Entrepreneurial Leadership and Fear of COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Job Security and Psychological Well-being: A Conceptual Model

In the paper, we posit that leadership and psychological well-being are most conducive to minimizing job insecurity, whichis an integral part of enterprise sustainability. Our research explores the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and mental health. We emphasize the role leaders play in the psychological distress levels of employees. The current conceptual research is based on a leadership theory, explores its internal mechanism from the perspective of entrepreneurial leadership and organizational psychology. The relationships between entrepreneurial leadership, job security, fear of COVID19, psychological well-being are discussed. We assume that entrepreneurial leadership leads to decreased job insecurity and improved psychological well-being. Moreover, fear of COVID-19 leads to adverse psychological well-being and moderates the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and job insecurity. The findings suggest that entrepreneurship and innovation are vital components that companies should cultivate to cope with the economic challenges of COVID-19 pandemic. With these new knowledge initiatives to tackle COVID-19 psychological and organizational consequences can be developed.

I. Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemics outbreak-provoked mayhem has, over the last year, caused unrepairable damage of massive proportions with cases of infections, mortality and poverty rates skyrocketing. As of December 18, 2020, the number of infected was 72,851,747, while there were 1,643,339 death cases recorded [1]. Millions were pushed into poverty, with alarming numbers yet to follow. Following the stabile global poverty reduction over the last twenty years, COVID-19 pandemics have increased the poverty rate back to where it was during 2017. Other than social, economic and fiscal implications were significant, with abrupt business activity suspension, closures and unemployment rates falling off the chart. The accelerated economic downturn has, according to the press release of The World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects, "triggered a global crisis like no other – a global health crisis that, in addition to an enormous human toll, is leading to the deepest global recession since the Second World War." The global economy envisages a 5.2% contraction in GDP, notwithstanding the monetary policy interventions and aid packages [2]. Market dynamics changed drastically, transitioning from physical to a virtual environment, thus increasing the need for ICT and tech services, and supporting infrastructure, while posing the restrictions on all services that required social contact. Due to social distancing measures and other social gathering restrictions, many purchase and selling activities were carried out in an online environment. Entrepreneurship and innovation became a critical component that companies gravitate to cope with the economic challenges of COVID-19 pandemic. Besides, this pandemic led to long-term emotional trauma and disturbed workers’ psychological state, which could have negative implications for enterprises’ sustainability. In our conceptual study, employees’ job security and mental health warrant more in-depth investigation due to their significance to job performance. Previous research has tackled the relationship between different types of leadership and mental health.