The impact of social stigma and interaction anxiety during crises on healthcare workers' job satisfaction: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the mental health and job satisfaction of healthcare workers (HCWs), contributing to heightened levels of stigma and anxiety within this population. Although there has been significant research focusing on various mental health outcomes for HCWs, there remains a lack of studies directly linking social stigma and interaction anxiety to job satisfaction. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the lived experiences of healthcare workers in Jordan, focusing on their encounters with social interaction anxiety and social stigma arising from the pandemic. To achieve this, we have developed a model based on the short social interaction anxiety and social stigma scales. Our research methodology entailed selecting a diverse sample of 198 healthcare workers in Jordanian hospitals through convenience sampling. We then analyzed their data using structural equation modeling (SEM) to gain insights into the complex relationships between various variables. The study's findings identified three critical dimensions of social stigma—fear, prejudice, and stereotype—along with social interaction anxiety, each of which negatively affects job satisfaction by 41%. These results highlight the considerable influence that stigma and social interaction anxiety have on the experiences of health workers in times of crisis.