• Energy Research

According to the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development, even though there are numerous challenges within the current labor market, it is possible to establish meaningful lives and meaningful work experiences through optimizing the use of personal resources and regenerating them. In line with this assumption, the present study aims to test the moderation effect of the type of worker contracts on the relationship between psychological capital, perceived employability, and job insecurity. Participants were N = 190 Italian young workers (self-employed, permanent employees, or temporary employees). Results showed that perceived employability mediated the relationship between psychological capital and job insecurity, and that this relationship was moderated by the workers’ type of contract. Specifically, a higher level of psychological capital corresponded to a higher perception of employability, and consequently a lower job insecurity for temporary and self-employed workers, but not for permanent ones. These findings are in line with the assumptions of the psychology of sustainability, and encourage preventive interventions aimed to foster personal resources in order to reduce job insecurity, especially in cases of non-standard employment.

Background: There is compelling evidence to suggest that leadership behaviour and teamwork are critical success factors in healthcare organisations facing increasingly complex demands and limited resources. Effective teamwork is essential to deliver high-quality care, requiring integrating different professionals in the healthcare sector. Leaders play a significant role in facilitating teamwork by managing conflicts and promoting cooperation among team members. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of leadership in supporting the mental health and well-being of team members. Methods: A cross-lagged research design was used to examine the relationship between mental health-specific (MHS) leadership and teamwork. Participants were 118 healthcare professionals (76.3% female; 44.9% aged between 45 and 54 years old). Results: A serial mediation model was confirmed, showing an indirect effect of mental health leadership on teamwork through interpersonal conflict and cooperation. Conclusions: Effective (MHS) leadership can positively impact the teamwork of healthcare professionals, particularly during times of crisis.

Academic literature has recognized teaching as a particularly stressful occupation, specifically, the research confirmed the central role of emotional dissonance in the experience of emotional exhaustion. Albeit previous studies confirm the existence of circular dynamics involving job demands and individual’s well-being, studies focusing on the long-term relationships between job demands, need for recovery, and emotional exhaustion are still lacking. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore how emotional dissonance, need for recovery, and emotional exhaustion are related over time. By using the general framework of the health impairment process of the Job Demands-Resources model, these paths were investigated by means of a three-wave longitudinal design (n = 107 schoolteachers). Results of structural equation modeling analyses generally supported our hypotheses. Specifically, it was found that the model with reciprocal relationships between emotional dissonance and exhaustion on the one hand, and between need for recovery and exhaustion on the other, exhibited the best fit with the data.