Positive workplace in the COVID-19 era: its relationships with sustainable behaviours and work well-being / El lugar de trabajo positivo en la era de la COVID-19: su relación con los comportamientos sostenibles y el bienestar laboral

Abstract

A recent theoretical framework conceives positive environments (PEs) as settings that (1) provide socio-physical resources and (2) incite responsible (sustainable) behaviours to (3) cope with environmental challenges. According to such a framework, well-being and sustainable behaviours are expected outcomes of PEs. Despite most people spending a large proportion of their time at work, there is limited research on the workplace as a positive environment. As such, the present study investigated (n = 140 Mexican essential workers) the association between environmental positivity, sustainable behaviours and workplace well-being during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using structural equations, we tested a model of positive workplace, which included the resources that the workplace provided, the enablers of responsible environmental behaviour it offered, and the current challenges imposed by the COVID-19 threat and the conditions of the workplace. Our data suggest that in positive workplace environments, workers report higher well-being and practised sustainable and precautionary behaviours more frequently. These results highlight the importance of a positive work environment and may bring insights for possible interventions.