges helped workers cope with
burnout (Agarwal & Buzzanell, 2015). In some cases, resilience was negatively linked to
both disengagement and exhaustion at work (Rastogi et al., 2018). Other studies have docu-
mented that resilience was specifically related to exhaustion (Klinoff et al., 2018), suggesting
that the subdimensions of burnout reflect interrelated but discrete symptoms. Drawing on
these findings, we test the relationships between resilience and the two aspects of burnout:
H7: Young adult workers’ resilience is negatively associated with disengagement during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

H8: Young adult workers’ resilience is negatively associated with exhaustion during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

Along these lines, self-efficacy may ameliorate burnout during the pandemic. High
self-efficacy was associated with improved general health and decreased burnout
among healthcare workers (Amiri et al., 2019). Also, patients with higher communication
self-efficacy experienced better mental health outcomes (Capone, 2016). A study con-
ducted in Norway reported that workers’ efficacy was negatively related to burnout
including disengagement and exhaustion (Høigaard et al., 2012). Contrary to resilience,
the influences of perceived self-efficacy at work on burnout have not been investigated
much in light of crises or disasters. Building on prior work, we test the following hypoth-
eses to see whether efficacy still mitigates burnout during the pandemic (Figure 1).
H9: Young adult workers’ efficacy is negatively associated with disengagement at work
during the COVID-19 pandemic.

H10: Young adult workers’ efficacy is negatively associated with exhaustion at work during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
 JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 697

Figure 1. The hypothesized model.

Method
Data collection
To conduct our study, we examined the case of young adult workers in South Korea.
South Korea served as a critical and ideal research context for our study due to the strik-
ing precarity and economic hardship among young adults since the pandemic, despite
the country’s relatively successful COVID-19 prevention at the time of data collection.
In South Korea, there is a specific linguistic term and category, chungnyun (referring
to people in their twenties and thirties), which can only be translated into ‘young
adults’ since English does not have a comparable noun. Chungnyun (legally defined as
19–39 years old in South Korea) was economically hit the hardest by the sustained pan-
demic. They have been suffering from the highest unemployment rate in Korean history,
unjust labor conditions, and intense competition exacerbated by economic depression.
According to the Korean Government Statistics Bureau’s monthly report, Economically
Active Population Surveys, the number of economically inactive young adults reached
the highest record in 2020 (Statistics Korea, 2020). Further, the number of discouraged
workers (i.e. people who have the ability to work yet stop job-seeking with no specific
reasons) among young adults also set a new record in 2020 (Statistics Korea, 2020). As
young adults have been facing challenging work environments, lack of employment
opportunities, and increased uncertainties and insecurities, there is a pressing need to
examine organizational conditions, available support, and physical and mental wellbeing
among Korean young adult workers.
Upon IRB approval, a confidential online survey was launched among South Korean
young adult workers in the last week of July 2020. We employed a survey panel through a
research firm to collect data from a verified population group who had confirmed their
age and full-time employment status, according to our inclusion criteria. As we planned
to investigate management communication, organizational support, and supervisor
support, it was critical for us to validate participants’ employment status to cull out
other hiring types (e.g. gig workers, outsourced workers) where such communication
and support from organizations is unavailable by design. The research firm circulated
the survey to the selected panel and sent out reminders for completion. The survey
took approximately 15 min to complete. In total, 293 young adult professionals
698 H. KIM ET AL.

completed the survey over a period of two weeks. All participants were provided with
informed consent, which stated that participation was voluntary; only aggregated
group-level results would be reported; and responses were confidential. As participation
incentives, e-gift certificates worth approximately $20 were provided.

Measures
We carefully constructed the survey instructions and measurements to test our hypoth-
esized model. First, to mitigate the limitations of a cross-sectional study, we crafted the
prompts for each question to clearly indicate temporality. These instructions are
described below for each measure. Second, we used a 4-point Likert-type scale (1 =
strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree) to help respondents evaluate their work environ-
ments and experiences after the disruption rather than avoiding making judgements
(e.g. ‘neutral’, ‘I don’t know’). Further, the mediating variables in our study (i.e.
efficacy, resilience) that connect predictors and outcome variables were originally devel-
oped as even-numbered scales after numerous experiments, expert consultations, and
validity tests (Luthans et al., 2007). To maintain consistency and reduce survey fatigue,
we employed the same response categories across all primary variables. In general,
even-numbered scales are used to help respondents indicate their agreement or disagree-
ment instead of staying neutral (Croasmun & Ostrom, 2011).

Change communication from management

The perceived quality of change communication from management was assessed by
using an adapted version of the change communication scale (Bordia et al., 2003; Kim
& Scott, 2019). Participants were asked to reflect on recent changes in their organization
and concomitant management communication during the past three months. Given the
date of our survey distribution (July 2020), this prompter indicated a period of the past
three months almost immediately after the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea (March 2020).
Participants were then guided to rate the quality of change communication based on the
response options such as useful, positive, timely, accurate, and trustworthy (M = 2.58, SD
= .70, α = .94).

Perceived organizational support

We used five items from the Survey of POS (a short-form version), which has been widely
tested and validated (Eisenberger et al., 1986; Shanock & Eisenberger, 2006). Following
the recommendation, the items encompassed core facets of POS such as valuation of
employees’ contribution and care about employees’ wellbeing. Sample items included
‘My organization strongly considers my goals and values,’ ‘My organization really
cares about my wellbeing,’ and ‘My organization is willing to help me when I need a
special favor’ (M = 2.62, SD = .67, α = .91). The instruction specified the same three-
month period since March 2020.

Perceived supervisor support

As recommended by Eisenberger et al. (2002), we measured PSS with the same items
from the POS scale after replacing ‘my organization’ with ‘my supervisor’ (M = 2.74,
 JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 699

SD = .61, α = .88). The question prompt specified the three-month period since March
2020.

Work-related resilience
We adopted a scale of resilience, developed by Luthans et al. (2007), because (a) it was
specifically concerned with resilience in organizational contexts; (b) it aimed to
measure state-like variability, assuming that resilience is changing and developmental;
and (c) it had been widely tested and validated across different work environments.
Luthans et al. (2007) clearly acknowledged the challenges of assessing variability. To
tackle this issue, they carefully designed and tested each statement to indicate tempor-
ality. In addition, the prompt asks respondents to rate each statement based on their per-
ceptions ‘right now.’ We highlighted this temporality indicator in our survey using both
boldface and underline. Sample items included ‘I usually take stressful things at work in
stride’ and ‘I can get through difficult times at work because I’ve experienced difficulty
before’ (M = 2.87, SD = .47, α = .85).

Work-related efficacy
We also utilized a scale of efficacy in organizational contexts developed by Luthans et al.
(2007). Sample items included ‘I feel confident analyzing a long-term problem to find a
solution’ and ‘I feel confident in representing my work area in meetings with manage-
ment’ (M = 2.92, SD = .48, α = .85). We used the same prompt included in the resilience
measure above.

Burnout
The Oldenberg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) was adopted to measure the two dimensions
of burnout: disengagement and exhaustion (Demerouti et al., 2001). OLBI, one of the
most widely used measurements of burnout, has been extensively tested in non-
Western contexts including Asian and African countries. We used five items for disen-
gagement and exhaustion respectively. Sample items for disengagement included ‘Some-
times I feel sickened by my work tasks’ and ‘It happens more and more often that I talk
about my work in a negative way’ (M = 2.76, SD = .62, α = .87). Sample items for exhaus-
tion included ‘After my work, I usually feel worn out and weary’ and ‘During my work, I
often feel emotionally drained’ (M = 2.90, SD = .56, α = .85). We also specified in the
instructions that participants are required to rate all statements based on their feelings
at the current moment.

Control variables
This study included gender and age as control variables because prior scholarship has
reported that they are associated with the extent of burnout, although the effects of demo-
graphic variables may vary by context (e.g. older women who may have multiple care-
giver roles, younger men with less work experiences) (Marchand et al., 2018). Among
293 respondents, 163 were men while 130 were women. No participants identified them-
selves as non-binary. As we aimed to examine the experiences of young adult pro-
fessionals, we focused on the specific age group defined as young adults by the Korean
government. 115 participants fell into the age range of 19–29; 178 participants were in
the age range of 30–39 (M = 31.67, SD = 4.93).
700 H. KIM ET AL.

Participant demographics
With respect to education level, 35 participants completed or were enrolled in a graduate
program; 228 participants earned a bachelor’s degree or equivalent; and 30 participants
had a GED-equivalent certificate or some high-school education. Regarding job func-
tions, 12 participants identified themselves as factory workers; twenty-three participants
as field workers (e.g. field sales); and 258 participants as office workers. In terms of indus-
try tenure, approximately 76% were employed for less than 5 years (223 participants);
about 18% had worked for 5–10 years (53 participants); and 6% had worked for 10–15
years (17 participants). Lastly, 205 participants reported that they were never married
whereas 87 participants were currently married. One participant was divorced.

Data analysis
We performed preliminary analyses using bivariate correlations among all study vari-
ables (see Table 1). In turn, we conducted our primary analyses using structural
equation modeling (SEM) with maximum likelihood estimation procedures to ascertain
whether the hypothesized model fits the observed data. Consistent with the two-step
modeling procedures explicated by Kline (2015), a confirmatory factor analysis was per-
formed using a measurement model that included all variables prior to testing the
hypothesized model. To test our hypotheses, we then employed a hybrid structural
equation model that consisted of full measurement and structural parameters (Stephen-
son & Holbert, 2003).

Results
A confirmatory factor analysis of a six-factor measurement model demonstrated great
model fit: x 2 (384, N = 293) = 700.15, CFI = .94, RMSEA = .05 [90% CI: .047, .059], SRMR
= .05, p < .001. Therefore, the hypothesized model was tested using SEM with
maximum likelihood estimation procedures. The results also showed adequate model
fit: x 2 (437, N = 293) = 822.31, CFI = .93, RMSEA = .05 [90% CI: .049, .061], SRMR = .06, p
< .001. According to the final empirical model, perceived quality of change communi-
cation from management did not have significant relationships with young adult
workers’ resilience (H1) and efficacy (H2). Similarly, POS was not significantly associated
with resilience (H3) and efficacy (H4) of young adult workers. However, PSS had signifi-
cant effects on both resilience (H5) and efficacy (H6) among young adult workers. In
turn, the level of resilience was negatively associated with both disengagement (H7)

Table 1. Correlations among study variables.

1 2 3 4 5 6
1: Change communication
2: POS .57**
3: PSS .60** .56**
4: Resilience .28** .25** .38**
5: Efficacy .35** .30** .54** .49**
6: Disengagement −.34** −.38** −.40** −.39** −.29**
7: Exhaustion −.40** −.38** −.37** −.34** −.26** −.70**
** p < .01.
 JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 701

and exhaustion (H8), indicating its mitigating effect on burnout. The level of efficacy was
not related to disengagement (H9) and exhaustion (H10).
As resilience-mediated PSS and burnout (i.e. disengagement and exhaustion) in the
final model, we tested the indirect effects of resilience using the Model 4 in Process
4.0. Based on 10,000 bootstrapped samples, we computed indirect effects using bias-cor-
rected and accelerated confidence intervals for a 95% confidence level. The bootstrapping
procedures demonstrated significant indirect effects indicated in the hypothesized model
(see Table 2). Finally, age was positively associated with resilience and efficacy, which
means that the older age group (29–39 years) displayed higher levels of resilience and
efficacy during the pandemic than the younger age group (19–29 years). With respect
to gender, women were more likely to experience exhaustion than men during the pan-
demic. For standardized coefficients and effect sizes, see Figure 2.

Discussion
The COVID-19 pandemic is a prominent example of ecological changes (Weick, 1979) in
which both collectives and individuals continue to face ongoing challenges triggered by
unprecedented events and chain reactions. In such circumstances, organizational actors
are called to revisit their existing assumptions and build new understandings about their
situations, hence engaging in sensebreaking and sensemaking (Stephens et al., 2020). As
the current study was conducted only three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is
highly likely that our study participants were also struggling to make sense of disruptions
and uncertainties at the time of data collection. Likewise, their organizations might have
attempted to sensemake and adapt by undertaking various adjustments and change
implementations, which may have been unsuccessful, or to no avail. However, precisely
because we learned so much about these difficulties and equivocalities, studies of crisis
organizing offer much insights into how we can better support younger workers and
improve organizational practices during or after the pandemic.
The findings of our study reflect the complex, multi-pronged challenges that organiz-
ations and employees have encountered since the COVID-19 outbreak, which can be
viewed as a cascading disaster (Pescaroli & Kelman, 2017). The change-related com-
munication from management during the early phase of the pandemic was perceived
largely ineffective, particularly with respect to timeliness, accuracy, and trustworthiness.
Similarly, organizational support was rated less positively than supervisor support,
making no significant influences on employees’ resilience and efficacy. This may indicate
that most organizations did not maintain effective infrastructure and communication
practices that can sustain adaptability, which in fact may occasion ripple effects across
various aspects of organizational life and workers’ wellbeing. Given that resilience was
found to ameliorate burnout among young adult workers, it is critical for organizations

Table 2. Indirect effects of resilience.

95% CI
Paths b SE (Lower, Upper)
PSS → Resilience → Disengagement −.106 .032 −.175 −.050
PSS → Resilience → Exhaustion −.081 .027 −.140 −.035
Note: All indirect effects were statistically significant at p < .001.
702 H. KIM ET AL.

Figure 2. The final empirical model.

Note: Standard coefficients are reported. Although all associations between control variables and endogenous variables
were tested, only significant paths are indicated to improve readability. **p < .01, ***p < .001, +p < .10.

to develop structures, policies, and protocols for crisis responses rather than relying pri-
marily on supervisors’ individual efforts and accommodations. In the sections below, we
further discuss the implications of our key findings in three aspects.

Organizational support and supervisor support

In our study, young professionals who perceived that they received better support from
their supervisors reported higher levels of resilience and efficacy. However, organiz-
ational support and management communication did not have such significant effects.
Whereas organizations failed to offer adequate support and communication during the
early phase of the pandemic, direct supervisors were better equipped to provide the
necessary support to young professionals. When it is difficult to mobilize organizational
support swiftly due to heightened uncertainties, bureaucratic procedures, and scarce
information about external conditions, direct supervisor support can be especially ben-
eficial for employees’ instant/constant needs in relation to task guidance, survival strat-
egies, and emotional challenges. Supervisors can provide young adults with coping
strategies and access to available resources (e.g. ad hoc allocation of budget or tasks),
even when top administrators do not know how to manage crises in a timely manner
(Ulmer, 2012). Further, supervisors and leaders can provide narratives and conversations
that can transform the present moment and project the future through the talk of alterna-
tive courses of actions and goals (Jian, 2019). Supervisors’ communicative support has
the capacity to closely guide employees through urgency, complexity, and risks, ulti-
mately building up employees’ strengths and sense of stability (Gist-Mackey & Guy,
2019).
As several survey items of supervisor support suggest (e.g. showing concern, providing
care), employees’ perceptions and evaluations of supervisor support are indicative of
their ongoing interactions with supervisors. If supervisors indeed paid close attention
 JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 703

to employees’ needs and expressed concerns, their support could be perceived to be

helpful particularly in the midst of a crisis. In fact, a study conducted during the pan-
demic revealed that supervisors’ support communication made workers feel more
acknowledged and motivated, leading to a higher degree of trust (Men et al., 2022).
Building a strong sense of trust is integral to fostering resilience when an unanticipated
crisis takes place (Longstaff & Yang, 2008). Particularly for young adult workers who lack
work experiences and/or social networks, supervisor support plays a critical role in fulfill-
ing employees’ needs that traditional management practices may fail to satisfy (Rathi &
Lee, 2017).
Additionally, our findings also emphasize the critical needs of creating and sustaining
an organizational infrastructure (Pescaroli & Kelman, 2017) to strategically respond to a
disaster, provide meaningful support to employees, and cultivate resilient practices.
Without well-established support systems, it is difficult to effectively deliver necessary
help and resources to employees when an unprecedented crisis occurs. Organizations
often address a crisis solely in response to the threat to high-priority goals such as profit-
ability. As a result, employees’ experiences of fear or uncertainty might not be properly
recognized or fully addressed as an integral part of organizational change management.
Beyond addressing impending business-related threats, organizations should identify
crisis response strategies targeting multiple stakeholders, build a sense of community
that can bring comfort and support, and create space for long-term resilience and adap-
tation (Seeger & Mitra, 2019). Resilient organizational environments, in turn, also enable
workers to make recommendations for adaptive practices, which mutually benefit both
organizations and their stakeholders (Kuntz et al., 2016).

Resilience and efficacy

Our findings advance the discussions of the mediating role of resilience particularly in
the context of young adult workers’ experiences during a sustained crisis. Although
young professionals who perceived themselves efficacious were not necessarily able to
reduce burnout, those who conceived of themselves as resilient were indeed less suscep-
tible to burnout. Namely, efficacy and resilience may function differently in a crisis or
disaster context. Given the unprecedented nature of a pandemic during young adult
workers’ lifetimes, the reactive nature of resilience (i.e. built on prior experiences of over-
coming obstacles) can be particularly salient and effective in resisting burnout. When
employees with less working experience strive to avoid burnout during a crisis, suppor-
tive work environments may serve as a form of communal coping that can foster resili-
ence (Afifi et al., 2020). Indeed, one core mechanism of resilience is using and
maintaining one’s social networks (Buzzanell, 2010). In the workplace, employee resili-
ence fosters emotional stability and flexibility, cultivating an openness to new experiences
(Luthans et al., 2006) which can prevent disengagement and exhaustion. Resilience helps
avoid emotional exhaustion particularly during high-stress situations (Klinoff et al.,
2018). As it is certainly a new and high-stress experience for young adult workers to navi-
gate a pandemic, improved resilience can be influential in preventing burnout.
On the contrary, our findings suggest that self-efficacy does not always produce posi-
tive coping strategies in times of a disaster or crisis. This implies the dark side of self-
efficacy, which has been mostly studied in a context of stressful or competitive
704 H. KIM ET AL.

working environments. Perceived confidence in completing a task may be deeply chal-

lenged when the task at hand is fluctuating as irregular work shifts, abrupt transitions
to virtual work, unexpected quarantine, and other COVID-19 measures become com-
monplace. Additionally, these interruptions at work are out of one’s control, which
can further complicate the outcome of a high level of self-efficacy. For example, rather
than conceptualizing self-efficacy as a construct that is always linked to positive out-
comes, Dadaboyev et al. (2019) challenge this perspective and argue that there are
other factors (e.g. social comparison) that might cause self-efficacy to lead to victimiza-
tion. Ding et al. (2015) also demonstrate that Chinese nurses who score highly in terms of
self-efficacy might worry more about failing in their tasks, which could cause emotional
exhaustion. Similarly, high passion and the belief that they should solve their problems
on their own can make workers more subject to burnout (Moss, 2019). In health-related
contexts, some scholars suggested that self-efficacy could backfire as individuals with
high self-efficacy may not adhere to doctors’ instructions, hurting their own health
(Liang et al., 2021). These studies complicate the degree to which self-efficacy can posi-
tively contribute to one’s wellbeing at work (Moyer et al., 2017). Drawing on our findings,
we propose that there is a need to further understand the roles of self-efficacy and resi-
lience in relation to workplace burnout especially in light of a crisis.

Disproportionate impacts across gender and age groups

It is worth noting that gender and age turned out to be significant factors in our model.
Young adult workers in their 20s felt more burnout than workers in their 30s. This might
be attributed to their young adult or newcomer status. Høigaard et al. (2012) identified
this phenomenon among new teachers, for whom the strain of this role was especially
high in their early years on the job. Additionally, women may have experienced exacer-
bated burnout during the pandemic due to pre-existing social factors. It has been
reported that women faced increased strain from gender-based expectations during
the pandemic (Sediri et al., 2020). Pandemic burnout has been documented among
healthcare providers (Galanis et al., 2021) and academics (Gewin, 2021), demonstrating
the compounding influence of chronic and acute social conditions on workplace
burnout. Our results suggest that the scholarship of resilience and efficacy would
benefit from differentiating between various population groups.

Practical implications
The current study also offers a host of practical implications. First, supervisors should
approach supportive communication recognizing the exacerbated stress caused by the
high level of uncertainty surrounding a crisis such as a global pandemic. The supervisors
and leaders in organizations may benefit from the research of memorable messages that
can create a sense of agency and pathway through disruptive life events, which in turn
cultivate resilience (Kuang et al., 2021). Also, since supervisors may obtain change-
related communication earlier than their members, they should strive to provide the
necessary information in a timely manner and outline the steps workers can take to
protect their health given that workers may have faced a surge of physical, financial,
and mental challenges. Second, both organizations and supervisors must overhaul the
 JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH 705

current structures, policies, and protocols that may not be conducive to effectively
responding to crises. For example, supervisors may be constrained by a bureaucratic
bottleneck of decision-making when they rapidly need to implement a change. Organ-
izations should develop coordination practices and methods that can promote organ-
izational and functional agilities. When management cannot rapidly change task
protocols or organizational policies to respond to emerging changes, supervisors
and middle-level managers may utilize team-level resources to offer necessary
support to their team members. Third, to help support women and younger gener-
ations of workers, we propose that supervisors avoid a universal approach to organiz-
ational communication. Instead, organizations and supervisors can cultivate support
tailored to minority populations within their organization. For example, negotiation
training and psychosocial encouragement from supervisors both benefit women navi-
gating first-year work experiences (Fiset & Saffie-Robertson, 2020). We thus suggest
that a combination of skill-building programs and one-on-one mentoring would
help alleviate the heightened stress that may be interlocked with diverse demographic
attributes, potentially preventing burnout among less privileged groups and younger
employees.

Limitations and future directions

Our study is not without limitations. First, since it is a cross-sectional study, this study
does not assume the causal associations among study variables. To corroborate our
findings, it would be great to conduct (a) a longitudinal study in which researchers
can track the changing levels of efficacy and resilience among young adult workers
over time and (b) a qualitative study that can look into enacted change communication
practices from management, day-to-day supportive communication acts from supervi-
sors or peers, and workers’ discourses around organizational support, the pandemic,
and burnout. Follow-up longitudinal studies will enable researchers to reveal the endur-
ing effect of supervisor support on cultivating young professionals’ resilience and
efficacy, if those who received greater supervisor support still exhibit a higher degree
of resilience that can prevent burnout. Furthermore, qualitative studies will allow us to
delineate discursive practices across different groups, meaningful or memorable mess-
ages that employees received during the pandemic, and detailed accounts about why
certain change communication was perceived unhelpful. These studies will help us
build a granular understanding of crisis organizing from a communication perspective.
Second, future studies should take into account other variables that can provide more
contexts around individuals’ circumstances. Such variables may include demographic
attributes such as economic status (e.g. household income), organizational tenure and
job functions. In culturally-diverse contexts, not only gender and age but also race and
ethnicity matter to investigate how workers’ wellbeing is disproportionately impacted
during the pandemic. Other variables may encompass past experiences or crisis prepa-
redness that can shape one’s coping strategies during a disaster. Hence, we hope to
expand our study to delve into the degrees of resilience and burnout among diverse
groups to explore how we can better support employee wellbeing depending on
various contributing or undermining factors including workers’ social status or back-
ground. Further research performed in multiple settings will generate useful insight
706 H. KIM ET AL.

into designing inclusive and effective practices that can build efficacy and resilience
across different groups and organizations.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Funding
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation in
South Korea [grant number NRF-2021S1A3A2A01096330].

ORCID
Heewon Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1341-8962
Dacheng Zhang http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6410-4544

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