Redemption from SRHRM under COVID ‐19: How business threat due to COVID ‐19 affects employee insomnia via hope and workplace anxiety

Abstract Existing studies show that the COVID‐19 pandemic influences employee outcome in the work domain. However, the impact of business threat due to COVID‐19 on employee daily insomnia remains unexplored. Addressing this research gap can help scholars understand the risks of COVID‐19 in the non‐work domain. Drawing on appraisal theories of emotion, we explore how and when business threat due to COVID‐19 triggers employee insomnia. Using an experience sampling methodology where 89 employees are surveyed for 7 workdays, our multilevel analyses show that employee daily hope and workplace anxiety mediate the effects of business threat due to COVID‐19 on employee insomnia. Furthermore, socially responsible human resource management (SRHRM) practices weaken the negative relationship between business threat due to COVID‐19 and employees' hope and mitigate the positive relationship between business threat due to COVID‐19 and their workplace anxiety. We also find that SRHRM practices influence the indirect effect of business threat due to COVID‐19 on employee insomnia via workplace anxiety. Our study helps understand the underlying mechanisms in the relationship between business threat due to COVID‐19 and employee insomnia and further sheds light on the role of SRHRM in mitigating the destructive effect of business threat due to COVID‐19.