The Intersection of Spirituality and Resilience: COVID-19's Impact on Healthcare Professionals in Low-Income Regions of Pakistan

Abstract

This study examines the role of workplace spirituality (WS) and psychological resilience (PR) in mitigating the negative effects of COVID-19 perceived stress (CPS) and belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories (BCCT) on job satisfaction (JS) among healthcare professionals in low-income regions of Pakistan. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the study reveals that CPS significantly reduces JS and that BCCT also negatively impacts JS. However, the WS moderates the relationship between CPS and JS suggesting that higher spirituality enhances the job satisfaction even under high stress. Additionally, PR mediates the relationship between CPS and JS showing that the resilient individuals cope better with stress, thus improving their job satisfaction. The study’s constructs demonstrate good reliability with Cronbach's alpha values for CPS (0.756), BCCT (0.737), and WS (0.726). However, PR (0.557) and JS (0.675) have lower reliability scores, indicating a need for further refinement. The HTMT analysis confirms strong associations between the constructs, with PR and JS showing a particularly strong relationship (HTMT = 1.024). These findings underscore the importance of workplace spirituality and psychological resilience in supporting healthcare professionals’ well-being during crises, offering insights for enhancing job satisfaction in healthcare settings.