Challenge for some, hindrance for others? How stress appraisals shape employee performance of essential and nonessential work during crises

Anecdotes during crises frequently highlight essential employees who maintain critical services and perform effectively under adversity. This raises a central question: which types of work are more (vs less) likely to be performed effectively during crises, and why? Drawing on the Transactional Theory of Stress, we propose that performing essential (vs nonessential) work during crises facilitates challenge appraisals and reduces hindrance appraisals of the work performed, which in turn enhances in-role performance and taking charge behaviors. We further propose that organizational adaptive capacity functions as a contextual resource that strengthens these beneficial appraisals. We test our framework in a two-wave multisource survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and two preregistered experiments simulating organizational crises. Results provide broad support for our theorizing. At both occupational and task levels, higher levels of challenge (Studies 1 and 2) and lower levels of hindrance appraisals (Studies 1, 2, and 3) mediate the relationship between essential (vs nonessential) work and performance. The moderating role of organizational adaptive capacity was only supported in our field study. This research advances our understanding of how the socially constructed labels of “essential” versus “nonessential” work shape employee appraisals and performance during crises.