Background

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic changed the quality of life of frontline workers as they faced many difficulties and challenges (direct exposure to the risk of contamination, physical exhaustion, work overload...). Italy had become the first European country affected by the pandemic, while Belgium was given extra time to prepare for this unprecedented health crisis.

Aims

This research aims to test the mediative role of resilience skills in the relationship between country type

and quality of working life.

Method

An online survey system was released from February to June 2021, with three questionnaires: (1) socio-demographics, (2) quality of working life, and (3) resilience.

A cross-sectional design was implemented over a "crisis period". A population of n = 185 Italian and n = 133 Belgian participants were recruited.

Results

(H1) Compassion satisfaction was lower in Italy than in Belgium. Regarding levels of burnout and vicarious trauma, the study did not find any significant visible difference between the two countries. (H2) Resilience in Italy is lower than in Belgium. (H3) Resilience accurately predicts the quality of work life in both countries. (H4) Differences in quality of work life may be explained by differences in resilience.

Conclusion

This study improved the understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on the quality of work life of frontline workers, which is mediated by resilience.