Sustainable development challenges in a war‐torn country: Perceived danger and psychological well‐being

• Author: Hussain Gholami,Milagros Isabel Rivas Mendoza,Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi
• Published date: 01 August 2020
• Date: 01 August 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2077

ACADEMIC PAPER

Sustainable development challenges in a war-torn country:

Perceived danger and psychological well-being

Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi

1

| Hussain Gholami

2,3

| Milagros Isabel Rivas Mendoza

3

1

CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business

School, Pontificia Universidad Católica del

Perú, Lima, Peru

2

Faculty of Economics and Management, Asia

Higher Educational Institute, Herat,

Afghanistan

3

Universidad Católica Los 

Angelesde

Chimbote, Instituto de Investigación,

Chimbote, Peru

Correspondence

Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi, CENTRUM Católica

Graduate Business School, Pontificia

Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru.

Email: afshar@pucp.edu.pe

The laborer's physical and mental health, well-being, and happiness are among the

major indicators for measuring each nation's sustainable development. A conflictive

and hostile external environment (war zone) poses considerable difficulty and psy-

chological distress to workers and nonworkers. Therefore, working in such a physi-

cally dangerous business environment may hurt worker's well-being and happiness

that in turn may reduce the workers' productivity at the workplace. A high level of

laborers' productivity in public and private sectors is essential for achieving sustain-

able development in the long term. Therefore, this paper examines the effects of per-

ceived danger on employees' psychological well-being in war-torn Afghanistan, an

issue being addressed for the first time. We tested the moderating role of social sup-

port from coworkers on this effect in order to have a broader vision of which individ-

uals are healthier and happier in a physically dangerous working environment. Two

survey data sets were collected from 190 employees working in various small private

and public businesses in Herat, Afghanistan. Our results reveal the negative impact

of perceived danger on employees' psychological well-being and that employees who

receive little or no social support from their peers feel the negative effects of a physi-

cally dangerous working condition even more acutely.

1|INTRODUCTION

One of the major objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals in

the context of Afghanistan is to ensure mental and physical health

and promote happiness and well-being all the peoples (workers and

nonworkers) in the country (Afghanistan Sustainable Development

Goals, 2019). It is well accepted that happiness, satisfaction, physical

and mental health, and well-being of individuals in their life and work-

place can help societies to easier achieve sustainable development

(Avrampou, Skouloudis, Iliopoulos, & Khan, 2019; Dawes, 2019;

Jones, Comfort, & Hillier, 2018; Suarez, Arias-Arévalo, Martinez-Mera,

Granobles-Torres, & Enríquez-Acevedo, 2018). Afghanistan suffers

from long-standing war and conflicts (almost four decades). The

Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) are two major militant groups whose

activities bring serious danger to the whole of Afghanistan's national

security (Misra, 2002; Schutte, 2017). Internal rivalries and tensions

between these two jihadist groups further increase the violence

and insecurity in the country (Ibrahimi & Akbarzadeh, 2019), as

they struggle to claim more territory and resources. Furthermore, the

country suffers from a long-standing tribal rivalry and religious conflict

between the majority (Pashtuns, the main political power in the coun-

try) and the largest minority (Tajik; Enterline & Greig, 2008). There are

huge unresolved cultural tensions as well between the religious con-

servatives in the rural areas and cosmopolitan progressives in urban

centers. Due to the increase of recent national crises, the United

States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization decided to deploy more

troops to help resolve the Afghanistan conundrum, which is not a pol-

icy that could successfully create an atmosphere conducive to building

sustainable peace in the country.

The constant war and conflict damage sustainable development of

the country in several ways, for example, destroying lives, difficulty of

accessing health care and education, enhancing environmental degrada-

tion, increasing poverty, and feeling permanent fair and insecurity(Cairns,

2003; Hopwood, Mellor, & O'Brien, 2005; Hull, 2008; Scheffran, 1999).

Furthermore, the dangerous situation poses a big challenge to the people

who are working outside of home in public and private companies.

Received: 12 November 2019 Revised: 2 December 2019 Accepted: 29 December 2019

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2077

J Public Affairs. 2020;20:e2077. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 1of9

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2077