Occupational Stress and Anxiety Among Korean Employees: Moderated Mediation Model of Burnout and Grit

Although occupational stress is a major risk factor for high anxiety in employees, the specific mechanisms underlying this relationship are not sufficiently established. This study investigated an interpersonal model of anxiety development in employees, wherein occupational stress is associated with burnout and burnout affects risk for anxiety, and examined whether this mediation is moderated by grit.

The 11,421 participants, aged 19-65 years, were employees of 18 private companies and local government organizations in South Korea. They completed the Korean versions of the Occupational Stress Scale, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, Clinically Useful Anxiety Outcome Scale, and Grit Scale. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed using the SPSS PROCESS macro.

The association between occupational stress and anxiety is mediated only by exhaustion (b=0.348, 95% confidence interval [0.330, 0.367]), not by disengagement. Moreover, the effect of exhaustion on anxiety is moderated by grit, with the effect being stronger for employees with low grit (passion: b=1.245, p<0.001; perseverance: b=1.274, p<0.001) than for those with high grit (passion: b=0.797, p<0.001; perseverance: b=1.004, p<0.001).

The study findings contribute to the understanding of how occupational stress is associated with anxiety in workplace, and have practical implications for preventing burnout and nurturing grit to protect employees' mental health.