Social Change in the Turbulent Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts of Work-related Demands on Work-to-family Conflict, Mastery, and Psychological Distress

This study examines whether (and why) the accumulation of perceived work-related demands associated with social change in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic relates to psychological distress among a sample of employed adults in dual-earning relationships living in the United States. Using data from a cross-sectional online survey ( N = 418) administered during the early months of the pandemic, multivariate results indicate a positive association between demands of social change and distress, net of other COVID-19-related factors. This association is due to an increase in work-to-family conflict and a decrease in mastery, and it does not vary by the gender or parental status of the respondent. According to the findings, part of the COVID-19 pandemic’s negative impact on the distress of the employed occurred through its translation into more negative proximal opportunity structures in the context of work, where it confronted individuals with different demands, comprising new uncertainties and new expectations.