What good is organizational nostalgia in the time of pandemic? Unpacking a pathway from COVID-related stress to authenticity at work: unpacking a pathway from COVID-related stress to authenticity at work

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated people’s stress level, but has also highlighted human adaptiveness. We focus on nostalgia, a sentimental longing for events and aspects of one’s past life, as a coping response to COVID-related stress. We propose that COVID-related stress undermines felt authenticity, but also triggers nostalgia. In turn, nostalgia conduces to felt authenticity, thereby counteracting the deleterious impact of COVID-related stress. We tested this regulatory model of nostalgia in two studies. Study 1 was an online cross-sectional study during the pandemic, in which we assessed COVID-related stress, nostalgia, and authenticity. In Study 2, we followed a group of working adults in a daily diary study across five workdays. We assessed COVID-related stress each morning, organizational nostalgia at midday, and authenticity at the end of the workday. The results of both studies were consistent with the palliative role of nostalgia in support of the regulatory model. We discuss the theoretical contribution of our findings to the nostalgia and emotion literatures, and consider implications for effective coping strategies during pandemics.

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ORCID for Constantine Sedikides: orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-889X

ORCID for Tim Wildschut: orcid.org/0000-0002-6499-5487

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