The proposal of this paper is to study the role of self-reported work stress as a determinant of the labor commitment and satisfaction. For this, data from an internationally representative survey are used and several nonlinear econometrics models are estimated to explain six indicators of organizational and occupational commitment and one of subjective well-being. The main result of our estimates is that work stress is a negative and significant factor explaining the degree of commitment of the employed after controlling for a large variety of personal and employment regressors. Also negative is the net relationship found between work stress and labor satisfaction. This study has clear limitations. On the one hand, the possibility to draw causal inferences is restricted by the use of cross-sectional, self-reported data. In this context, the generalization of the results is not direct. On the other hand, given the multidimensional nature of work stress, the use of a single-item measure of it may raise concerns about measurement precision. Future research on these topics would benefit from more comprehensive measurement instruments. The use of longitudinal or panel data would allow for better control of unobserved heterogeneity and stronger causal inference. Our findings provide suggestive insights for organizational practice and policy design. They suggest that, rather than uniquely being considered as an individual health problem, organizations should treat work-related stress as a strategic issue affecting employee intentions to quit and commitment. A thorough job designed is needed that includes a decrease of excessive workload, and the reinforcement of job resources. From a policy point of view, psychosocial risks in the workplace may be reduced through the design of public and institutional policies. In this respect, trade unions may play an important role integrating stress-related issues into collective bargaining negotiations. From a social point of view, the results of this research underline the wider consequences of unmanaged work stress. These are related to reduced organizational commitment, increased turnover and lower well-being at work. This reinforces the relevance of developing sustainable labor policies and also organizational practices aimed to consider psychosocial risks, in general, and work stress, in particular, as a central factor of healthy and productive work environments. So far, this is the only paper in literature that uses one-item indicators as measured of self-reported work stress and labor satisfaction for this kind of analysis.
The rise of telework, driven by technological advances and changes in organizational culture, has redefined work structures, presenting both opportunities and challenges for employee well-being. This study examines how traditional issues like sexual harassment (SH) have evolved in this new context, focusing on how organizational and individual factors influence the risk of SH among teleworkers. This study uses data from the Sixth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), analysing the determinants of SH among teleworkers compared to face-to-face workers. The results reveal that teleworkers experience lower levels of SH and similar levels of unwanted sexual attention. The factors explaining unwanted attention are almost the same for both groups of workers, while the factors explaining SH differ between the two groups. Personal characteristics such as age and gender have less impact on the risk of SH for teleworkers than for face-to-face workers. Peer support plays a crucial role in mitigating SH for face-to-face workers but is less effective for teleworkers. Our results suggest that teleworking can be an effective deterrent of SH, by minimizing physical interactions and changing traditional power dynamics. Telework should not disadvantage the victim, but it can serve as temporary protection during, for example, harassment investigations or before actions are taken against the harasser. There is a gap in research on the phenomenon of SH among remote workers, whether digital harassment or not. Studies on this topic are few and far between.
Purpose This study examines associations of informal learning at work, assessed adult skills and everyday digital practice with digital work participation in mid-to-later working life. Design/methodology/approach Pooled public-use data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Cycle 2 cover 14,444 adults aged 45–65 in nine selected countries and economies. Models combine ten plausible values and country-specific replicate-weight variances, with interaction and sensitivity analyses. Findings The age coefficient declined from −0.107 to −0.012 in population-weighted models but remained negative under country-equal weighting. Informal learning and home information and communication technology (ICT) use remained positively associated with work ICT use across alternative skill specifications and occupational adjustment, although work-context controls attenuated the learning association. Adaptive problem solving was sensitive to numeracy inclusion. Educational differences remained visible. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional, complete-case estimates do not identify causal effects or national policy mechanisms and do not represent all adults aged 45–65. Practical implications The findings motivate evaluation of learning opportunities alongside digital training; they do not establish the effectiveness of specific interventions. Originality/value The study brings assessed skills and informal learning into a pooled analysis of later-working-life digital participation, distinguishing associations that persist across specifications from those sensitive to skill choice, job context and weighting.
Purpose This study examines how algorithmic monitoring shapes gig workers’ psychological well-being through passive and active algorithmic resistance. It further investigates whether algorithmic fairness alters the relationship between algorithmic monitoring and resistance behaviors. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a two-study quantitative design. Study 1 applies a three-wave survey of 224 gig workers in Pakistan, with four-week intervals between each wave. Algorithmic monitoring and algorithmic fairness were measured at Time 1, passive and active algorithmic resistance at Time 2 and psychological well-being at Time 3. Study 2 uses a 2 × 2 experiment with 115 participants, manipulating algorithmic monitoring and algorithmic fairness and examining resistance responses and psychological well-being. Findings Study 1 shows that algorithmic monitoring is positively related to passive and active algorithmic resistance, and that both forms of resistance are negatively related to psychological well-being. Passive and active resistance also mediate the relationship between algorithmic monitoring and well-being. Algorithmic fairness weakens the relationship between monitoring and active resistance. Study 2 shows significant interactions between algorithmic monitoring and algorithmic fairness for passive resistance, active resistance and psychological well-being, although the observed resistance patterns differ from the hypothesized form. Originality/value This study advances algorithmic human resource management (HRM) research by showing that gig workers do not merely experience algorithmic monitoring passively but respond through distinct forms of resistance that have implications for psychological well-being. By integrating labor-process theory, organizational justice theory and a stress-and-coping perspective, the study explains how algorithmic monitoring becomes psychologically consequential and how fairness shapes workers’ responses to platform control.
Purpose Grounded in conservation of resources theory, this study examines the spillover effects of algorithmic management on family undermining and family satisfaction among gig workers through a moderated mediation model, aiming to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions of this cross-domain influence. Design/methodology/approach Two complementary studies were conducted to test the proposed model. Study 1 employed an online scenario-based experiment, and Study 2 utilized a three-wave survey design. Findings The results revealed that algorithmic management increases family undermining and decreases family satisfaction through work stress. Algorithmic transparency moderates the indirect effects of algorithmic management on work stress and family outcomes; work–family segmentation preference moderates the relationship between work stress and family outcomes as well as the mediated pathways. Originality/value This study uniquely contributes to the literature by extending the consequences of algorithmic management beyond the workplace into the family domain. It identifies work stress as a key mechanism and reveals how algorithmic transparency and work–family segmentation preference serve as important boundary conditions.
