The impacts of workplace bullying, emotional exhaustion, and psychological distress on poor job performance of healthcare workers in Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose - The objective of this paper is to examine the profound repercussions of workplace bullying (WB), emotional exhaustion (EE), and psychological distress (PD) on poor job performance (PJP) within the intricacies of Thailand’s healthcare sector. It also seeks to elucidate the moderating influence of COVID-19 burnout (CBO) on these variables. Design/methodology/approach - This paper utilized a quantitative research approach. A total of 230 responses were collected from healthcare workers using convenience sampling during a significant surge of the coronavirus in March 2022. To assess the reliability and correlations between constructs, a dual-stage structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was applied. Findings - During the global health crisis caused by COVID-19, WB and PD were found to positively predict PJP, except for EE. The presence of WB elevated EE and PD among Thai hospital staff. PD and EE partially mediated the relationship between WB and PJP. The positive moderating role of CBO among hospital employees significantly buffered the relationship between WB and EE. Originality/value - The originality of this study lies in the examination of the poor mental health of Thai healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare reforms are required to protect the mental health of Thai healthcare staff to prevent poor job performance following unprecedented circumstances.