Investigating the dynamic relationship between stigma of fear, discrimination and employees performance among healthcare workers during Covid-19 pandemic

Stigma refers to the negative attitudes, beliefs, and stereotypes associated with certain individuals or groups based on specific characteristics, behaviors, or conditions. The current study aims to investigate the social stigma attitude, specifically fear and discrimination, among healthcare employees in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected from employees working in the health sector, including public and private hospitals in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. Convenient sampling technique was employed, and a total of 280 responses were collected and analyzed. The study utilized constructs adopted from previous research to assess the reliability of the data through Cronbach’s alpha. Data analysis was performed using the latest version of SPSS. Statistical procedures such as correlation and regression tests were applied to derive meaningful information from the data. Additionally, mediation analysis using the Process macro was conducted to examine the impact of fear and discrimination stigma on employee performance. Employee performance was measured based on fatigue, emotional exhaustion, burnout, and satisfaction at the workplace. The findings revealed that fear stigma at work and stigma discrimination at work are positively and significantly associated with fatigue (β = 0.251, t = 2.134, p < 0.05) and (β = 0.369, t = 3.287, p < 0.01) respectively. Similarly, fear stigma at work and stigma discrimination at work are positively and significantly associated with employees’ emotional exhaustion (β = 0.180, t = 1.903, p < 0.1) and (β = 0.545, t = 6.060, p < 0.01) respectively. This implies that as levels of fear stigma and stigma discrimination at work increase, emotional exhaustion also increases. However, psychological empowerment is not a significant predictor of employees’ emotional exhaustion (β = 0.089, t = 1.259, p > 0.1). Furthermore, stigma discrimination at work is negatively and significantly associated with burnout (β = − 0.597, t = − 4.417, p < 0.01), indicating that as levels of stigma discrimination at work increase, burnout levels decrease. Psychological empowerment is not a significant predictor of burnout (β = 0.045, t = 0.426, p > 0.1). Based on the results, it is recommended to implement measures to reduce stigma among healthcare workers, especially those who work with highly infectious patients. The study findings highlight the significant role of stigma as a predictor of burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction among healthcare workers. Addressing stigma can contribute to improving the well-being and performance of frontline care providers.