This study investigates how perceived parental criticism is associated with career confidence in students and workers, considering the mediating role of the fear of an uncertain future. In a rapidly changing labor market, students, as young individuals navigating early career decisions, experience heightened uncertainty about their future, especially regarding their professional paths. This research aims to verify whether perceived parental criticism negatively affects career confidence both directly and indirectly through the mediating role of fear of an uncertain future, and whether occupational status (being a student or already working) influences this relationship. Data were collected from a sample of 310 participants, consisting of 108 students and 202 workers. Multigroup structural equation models were used to test the mediation model simultaneously on students and workers. The results indicate that, in students, the relationship between parental criticism and career confidence is fully mediated by fear of an uncertain future, while in workers these associations are weaker and not significant. These findings suggest that students are more vulnerable to uncertainty, as they are in an early stage of career development, while workers may benefit from greater independence and emotional regulation skills. The study highlights the impact of perceived parental criticism on career confidence and the moderating role of occupational status, suggesting the need for interventions that reduce the fear of an uncertain future and encourage greater adaptability to career-related challenges.

Building on the Job Demands–Resources model, this study aims to investigate the interaction between job characteristics and work-related stress indicators in a sample of 211 Italian Armed Forces personnel. Using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), three distinct profiles emerged based on job demands (workload and perception of performing high-risk work) and resources (relationships with colleagues and supervisors, perceived meaningfulness of work, and feedback received on quality of work). The first profile, characterized by high demands and low resources, was associated with higher levels of work–family conflict and need for recovery (an indicator of perceived fatigue at the end of the workday). The second profile, characterized by high resources and low demands, showed the lowest levels of both need for recovery and work–family conflict, while the third profile showed average scores on demands, resources, and outcome variables. These findings are in line with the chosen theoretical framework and prompt several reflections on work-related well-being in the armed forces and what can promote it. Stemming from the results is the importance of organizational interventions designed to protect employees’ well-being and support their effective functioning. Such interventions are particularly critical within the armed forces context, where operational performance has a direct impact on the safety and well-being of citizens.

BACKGROUND:This study aims to investigate the risks and challenges that palliative care workers face in their daily work and their relationships with a source of stress typically associated with working closely with end-of-life issues: compassion fatigue, a condition of emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and impaired ability to feel empathy. The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model was used as a theoretical framework to understand and interpret the relationships between individual and work demands and resources of palliative care professionals with their perceptions of well-being and their levels of compassion fatigue. Specifically, we focused on surface acting (the need to manipulate the expression of one's real emotions), emotional self-efficacy, and the perceived meaningfulness attributed to work. We hypothesized that compassion fatigue was positively related to job demand and negatively related to job resources. Conversely, we hypothesized that perceived well-being was positively associated with job resources and negatively associated with job demand. METHODS:The sample consisted of 236 palliative care workers (physicians, nurses, social and health workers, psychologists) from facilities distributed throughout Italy. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used. RESULTS:The results confirmed the hypothesized protective role of the meaningfulness of work and emotional self-efficacy, and the detrimental role of surface acting. CONCLUSIONS:With the present study, we aim to contribute to a better understanding of how to support the psychological and physical well-being of those who devote their professional lives to providing care and comfort to terminally ill individuals.

Research has often focused on which teaching-related stressors might undermine teachers' effectiveness, with spillover effects on students' performance. This connection makes studies on teacher well-being crucial, as well as the search for variables that can act as a buffer for unavoidable job stressors. The present study investigates whether the relationship between academic workload and the need for recovery varies based on student demands and meaningful work perceptions. Hence, a moderated moderation model was tested on 236 Italian university teachers. The results show that the effect of academic workload on the need for recovery is higher in conditions of high student demands. Meaningful work plays a protective role, mitigating the effect of academic workload in both high and low student demands conditions. These findings suggest the promotion of protective elements that can trigger a virtuous process such that teachers' well-being improves effectiveness, which, in turn, improves students' learning experience.

The global decline in the number of pollinators has elicited considerable public attention. To the general public, honeybees are considered to be the primary pollinators. Also, a decline in managed honeybee stocks is alarming and could lead to declining pollination services and reduced ecosystem biodiversity, although the Apis mellifera is the least likely pollinator species on the planet to be at risk of extinction. A less-than-complete understanding of honeybees and their ecology may hinder their conservation. Ascertaining the public’s level of knowledge about, and perception of, a problem can help in solving it. This research focused mainly on honeybees because people are unlikely to be able to recognize the different species of Apoidea. Schools are ideal places for understanding the basic knowledge and attitudes regarding this insect. We aimed to understand the perception and knowledge of 12–14-year-old children towards honeybees as well as to verify the existence of a correlation between knowledge level and positive perception. Secondary school students can play a key role in the conservation of biodiversity as they are carriers of knowledge in families and will be future citizens. To this end, 231 students were given a 26-item questionnaire related to their perception and knowledge of honeybees. Results indicate that the students have a good understanding of the role that bees play in nature but do not have a completely clear idea of this insect’s interactions with the environment. Results also show that the children feel a certain fear of honeybees, although they respect them. The average score of the ecological branch test exceeded the average score of the perceptual one, indicating that the subjects had a more positive education than perception.

This study aims to investigate the weight of surface acting (a condition in which subjects must display an emotional state that does not correspond to their real feelings) in the relationship between the emotional load of nursing work and the perception of health, and to evaluate the moderating effect of age and length of service. A moderated mediation analysis was conducted on a sample of 359 Italian nurses. The results confirmed the mediation role of surface acting and showed that both age and seniority have moderating effects so that in conditions of high emotional load, older and more experienced nurses show higher levels of surface acting, and in conditions of high surface acting, younger and less experienced nurses show lower levels of perceived health. In conclusion, surface acting seems a stressor for younger nurses, not yet used to the weight of faking emotions, while the perceived emotional load seems a stressor for older and more experienced nurses. Each result highlights the importance of providing emotional regulation skills training and support to reduce the psychological impact of emotional demands on nurses.

In recent years, to better face university paths, the first approaches to the labor market, and then the actual university-to-work transition, university students are asked to have broader skills, such as the ability to network, to be involved in career-related issues, and to explore the characteristics of occupations as much as personal ones. This study aims to verify the psychometric properties of the Italian translation of the Career Resources Questionnaire–Adolescent version (CRQ-A; Marciniak et al., 2020) among two samples of undergraduate students ( N 1 = 270; N 2 = 184). Differently from the original version, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis suggested a 10-factor structure. Reliability and validity were confirmed. The results indicate that the Italian version of CRQ-A is a valid multidimensional instrument for exploring undergraduate students’ career preparedness, consequently favoring universities in their role of preparing students for the decoding of the labor market and themselves as future workers. Résumé. Ces dernières années, pour mieux affronter les parcours universitaires, les premières approches du marché du travail, puis la transition université-travail proprement dite, on demande aux étudiants universitaires d'avoir des compétences plus larges, telles que la capacité à travailler en réseau, à s'impliquer dans les questions liées à la carrière et à explorer les caractéristiques des professions autant que les caractéristiques personnelles. Cette étude vise à vérifier les propriétés psychométriques de la traduction italienne du Career Resources Questionnaire-Adolescent version (CRQ-A ; Marciniak et al., 2020) auprès de deux échantillons d'étudiants de premier cycle (N1 = 270 ; N2 = 184). Contrairement à la version originale, l'analyse factorielle exploratoire et l'analyse factorielle confirmatoire ont suggéré une structure à 10 facteurs. La fiabilité et la validité ont été confirmées. Les résultats indiquent que la version italienne du CRQ-A est un instrument multidimensionnel valable pour explorer la préparation à la carrière des étudiants de premier cycle, ce qui favorise les universités dans leur rôle de préparation des étudiants au décodage du marché du travail et d'eux-mêmes en tant que futurs travailleurs. Zusammenfassung. In den letzten Jahren wird von Universitätsstudenten verlangt, dass sie über umfassendere Fähigkeiten verfügen, wie z. B. die Fähigkeit, sich zu vernetzen, sich mit berufsbezogenen Fragen zu befassen und die Merkmale von Berufen sowie persönliche Eigenschaften zu erkunden, um den Übergang von der Universität ins Berufsleben besser bewältigen zu können. Diese Studie zielt darauf ab, die psychometrischen Eigenschaften der italienischen Übersetzung des Career Resources Questionnaire-Adolescent Version (CRQ-A; Marciniak et al., 2020) unter zwei Stichproben von Studenten (N1 = 270; N2 = 184) zu überprüfen. Anders als bei der Originalversion ergaben die explorative Faktorenanalyse und die konfirmatorische Faktorenanalyse eine 10-Faktoren-Struktur. Reliabilität und Validität wurden bestätigt. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die italienische Version des CRQ-A ein valides multidimensionales Instrument zur Erforschung der Berufsvorbereitung von Studenten ist und somit die Universitäten in ihrer Rolle unterstützt, Studenten auf die Entschlüsselung des Arbeitsmarktes und auf sich selbst als zukünftige Arbeitnehmer vorzubereiten. Resumen. En los últimos años, para afrontar mejor las trayectorias universitarias, los primeros acercamientos al mercado laboral y, posteriormente, la propia transición universidad-trabajo, se pide a los estudiantes universitarios que tengan habilidades más amplias, como la capacidad de establecer redes de contactos, de implicarse en cuestiones relacionadas con la carrera profesional y de explorar las características de las ocupaciones tanto como las personales. Este estudio tiene como objetivo verificar las propiedades psicométricas de la traducción italiana del Cuestionario de Recursos de Carrera-Versión para Adolescentes (CRQ-A; Marciniak et al., 2020) entre dos muestras de estudiantes universitarios (N1 = 270; N2 = 184). A diferencia de la versión original, el análisis factorial exploratorio y el análisis factorial confirmatorio sugirieron una estructura de 10 factores. Se confirmaron la fiabilidad y la validez. Los resultados indican que la versión italiana del CRQ-A es un instrumento multidimensional válido para explorar la preparación profesional de los estudiantes universitarios, favoreciendo en consecuencia a las universidades en su papel de preparar a los estudiantes para la decodificación del mercado laboral y a ellos mismos como futuros trabajadores.

The aim of the study was to verify whether the frequency of face-to-face interactions with the public at work can reveal differences in how people react to emotional regulation demands. In particular, we investigated the mediating role of surface acting (a strategy of dealing with emotional dissonance) in the relationship between two typical job stressors (workload and mental load) and two outcomes closely related to work-related well-being: employees’ general health and the need for recovery. Prior studies investigating the detrimental effects of emotional dissonance mostly focused on service workers. However, in light of a survey conducted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2016) highlighting the growing psycho-social risk constituted by intense human interactions in the workplaces, even in unexpected categories of workers, we hypothesize that emotional demands may also be a concern for those who do not specifically interface with clients as part of their job duties. The results of the multi-group analysis of front-office (N = 734) and back-office (N = 436) Italian workers showed that surface acting fully mediates the relationship between workload and general health among back-office workers, while it only partially mediates this relationship among front-office workers. Furthermore, surface acting is positively associated with the need for recovery and negatively with general health, with higher values for back-office workers. The findings support the hypothesis that the emotional demands are not only a service worker issue and highlight the need to address emotional regulation strategies to enhance the quality of life in and outside the workplace for all employees.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the first measures implemented in Italy was the transition from frontal teaching to online teaching. The sudden need to use technologies to perform their job has added a source of stress to teachers’ work: so-called technostress. The difficulties experienced in this transition may also have affected the perception of work-related well-being, although other variables, such as the perception of the meaningfulness of work, could alleviate this sense of uneasiness. The study aims to examine the relationships between technostress, online teaching, pleasure in working, and meaningful work perceptions among 219 teachers from different school grades through a moderated mediation model. The results confirm negative associations between technostress and pleasure in working, although this relationship varies according to the levels of perceived meaningfulness. Analyzing the factors related to teachers’ perceptions of their work, both in general and during the pandemic situation, is useful for tracing new coping strategies and planning interventions to implement new teaching methods. Further implications concerning the protective role of meaningful work are discussed.

AIMS:This study aims to verify the association between nurses' perception of the meaningfulness of their work and their pleasure in working, and whether this relationship may change based on the level of deep acting performed to cope with emotional regulation demands and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare work.METHODS:Nurses from both private and public Italian institutions (N = 239) completed an online questionnaire between June 2021 and January 2022. A moderated moderation model was tested through SPSS Process macro. The design is cross-sectional.RESULTS:The results show that the perception of meaningfulness of work is positively associated with pleasure in working, especially in conditions of high deep acting. This relationship is further moderated by the COVID-19 influence so that the association between meaningful work and pleasure in working is stronger in conditions of high COVID-19 influence and at higher levels of deep acting performed.CONCLUSION:Perceiving one's work as meaningful can be a job resource that protects nurses from the negative effects of emotional regulation demands and even from the stress of dealing with COVID-19.IMPACT:The study addresses the problem of nurses' emotional regulation demands at work and evaluates the protective role of meaningful work. The findings could be useful for planning prevention interventions (through training in adaptive emotional regulation strategies) or protection interventions (through the promotion of effective coping strategies and the stimulation of one's work engagement).

Although gender equality is increasingly promoted both in the workplace and in society, and women have now fully entered the workforce, the issue of gender differences in relation to career advancement still seems open. Although gender roles no longer clearly define who is responsible for home care and who is responsible for job duties, some research shows that the conflict between family and work life appears to be a greater problem for women than for men. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between career opportunities, work–life balance, and well-being perception separately in both female (n = 499) and male (n = 557) respondents in order to shed light on the role of gender. A multi-group analysis showed that the structural paths of the models differ by gender. For women, the relationships between career opportunities and work–life balance and between career opportunities and the perception of general health have significantly lower values compared to results from the group of men, while the perception of work–life balance affects well-being more significantly when compared to the male counterpart. Implications on the importance of the connection between career and the valorization of personal life duties are further discussed.

Although many studies have been conducted to evaluate the risk and protective factors on psychological health among academic staff, little attention has been paid to fixed-term researchers, the weakest figures in the academic context. By using the Job Demands–Resources model as theoretical framework, we investigated: (1) the role of some job demands (workload, mental load, and emotional dissonance) in predicting the need for recovery; (2) the role of some job resources (independence, career opportunities, and work–life balance) in predicting work engagement; and (3) the moderating role of the contract type (more or less precarious). We focused in particular on emotional dissonance (the discrepancy between emotions that need to be displayed and what is really felt), assuming its unique role in predicting fatigue. Results of structural equation modeling analysis generally supported our hypotheses and highlighted a so far undiscovered path between mental load and work engagement. Specifically, mental load leads to fatigue only indirectly through workload and emotional dissonance, while significantly predicting the absorption and the dedication of fixed-term Italian researchers. The latter relationship was also moderated by the contract type, so that mental load predicts dedication especially among researchers in the most precarious condition.

Human Resource Management (HRM) processes are considered the beating heart of any successful organization. Recently, several studies have highlighted how organizations can use commitment-oriented HR practices to generate organizational and individual effectiveness. The aim of this study was to verify whether the perception of HRM practices could be able to elicit extra-role behaviors and, at the same time, whether this relationship could be mediated by employability and learning conditions. The analyses were carried out on a sample of 1219 Italian workers using Structural Equation Models. The structural model yielded good fit indices and the results showed a significant and positive effect of the perception of HRM practices on both employability and learning. However, the perception of HRM practices is not directly associated with extra-role behaviors, but only through the effect of both mediators (full mediation). Practical implications about the importance of creating working conditions that are adequately oriented to the development of individual skills in order to produce indirect beneficial effects on the organization are discussed.