Work‐Related Psychosocial Risk Factors and Coping Resources during the COVID‐19 Crisis

The COVID‐19 pandemic has sparked a tremendous number of publications in diverse disciplines. A search in the Web of Science in October 2020 with the key word “COVID‐19” resulted in more than 43,000 hits. While the majority of these studies were conducted in different fields of medicine, in relative numbers the share of psychological papers was only about 2 percent, with clinical psychology representing more than half of publications in this category. Without a doubt, research on the treatment of the disease, as well as the development and evaluation of vaccines is a priority during a pandemic. Yet, in addition to the direct health‐related hazards, the pandemic—along with political measures to fight it—caused tremendous challenges to societies, organizations, employees, and the self‐employed all over the globe. Substantial stressors vary from those for individuals (e.g., social distancing, reduced income, restructuring of school, university and work life) to overtaxed healthcare systems (e.g., disrupted essential health services), and socio‐economic consequences for the affected countries (e.g., global supply chain disruptions).