Balancing health and work: Fear predicts gig workers' goals and behaviors during COVID‐19

Abstract Findings are mixed regarding fear and performance behaviors. Whereas resource‐based theories suggest that fear impairs performance, perspectives on emotion regulation argue that fear is motivating. It is also unclear how independent workers prioritize between potentially competing health and work goals. We help reconcile disputes by implicating goal setting for gig workers' effective functioning. We studied relationships between COVID‐19 fear, COVID‐19 preventative health goals and work hour goals, and actual health and work behaviors over four weekly surveys with gig workers (N = 49) during the summer of 2020. Fear of COVID‐19 was assessed in a baseline survey, health and work goals were assessed at Time 1, and health and work behaviors were assessed three days later at Time 2. Supporting predictions, although COVID‐19 fear may prompt greater health behaviors, fear might also still undermine these behaviors through the weakening of health goal setting. However, results did not support predictions that health and work goals conflict. Instead, at the between‐person level, Time 1 health goals were linked to greater Time 2 health and work behaviors. Findings contribute to the theory of the relationship between fear, motivation, and performance. Organizations and workers may prioritize health goals for both health and work performance during a crisis.