Abstract:
Background: Upon the COVID-19 pandemic arriving in Malaysia, the movement control order was soon implemented to mitigate the infectious disease. Academicians from private universities had to ensure quality service for stakeholders. Implementations being introduced caused increased stress and affected sleep hours, impacting the quality of life. Understanding the relationship between perceived stress (PS), work-life balance (WLB), quality of life (QOL), and demographic factors among academicians in private universities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia would shed light on the overlooked aspect of mental well-being.
Objectives: Targeted at academicians from private universities during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study’s main aims were to determine if: i) WLB mediates the relationship between PS and QOL; ii) hours of sleep moderates the relationship between PS and WLB; and iii) how sociodemographic factors, occupational factors, health status and working arrangements were associated with QOL.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 417 academicians from private universities in Malaysia. An electronic questionnaire was distributed, and data was obtained via convenience sampling method for a period of two weeks in September 2020.
Results: WLB was a significant mediator of PS and QOL. PS was a significant predictor of WLB (β-coefficient=1.62, P=0.0001). Hours of sleep was not a moderating variable of PS and QOL. The indirect effects of sleep on QOL showed a negative effect value of -0.0114, SE 0.018. (95% CI -0.048 to -0.225). Ethnicity (P=0.03), monthly income (P=0.0018), WLB satisfaction (P=0.001) and number of working hours per day (P=0.02) were statistically significant predictors of QOL.
Conclusion: Implementing workplace policies to safeguard the work-life balance of academicians should be reviewed to mitigate the issue at hand. Policies regarding ethnicity, monthly, WLB satisfaction and number of working hours per day of academicians should be reviewed as well.
Keywords: Perceived stress, work-life balance, quality of life, hours of sleep, private academicians, COVID-19, Malaysia.
