Death anxiety among street-level bureaucrats: how does it affect their work drive and performance?

Drawing on the depletion model of self-regulation, this study investigates how death anxiety depletes the energy of SLBs, resulting in negative consequences for their work drive and public service performance. The study also examines the importance of trait mindfulness as a boundary condition for determining whether the psychological and work-related outcomes of death anxiety are more or less severe for some SLBs. Using time-lagged and supervisor-matched data from 417 respondents, our findings provide new insights into SLBs’ psychological response and job performance in the face of a life-threatening global pandemic.