IntroductionEntrepreneurial intention represents a critical step in the development of future career as an entrepreneur. However, the mechanisms through which entrepreneurial intentions are formed remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on the resource-based theory of entrepreneurship and the extended-self theory, this study examines how psychological capital, a key personal resource, and psychological ownership toward entrepreneurial ideas, shape opportunity recognition and, in turn, is associated with entrepreneurial intention.MethodsUsing a multi-wave survey design, data were collected from 185 students in a vocational college in China. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed relationships.ResultsFindings indicate that psychological capital was positively associated with entrepreneurial intention via opportunity recognition. In addition, psychological ownership toward entrepreneurial ideas moderated the relationship between psychological capital and opportunity recognition. However, our proposed moderated-mediation hypothesis was not supported.DiscussionThe findings contribute to entrepreneurship literature by identifying additional psychological pathways to cultivate entrepreneurial intentions. Practically, the results offer insights for entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship programs aimed at fostering the entrepreneurial development of students in secondary and vocational programs.
IntroductionOrganizations increasingly rely on artificial intelligence (AI) in recruitment, yet little is known about how AI systems should communicate unfavorable outcomes such as rejection. The present research examined how type of rejection letters of an AI recruiter shape applicants' perceptions of the recruiter and their experienced respect.MethodsTwo experiments were conducted. In Study 1, the type of AI-generated rejection letter (considerate vs. typified) and applicants' employment status (unemployed vs. control) were experimentally manipulated. Study 2 examined the same rejection-letter manipulation while using participants' actual employment status. Across both studies, mechanistic dehumanization, perceived recruiter prestige, and experienced respect were assessed.ResultsIn Study 1, the effects of type of AI rejection letter emerged only among participants positioned as unemployed, suggesting that unemployment status shaped sensitivity to AI-enabled recruitment. In Study 2, considerate versus typified rejection letters directly influenced mechanistic dehumanization. Mechanistic dehumanization, in turn, was negatively associated with perceived recruiter prestige and experienced respect. Unexpectedly, participants' actual employment status did not moderate the effects of rejection-letter type. Exploratory analyses, however, suggested that attitudes toward unemployment influenced the interaction between rejection-letter type and employment status in predicting the outcome variables.DiscussionThe findings demonstrate that how AI recruiters communicate rejection can shape applicants' perceptions of the recruiter and their experience of respect.
Despite growing concern about the stability of New Zealand's (NZ) health workforce, no prior synthesis has examined qualitative evidence on factors associated with attrition or intention-to-leave. This systematic review and meta-synthesis included 20 studies and followed the ENTREQ checklist to guide a content analysis of the literature. Seven themes were generated spanning organizational, professional, and personal levels: high workloads, unsupportive organizational culture, limited opportunities for career advancement, inadequate remuneration, a decline in professional identity, negative impacts on wellbeing, and work-life imbalance. The findings demonstrate that attrition and intention-to-leave arise from cumulative pressures across these levels, highlighting the need for coordinated retention strategies that address all domains of work experience.
IntroductionThe Fourth Industrial Revolution is reshaping work at pace, yet the career competencies required to navigate this transformation remain poorly understood, particularly in contexts marked by structural inequality and limited digital infrastructure. South Africa, with an unemployment rate of 32.7% and persistent skills mismatches, cannot rely on frameworks developed for conditions fundamentally different from its own. Critically, no validated, context-specific career competency framework currently exists for the South African formal professional sector engaged in 4IR-related career development an empirical, methodological, and contextual gap this study directly addresses.MethodsA two-round modified Delphi technique was employed with a purposively selected panel of South African experts drawn from industrial psychology, human resource management, organizational learning, and education across multiple provinces and sectors. Round 1 assessed definitional clarity of 38 candidate competencies derived from prior qualitative interviews, resulting in 23 retained, 12 refined, and five removed, with 35 competencies proceeding to Round 2. Round 2 applied dual thresholds for definitional precision and strategic importance across all 35 competencies.ResultsTwenty-six competencies met all retention criteria and were organized into two tiers: 12 critical core competencies and 14 important contributors. The four highest-ranked competencies were career adaptability, ethical behavior, digital literacy, and continuous learning. Notably, three technology-related competencies, including artificial intelligence and digital agility, were excluded despite high importance ratings owing to insufficient definitional clarity, illustrating that perceived relevance cannot substitute for operational precision.DiscussionTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study presents the first expert-validated 4IR career competency framework developed specifically for the South African formal professional sector, addressing a significant empirical, methodological, and contextual gap in the career development literature. For curriculum designers and educators preparing graduates for AI-integrated workplaces, the framework offers both a validated set of teachable competencies and a concrete illustration of why AI-related skills resist easy formalization, a finding with direct implications for programme design and sequencing. The framework provides career psychologists with assessment-ready competency definitions, offers HR practitioners a sequenced developmental roadmap, and gives educators and policymakers an empirically grounded basis for curriculum alignment and skills policy reform, whilst demonstrating partial convergence with international workforce priorities.
Generative artificial intelligence is shifting the boundary between human and machine work deep into knowledge-intensive domains that were previously considered “non-automatable,” calling into question existing future-skills frameworks that are largely expert-based, conceptually heterogeneous, and only weakly validated. In this article, we develop a psychologically grounded framework that specifies which enduring human capacities remain central in AI-augmented workplaces and how they scale up to organizational outcomes via cultural mechanisms. Rather than relying on broad and often unsystematic skills lists, we propose to focus on a bundle of cross-cutting human trait dimensions—future time perspective, complex problem solving in ill-defined problem spaces, cognitive flexibility, volitional implementation strength, and social outcome capability—for which robust empirical links to performance, adaptability, and health have been documented across contexts. We integrate these “Human Future Traits” into the concept of Cultural Equity, understood as an intangible but performance-relevant cultural asset that is reflected in stable patterns of learning, cooperation, error robustness, and technology integration. Building on this, we outline a multilevel model in which individual traits give rise to emergent cultural properties that, in turn, shape innovation, transformation speed, and performance in AI-augmented organizations. Finally, we sketch a research agenda using multilevel, longitudinal, and quasi-experimental designs around AI implementation to empirically test the proposed pathway from Human Future Traits to Cultural Equity and organizational outcomes.
Effective training is widely recognized as a key strategy for improving employee competencies and productivity in the public sector. However, despite substantial investment in civil service capacity building, empirical evidence on how training enhances productivity in Somaliland remains limited. This study examines the effect of effective training on civil servants‘ productivity and investigates the mediating role of transfer of training. Guided by Human Capital Theory and Transfer of Training Theory, the study hypothesizes positive relationships among effective training, transfer of training, and civil servants' productivity. A quantitative cross-sectional explanatory research design was employed. Data were collected from 250 civil servants selected from a target population of 1,207 employees who had participated in training programs offered by the Somaliland Civil Service Institute. A structured questionnaire was administered, and the data were analyzed using (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that effective training has a significant positive effect on civil servants‘ productivity (β = 0.396, p < 0.001) and transfer of training (β = 0.592, p < 0.001). Transfer of training also positively influences productivity (β = 0.359, p < 0.001) and partially mediates the relationship between effective training and productivity (β = 0.213, p < 0.001). The model explains 45.4% of the variance in civil servants' productivity (R2 = 0.454). The study contributes to Human Capital Theory and Transfer of Training Theory by demonstrating that productivity gains are maximized when organizations not only provide effective training but also create supportive conditions that facilitate the application of acquired knowledge and skills in the workplace.
This study examined self-reported competency gaps among farmer-incubatees of Department of Agriculture-supported agribusiness cooperatives in Region IV-A, Philippines, participating in the Accelerated Research-Based Agribusiness for New and Growing Agripreneurs through Knowledgeable, Aggressive, and Dynamic Approach (ARANGKADA) Technology Business Incubation program. It aimed to inform the development of a competency-based training framework. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, survey data from 127 farmer-incubatees were integrated with findings from 16 key informant interviews through a joint display. Competency was assessed using a four-point scale from Beginner to Expert across management, marketing, financial, and operational domains, with lower ratings interpreted as training needs rather than objective performance deficits. Composite means ranged from 1.83 to 2.20, indicating Basic competency across all domains. Group differences by age, sex, educational attainment, business size, ownership type, and length of business operation were analyzed using independent-samples t-tests, Welch's analysis of variance, Games–Howell post hoc tests, effect sizes, and Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate correction. After adjustment, educational attainment, ownership type, and age were significantly associated with competency across all domains. Length of business operation was significant in all domains except financial competency, while no significant sex differences emerged. Qualitative findings identified six recurring constraints, including regulatory uncertainty, inconsistent product quality, weak cooperative participation, and limited resources, which aligned with the lowest-rated competencies. The integrated findings support a differentiated, evidence-informed four-module training framework tailored to educational background and enterprise arrangement. Given the self-reported, cross-sectional design, the findings indicate associations rather than causal relationships.
IntroductionThis study examines how permanent employees perceive collaboration with non-permanent workers in blended teams, drawing on Psychological Contract (PC) theory and signaling theory. In view of the challenges facing the world of work, the need for flexible work is evident. Organizations depend on non-permanent workers to lower financial risks, to achieve flexibility, and to access specific expertise. However, few studies have looked at permanent employees in blended teams and their collaboration with non-permanent workers.MethodsWe explored this issue in a mixed-methods study across six Swiss organizations. Study 1 surveyed 878 permanent employees to examine associations between the perceived proportion of non-permanent workers in the team and organizational trust, job insecurity, and team commitment, and to test perceived organizational support (POS) as a moderator. Study 2 comprised qualitative interviews with 22 survey participants to explore how permanent employees interpret collaboration with non-permanent workers in their everyday work experiences.ResultsStudy 1 showed that the perceived proportion of non-permanent workers in the team was not significantly related to permanent employees' organizational trust, job insecurity, or team commitment in our cross-sectional analyses. However, POS moderated the relationship with organizational trust. Study 2 identified seven key themes and 15 sub-themes characterizing how permanent employees interpret collaboration with non-permanent workers.DiscussionCollaboration with non-permanent workers is perceived as ambivalent rather than uniformly positive or negative; for example, it may be perceived as reducing workload as well as creating additional workload. However, organizational and managerial conditions seem to shape these perceptions. By integrating PC theory with signaling theory, we provide a more detailed explanation under which conditions collaboration is perceived as a signal of support or replaceability, and how this shapes permanent employees' employment relationship.
ObjectiveTo explore the associations between psychological resilience and work engagement among nurses, and to investigate the potential chain mediating roles of cognitive reappraisal and general self-efficacy.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional study design, this research employed the Psychological Resilience Scale, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale as assessment instruments. A total of 424 nurses from tertiary hospitals were recruited through a total population sampling method to complete the questionnaire survey. Age and professional rank were incorporated as covariates in the statistical analyses. The Cronbach's α coefficients for all scales ranged from 0.833 to 0.951, indicating satisfactory internal consistency reliability.ResultsPsychological resilience was significantly and positively correlated with cognitive reappraisal (r = 0.685, P < 0.01), general self-efficacy (r = 0.775, P < 0.01), and work engagement (r = 0.673, P < 0.01). The total effect of psychological resilience on work engagement was significant (β = 0.666, P < 0.001). The direct effect (β = 0.232, P < 0.001) and the total indirect effect (β = 0.434, 95% CI: 0.336–0.525) were both significant, the total indirect effect (β = 0.434) mediated 65.17% of the total effect (β = 0.666). Specifically, cognitive reappraisal (indirect effect = 0.112, 95% CI: 0.049–0.175) and general self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.226, 95% CI: 0.161–0.282) independently mediated this relationship, and together served as a sequential chain (indirect effect = 0.097, 95% CI: 0.061–0.138).ConclusionThe findings provide a theoretical basis for the mechanism of nurses' psychological resilience on work engagement. Managers should pay attention to nurses' psychological resilience and enhance their cognitive reappraisal and general self-efficacy levels through interventions to further promote their work engagement levels.
IntroductionTo stay competitive in dynamic environments, organizations must integrate formal and informal learning. Training transfer refers to the application of knowledge and skills acquired in formal training to the workplace, whereas knowledge sharing refers to the informal dissemination of learned content to colleagues after training. Understanding the antecedents of these processes is essential for maximizing the long-term impact of training.MethodsDrawing on a two-study design, we examined antecedents of training transfer and knowledge sharing at the individual, training, and organizational clusters. Study 1 (N = 537, German-speaking employees) explored the factor structure of antecedents, while Study 2 (N = 507, U.S. employees) used a two-wave, time-lagged design to test predictive relationships in joint structural equation models. The study particularly focused on motivation and volition as underlying mechanisms linking antecedents to both training transfer and knowledge sharing.ResultsSeveral antecedents across the individual, training, and organizational clusters predicted motivation to transfer and/or motivation to share, although the pattern of effects differed across clusters and processes. At the individual cluster, growth orientation, training reflection, goal clarity, and knowledge sharing self-efficacy emerged as relevant predictors. At the training cluster, transfer design, training materials, content applicability, and exchange within the training group showed process-specific effects. At the organizational cluster, peer support and feedback were relevant across both processes, while supervisor support and transfer capacity showed more specific associations. Across all models, motivation was positively associated with volition, and both motivation and volition were associated with the respective post-training behavior.DiscussionA central contribution lies in highlighting post-training knowledge sharing, an informal process critical for sustaining organizational learning yet rarely studied. Training transfer and knowledge sharing were predicted by overlapping antecedents, with both processes operating through motivation and volition. This shows how formal and informal learning can be shaped by common mechanisms, fostering sustainable workplace learning. The results underscore the value of integrating both perspectives to advance theory and guide interventions.
IntroductionThe gig economy has expanded significantly in urban public spaces; however, the perception of unsafe urban spaces by women and their families restricts their participation in the gig economy. This study aims to identify the safety concerns of female gig workers and the strategies adopted by various stakeholders to address them.MethodsAn advanced search was performed in online databases, including Web of Science, Scopus, and APA PsycInfo, to identify articles pertaining to the safety of female gig workers for this scoping review. PRISMA approach for scoping review (PRISMA-ScR) was employed to assess the scope of relevant literature and synthesize the prevalent safety concerns and strategies adopted by various stakeholder to mitigate that concern. A narrative and tabular synthesis approach was used to describe the collected data.ResultsA total of 482 studies were identified and retrieved from the databases. Sixteen studies were eligible for inclusion in this review. Abusive behavior in the workplace, fear of nighttime operations, working on digital platforms, customer anonymity, and lack of client verification were identified as prominent safety concerns. Apart from scant informal strategies, there are no formal structures that address harassment against female gig workers.ConclusionSeveral barriers pose safety concerns for female gig workers, thereby hampering their participation in the workforce. An altered approach to the existing legal and policy framework will ensure the safety of female gig workers from sexual harassment at the workplace.
IntroductionEnterprise Community Involvement (ECI), defined as an organization's voluntary actions that support community wellbeing, is recognized by the World Health Organization as a core component of healthy workplaces. Despite its strategic importance for employee wellbeing and social sustainability, the extent to which ECI is represented in workplace wellbeing (WWB) measurements remains unclear. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review to systematically examine how ECI is operationalized in existing WWB instruments.MethodsGuided by PRISMA-ScR, we searched six databases (1960–2022) and identified 886 WWB instruments. Each instrument, treated as the unit of analysis, was considered to include ECI if it contained at least one item measuring any aspect of ECI. ECI-related items were categorized into four inductively derived subthemes: Societal Philanthropy, Eco-Friendly Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Employee-Family Wellbeing, and Protection of Vulnerable Groups.ResultsECI is nearly absent from current WWB instruments. Of the 886 identified instruments, only 1.5% (n = 13) contained any ECI-related item. Employee-Family Wellbeing and Eco-Friendly CSR were the most frequently represented subthemes (each appearing in six instruments), followed by Societal Philanthropy (n = 5) and Protection of Vulnerable Groups (n = 3).DiscussionThere is a systematic gap in the measurement of ECI within existing WWB tools. We propose a preliminary descriptive framework comprising four subthemes to organize existing ECI items. This framework is intended as a resource for future WWB scale development and empirical validation, rather than as a validated measurement instrument.
This study examines how and when leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation relates to newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors during organizational socialization. Drawing on social information processing theory, we propose that leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation promotes newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors by strengthening leaders' environmental leadership. We further propose that these indirect effects depend on two actor-specific characteristics, leaders' green psychological climate perceptions and newcomers' personal environmental beliefs. A time-lagged study of 278 supervisor–newcomer dyads across different regions and industries in China supports the hypothesized moderated mediation model. Specifically, leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation was positively related to leaders' environmental leadership, which in turn was positively related to newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Leaders' environmental leadership mediated the relationships between leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation and newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors. Moreover, leaders' green psychological climate perceptions strengthened the positive effect of leaders' perceived firm green practice adoption orientation on leaders' environmental leadership and the corresponding indirect effects. Newcomers' personal environmental beliefs further strengthened the positive effects of leaders' environmental leadership on newcomers' task-related and proactive pro-environmental behaviors, as well as the corresponding indirect effects. This study contributes to green management and newcomer socialization research by showing how firm green practices shape newcomers' pro-environmental behaviors.
IntroductionPersonality traits, emotional regulation capabilities, and individuals' perceptions of career success remain important areas of inquiry, particularly within the South African SMME sector. The present study investigates the relationship between Dark Triad traits (DTT), subjective career success (SCS), and emotional intelligence (EQ).MethodsA quantitative, cross-sectional design was employed to obtain data from n = 396 participants working in the Free State province, South Africa. Data was collected using a self-reporting questionnaire comprising Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD), the Subjective Career Success Inventory (SCSI), and the Rahim Emotional Quotient Index (REQI).ResultsDTT demonstrated a statistically significant negative association with both EQ and SCS. EQ showed a moderately strong positive association with SCS. Mediation analysis indicated that EQ partially mediated the relationship between DTT and SCS. Specifically, significant mediation effects were observed for psychopathy and narcissism, whereas Machiavellianism did not yield significant mediation effects.DiscussionThis study contributes to the literature by integrating Trait Activation Theory and EQ theory to explain how personality traits relate to SCS. The findings suggest that the influence of personality traits on career outcomes is contingent upon contextual factors and individual regulatory capabilities. Practically, SMMEs could use the findings of the study to inform employee development, career-support practices, and future organizational support. Furthermore, the distinct nature of each Dark Triad trait should be recognized rather than treating them as a homogeneous construct. However, given the RMSEA value and the X2/df ratio, the findings presented are preliminary and should be interpreted with auction.
Individual differences are traditionally captured through mean-level scores, yet the specific configuration of scores across a set of variables—the profile pattern—may carry predictive information above and beyond overall elevation. Criterion Profile Analysis (CPA) is a regression-based technique that decomposes the predictive validity of a profile into two components: a level effect, reflecting the effect of the overall elevation, and a pattern effect, reflecting the effect of the specific configuration of relative highs and lows. Despite its potential, CPA remains largely unknown in organizational psychology. The present paper aims to address this gap by providing an accessible introduction to CPA and its extensions, illustrated with a working example using data on organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior. We further review five extensions of the original framework—meta-analytic CPA, moderated CPA, latent variable CPA, non-linear CPA for categorical outcomes, and canonical CPA for multivariate criteria—and discuss their data requirements and application potential in organizational research. We conclude by situating CPA within broader conversations about person-centered methods and intraindividual variability, and by outlining directions for future research.
IntroductionThe increasing digitalization of work and the diffusion of hybrid work arrangements are reshaping human–technology interaction, with relevant implications for job quality and occupational health. Within this context, technostress represents a salient psychosocial risk emerging from the interaction between technological demands and work design features. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources framework, this study focuses on colleague support as a key social resource that may shape employees' experiences of technostress in digitally mediated work.Materials and methodsUsing a cross-sectional design, moderated regression analyses were conducted on a sample of 316 employees working in hybrid and on-site arrangements. Participants completed validated measures of technostress creators (techno-complexity, techno-invasion, and techno-overload) and perceived colleague support and reported their work modality.ResultsResults indicate that perceived colleague support is consistently and negatively associated with overall technostress and all technostress creators, supporting its role as a key social resource for employee wellbeing. Furthermore, moderation analyses revealed that work modality shapes the relationship between colleague support and technostress. However, the protective association between colleague support and technostress and its dimensions was evident only among hybrid workers and not in fully on-site settings. These findings suggest that in hybrid contexts, where opportunities for interaction are more limited, colleague support is perceived as a more valuable resource. In contrast, in fully on-site environments, the constant availability of interpersonal exchange may lead to its normalization, thereby reducing its perceived value as a distinct coping resource.ConclusionsThe findings highlight the importance of conceptualizing human–technology interaction as a workplace issue embedded in social and organizational contexts. From an occupational safety and health perspective, the study underscores the role of colleague support as a protective resource that can buffer technostress in digitally mediated and flexible work settings. Investing in social infrastructures that foster collegial support appears crucial for promoting employee wellbeing and sustainable work in digitalized environments.
Employee surveys are widely used in organizations as tools for decision-making and monitoring change, for example, concerning psychosocial risk management. Pulse surveys—short, frequent questionnaires—have become increasingly popular in Sweden and other countries. However, there is a notable lack of research examining these practices. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of why and how organizations utilize pulse surveys, as well as the success factors and pitfalls related to these practices. Sixteen key employees from organizations employing pulse surveys were selected to capture variation in occupational roles, work sectors, and workplace sizes. Semi-structured, in-depth interview data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Three overarching themes were identified: (1) implementation of pulse surveys; (2) stakeholder perspectives; and (3) methodological and ethical challenges. Despite significant variation in pulse surveying practices, monitoring engagement and satisfaction was in focus. HR professionals played a central role, and sustained high-level commitment from line management was required for successful implementation. The findings highlighted significant methodological and ethical issues, e.g. related to surveying groups with only a few employees and managers who are constantly under the magnifying glass. It is also noteworthy that pulse survey processes were generally not integrated with psychosocial risk management practices. This study emphasizes the significance of managerial commitment and engagement in effectively following up on pulse surveys. It identifies ethical considerations and concludes that pulse surveys can complement annual comprehensive risk assessments by providing valuable insights into emerging hazards and supporting action plan implementation.
IntroductionSupportive and hostile workplace climates are relevant to understanding the work experiences of LGTBI+ employees.MethodA meta-analysis was carried out to examine the associations between supportive and hostile workplace climates and work-related psychosocial outcomes, psychological variables (individual-level mental health) and identity management variables.ResultsSupportive climate has positive effect sizes with disclosure and job satisfaction. It also has negative effect sizes with discrimination, distress and covering. Hostile climate is linked to higher distress and covering, and with lower disclosure and job satisfaction.ConclusionHostility and support are associated with psychosocial, identity management and psychological variables among LGTBI+ employees.
As an important component of the modern economy, the career satisfaction of new employment form workers directly impacts individual work efficiency, corporate sustainability. While prior studies have focused on high-quality employment and rights protection for these workers, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms and contextual factors from the perspective of perceived underemployment. Grounded in career construction theory and conservation of resource theory, this study develops a moderated double mediation effect model. It examines the double-edged sword effect of perceived underemployment on career satisfaction through the dual-path “gain-loss spiral,” as well as the bidirectional moderating role of future work self-clarity in shaping this dual effect. This study constructed a moderated mediation effect model and collected primary data through a combination of online and offline questionnaire surveys. A total of 450 questionnaires were distributed, 390 were returned, and invalid questionnaires were excluded, resulting in 323 valid questionnaires with a response rate of 82.82%. AMOA, SPSS and PROCESS tools were used to analyze the data and validate the model and hypotheses. The results indicate: (1) Perceived underemployment negatively impacts career satisfaction through the career transition pathway, while positively impacting career satisfaction through the resource orchestration pathway, demonstrating a double-edged sword effect; (2) Future work self-clarity positively mediates the resource orchestration pathway and negatively mediates the career transition pathway. This study views “perceived underemployment” as a professional context that new employment forms workers must adapt to. Their adaptive responses manifest through two distinct pathways: proactive career construction through resource orchestration and defensive career restructuring through career transition. This framework aligns with career construction theory, which emphasizes how individuals leverage adaptability to navigate career challenges, while also resonating with conservation of resources theory, which highlights the pursuit of resource gains and the avoidance of resource depletion. By revealing that perceived underemployment can simultaneously trigger both gain- and loss-related mechanisms, this research transcends the conventional view of underemployment, thereby illuminating its dual-edged sword effect. Furthermore, the study identifies future work self-salience as a positive boundary condition, offering valuable insights for future interventions aimed at enhancing cognitive and behavioral outcomes among new employment form workers. Subsequent research should employ experimental and longitudinal designs to further elucidate the mechanisms through which perceived underemployment influences career development in this population.
PurposeOrganizational health refers to work environments that promote both employee health and work productivity. As there is no consistent definition of this concept, this mixed-methods study contributes to the characterization and operationalization of organizational health in the public sector.MethodsTo characterize organizational health, data from two focus group interviews, with six municipal work environment specialists and ten key stakeholders, were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Quantitative data, consisting of two survey items, on self-assessed production loss due to health and work environment problems (estimated on a 10-point Likert scale ranging from no to complete production loss) and sickness absence statistics were collected from a Swedish municipality.ResultsResults showed that organizational health is indicated at the organizational level by the presence of sufficient preconditions for fulfilling objectives, at the workplace level by team capability and stability, and at the individual level by employees with low sickness absence, multiple development opportunities, and job satisfaction. Workplaces with organizational health were operationalized as workplaces where at least 80% of employees estimated their productivity loss due to health problems as ≤ 5, and productivity loss due to work environment problems as ≤ 3 on 10-point Likert scales, yielding a proxy indicator of organizational health. Of 330 workplaces in the municipality, 70 had organizational health, having less sickness absence than did the remaining workplaces [adjusted odds ratio 0.78 (95% CI 0.75–0.81)].ConclusionOrganizational health is a multifaceted concept. The operationalization captures some aspect of the qualitative findings on organizational health. The operationalized definition, that is, the absence of productivity loss due to adverse individual health and work environment conditions, has implications for future research and practice.
