A new tool to evaluate burnout: the Italian version of the BAT for Italian healthcare workers.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) represents one of the highest-risk population to develop burnout symptoms. Recently, a new tool has been designed to measure several dimensions that capture an exhaustive expression of burnout symptoms by six dimensions (i.e., exhaustion; mental distance; cognitive impairment; emotional impairment; psychological distress; psychosomatic complaints). METHODS: The current study aims to adapt the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) to an Italian Healthcare workers' sample confirming the original second-order factorial structure. Furthermore, we expected to find good indexes of reliability and validity tests. Participants were 697 Italian Health Care Workers (Female = 68.44%; mean age = 36.47; SD = 11.20). Data were collected by self-report questionnaires submitted by the snowball method. RESULTS: Findings show a good fit of the BAT's structure, confirming the hypothesized second-order factorial model. Furthermore, good reliability has been established with the study's measures. CONCLUSIONS: The BAT for HCWs is eligible as a new tool to evaluate burnout in the at-risk HCWs as a multi-facet constellation of symptoms.

Feeling Supported as a Remote Worker: The Role of Support from Leaders and Colleagues and Job Satisfaction in Promoting Employees' Work-Life Balance.

Due to the increasing use of remote work, understanding the dynamics of employee support and its implications for job satisfaction and work-life balance is crucial. Utilizing the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory as a theoretical framework, this research investigated how feeling supported by leaders and colleagues at work fosters work-life balance and job satisfaction among remote employees. The study involved 635 remote workers (females = 61%, mean age, 46.7, SD = 11) from various service-based industries and public administration in Italy. Results from the structural equation model showed a total mediating effect of job satisfaction in the link between colleague support and work-life balance (χ2(22) = 68.923, p = 0.00, CFI = 0.973, TLI = 0.955, RMSEA = 0.059 (90% CI = 0.044-0.075, p = 0.158), SRMR = 0.030), emphasizing the role of interpersonal relationships within the workplace in enhancing remote workers' job satisfaction and, consequently, their work-life balance. Contrary to expectations, the study found no significant direct or indirect link between leader support and work-life balance. This research highlights the significance of fostering strong social connections and ensuring employee satisfaction to promote well-being and work-life balance in remote work arrangements.

Job Satisfaction and Perceived Structural Support in Remote Working Conditions-The Role of a Sense of Community at Work.

Changes in work assets due to the COVID-19 pandemic posed several challenges to employees' well-being, especially in the light of the changes in the work organization, such as remote working and the massive use of IT. According to the literature on the role of technologies at work, the organization's ability to support remote working is a valuable protective factor. At the same time, social distancing due to the pandemic forced employees to use a new relational asset. This, in turn, can shed new light on how the sense of connection and belonging to an organization impacts remote working experiences. This paper will test the mediational effect of structural support and sense of community at work in the link between job demands and job satisfaction in a sample of remote workers. The study involved 635 participants aged 21 to 70 (mean = 46.7, SD = 11; females = 61%). Among them, 33% had remote working experiences before the first Italian lockdown (March 2020). The research protocol included scales from the COPSOQ-III (job demands, sense of community, job satisfaction) and a questionnaire to evaluate the structural support related to the remote working asset. Results from a structural equation model showed a partial mediating effect of sense of community, but not of structural support, in the link between job demands and job satisfaction (χ2(22) = 76.918, p = 0.00, CFI = 0.966, TLI = 0.944, RMSEA = 0.063 (90% CI = 0.048-0.078, p = 0.079), SRMR = 0.044). The role of such associations for future technology-based work assets is detailed in the discussion.

Positioning Technostress in the JD-R Model Perspective: A Systematic Literature Review.

This paper aims to describe the effects of Technostress on employees' well-being and productivity. We adopted the Job Demands Resources Model as a theoretical framework to analyze the "Technostress" phenomenon in order to clarify whether and how technology can be considered a job demand, a job resource, or part of the effects of personal resources in the workplace. The sources search and selection process was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines and regarded papers published from 2010 to 2022. Overall, the findings show that most selected papers consider ICT a job demand negatively affecting human behavior, thoughts, and attitudes. In contrast, some report that ICT acts as a job resource, thus reducing the impact of job demands and their physiological and psychological costs. Finally, a third category of studies does not consider the effects of ICT itself but gives more space to the interaction among ICT, the organizational context in which it is used, and the personal characteristics of ICT users. More specifically, the findings show how individual features and organizational procedures can shape the interpretations employees make about their ICT-related experiences at work and, consequently, their performance or well-being. Findings suggest that when ICT tools are strategically planned and used within organizations, they can enrich the employee experience at work, positively affecting the individual and the organizational level.

Compassionate Work Environments and Their Role in Teachers' Life Satisfaction: The Contribution of Perceived Collective School Performance and Burnout.

Several studies on helping professionals showed the protective role of compassion among colleagues and leaders. Despite this, studies on well-being factors at school, both preventive and protective, usually focus on teachers' personal resources and study compassion in the teacher-student relationship. This study explores the role of received compassion at work on teachers' life satisfaction while considering perceived school collective performance and burnout conditions as mediators in this link. One hundred and eighty-six Italian teachers (female = 85.4%, mean age = 48.5, SD = 9.46) completed a questionnaire on received compassion at work, perceived school collective performance, burnout, and life satisfaction. Through a structural equation model (χ2(21) = 30.716, p = 0.08, CFI = 0.989, TLI = 0.981, RMSEA = 0.050 (90% CI = 0.000-0.080, p = 0.465), SRMR = 0.038), it emerged that only perceived school collective performance mediated the association between received compassion and life satisfaction. To the best of our knowledge, few studies have addressed the role of compassion received from colleagues and supervisors at school and its effect on teachers' work-related beliefs and personal well-being.

Investigating the Role of Remote Working on Employees' Performance and Well-Being: An Evidence-Based Systematic Review.

Remote working refers to a working model in which employees can pursue work tasks outside the organization due to the use of technology. Several research papers showed that different assumptions are linked to remote work because of the flexibility and autonomy granted to employees when working remotely or from home. This review consistently aims to describe remote work's role in employees' well-being and performance. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 20 peer-reviewed papers published from 2010 until 2021 were selected for this review. Findings showed various and mixed consequences on employees' performance and well-being. Specifically, remote working affects employees' perceptions about themselves and their workplaces and contributes to their physical and mental health, particularly regarding work-life balance. Managerial implications for remote working implementation will be discussed in the paper.

Consequences of COVID-19 on Employees in Remote Working: Challenges, Risks and Opportunities An Evidence-Based Literature Review.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations across all sectors and sizes to undertake crucial changes in order to remain productive during the emergency. Among these, the shift towards remote working arrangements is still present in our workplaces, impacting employees' well-being and productivity. This systematic review aims to describe the pandemic's consequences on work organization by analyzing whether and how the shift towards remote or home-working impacted employees' productivity, performance, and well-being. Furthermore, it describes the role of individual and organizational factors in determining employees' adjustment to remote work. Sixty-seven peer-reviewed papers published from 2020 to 2022, written in English, were selected through the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Findings describe how remote working arrangements, the workplace and organizational factors, and the employees' individual traits and skills impacted employees' productivity and well-being. Furthermore, they provide a description of the organizational enforcement actions reported in the literature. Managerial and practical implications, such as enforcement actions, team management strategies, and initiatives to promote employees' physical and mental health, will be discussed in the paper.

Buffering the Effects of Burnout on Healthcare Professionals' Health-The Mediating Role of Compassionate Relationships at Work in the COVID Era.

Managing the COVID-19 pandemic posed several challenges for healthcare professionals, which likely heightened their risk of burnout (Amanullah and Ramesh Shankar, 2020) and, consequently, their general physical and mental health. Although it may not be possible to address and eliminate the causes of burnout, current research informs healthcare organizations about protective strategies to reduce its detrimental consequences. The promotion of compassionate interactions among healthcare professionals may play such a role. Compassion within healthcare organizations positively affects individual performance and well-being. Building on these considerations and within the framework of the Conservation of Resources theory, this study explores the relationships among burnout dimensions, received compassion at work, and general health in 711 Italian healthcare professionals (68.5% female), aged between 21 and 73 years (Mage = 36.4, SD = 11.2). Analyses were conducted to investigate the association between burnout and general well-being (H1) and between burnout symptoms and perceived compassion at work (H2); and the mediational role of compassion in the relationship between burnout symptoms and general well-being. H1 and H2 were confirmed (r < 0.01 for both), and a SEM model showed the mediating role of compassion at work in the association between burnout symptoms and general well-being (RMSEA < 0.08, SRMR < 0.08, CFI and TLI > 0.90). Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed in the paper.

Other-Focused Approach to Teaching. The Effect of Ethical Leadership and Quiet Ego on Work Engagement and the Mediating Role of Compassion Satisfaction.

Recent revisions of the Job Demands Resources (JDR) model acknowledged the importance of personal and organizational dimensions enriching job resources' effect on work engagement. Consistently, this paper addresses the role of compassion satisfaction, as a job resource, on teacher work engagement, given the saliency of caring in teaching as a helping profession. Furthermore, quiet ego, as a personal dimension, and ethical leadership, as an organizational dimension, are studied as antecedents of compassion satisfaction. Overall, the study verifies with a Structural Equation Model whether and how compassion satisfaction mediates the relationships among work engagement, quiet ego, and ethical leadership. One hundred and eighty-eight Italian teachers took part in the study by completing four scales: the Ethical Leadership Scale, the Quiet Ego scale, the Professional Quality Of Life Questionnaire, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-ultra-short version. The final model showed a good fit to the data: χ2 ( 48 ) = 75.399, p = 0.007, CFI = 0.979, TLI = 0.971, RMSEA = 0.055 (90% CI = 0.029-0.078, p = 0.342), SRMR = 0.039. Findings showed that teachers' compassion satisfaction is strongly related to their engagement at school, confirming that teachers' care toward their students is an important resource supporting their engagement. Furthermore, compassion satisfaction totally mediates the relationship between quiet ego and work engagement (bDIRECT = ns, bINDIRECT = 0.327, p = 0.000). Such mediating path confirms recent expansions of the JDR model about the role of personal resources on job resources and, consequently, on work engagement and confirms the Conservation of Resources theory, stating that personal resources impact work outcomes. At the same time, compassion satisfaction does not mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and work engagement, so that ethical school leaders directly impact teachers' work engagement. A possible reason for this finding relies on ethical leadership's role in promoting higher school life participation as a community. More theoretical and practical implications are described in the paper.

Intervention Programs to Promote the Quality of Caregiver-Child Interactions in Childcare: A Systematic Literature Review.

Sensitive caregiver-child interactions appear fundamental throughout childhood, supporting infants' wellbeing and development not only in a familial context but in professional caregiving as well. The main aim of this review was to examine the existing literature about Early Childhood Education Context (ECEC) intervention studies dedicated to caregiver-child interaction, fostering children's socioemotional developmental pathways. Studies published between January 2007 and July 2021 were identified in four electronic databases following PRIMSA guidelines. The initial search yielded a total of 342 records. Among them, 48 studies were fully reviewed. Finally, 18 of them met all inclusion criteria and formed the basis for this review. Main factors characterizing implemented programs were recorded (e.g., intervention and sample characteristics, dimensions of the teacher-child interaction targeted by the intervention, outcome variables, main results) in order to frame key elements of ECE intervention programs. Our review points to a range of fundamental issues that should consider to enhance ECEC interventions' efficacy, supporting children's socioemotional development and caregiver-child interaction. Reflections and considerations for future research are provided.

Corrigendum: The Relationship Between Leadership Behaviors and Volunteer Commitment: The Role of Volunteer Satisfaction.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.602466.].

Intangible Assets and Performance in Nonprofit Organizations:A Systematic Literature Review.

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) promote citizens' participation in community life through several different kinds of organizations: some more informal (such as associations and volunteering groups), others more formal or public (such as charities and foundations). This heterogeneity, as well as the well-known peculiarities of NPOs when compared to profit and public ones, poses new challenges to their management. In the constant need to find balance between financial constraints and social value, a main resource for NPOs is the management of intangible assets, such as knowledge, positive relationships within the organization and with users, external image, loyalty and commitment, and so on. From the literature on for-profit organizations, it is well known that proper management of intangible assets improves an organization's sustainable competitive advantage, not only by enhancing its members' affiliation and commitment but even by enhancing their productivity. This is particularly relevant when taking into account the main role of volunteers in the third sector. Volunteers, indeed, show different job attitudes and organizational behaviors than paid employees, as their membership and accountability are less formalized and they frequently lack a proper teamwork, due to the high volunteer turnover. At the same time, from the managers point of view, managing volunteers and paid workers require higher skills and competencies than managing human resources in for-profit organizations. Developing these reflections and considerations, we aim to conduct a systematic literature review on the association between intangible assets and performance in NPOs. The literature will be conducted following the indications from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. It provides an evidence-based minimum set of items to be included in the review, as well as a workflow to properly manage and choose the papers to be included. The authors conducted the research using EBSCO, ProQuest, and Scopus databases.

The Relationship Between Leadership Behaviors and Volunteer Commitment: The Role of Volunteer Satisfaction.

Despite the relative scarcity of studies on the impact of leadership styles on satisfaction and commitment of volunteers within non-profit organizations, this relationship plays a crucial role in fostering sustained volunteerism and volunteers' well-being. A questionnaire was administered to more than 200 volunteers involved in delivering social services in non-profit organizations from Central and Northern Italy. The questionnaire contained the Volunteer Satisfaction Index, the sub-scale on Affective Commitment of the Organizational Commitment Scale, and two sub-scales of the Key Leadership Behaviors, namely: Helping people to grow and lead, and Enabling learning and innovation. Socio-demographic data were collected as well. Findings revealed that leaders' actions oriented toward the enablement of learning and innovation have an effect on volunteers' affective commitment, through the full mediation of volunteer satisfaction. Leaders' actions oriented toward the growth and empowerment of volunteers, instead, did not show significant relationships with volunteer satisfaction and affective commitment.

The Roles of Work-Life Conflict and Gender in the Relationship between Workplace Bullying and Personal Burnout. A Study on Italian School Principals.

The present study sought to investigate the associations between workplace bullying and personal burnout both directly and indirectly via work-life conflict. Furthermore, the moderating role of gender in these relations was examined. Traditional research on stress at work focuses on the role of dimensions related to job tasks, demands, and organizational support in influencing the risks for stress-related problems in employees. At the same time, other experiences at work may reduce employees' well-being, such as workplace bullying and family life. Specifically, considering the detrimental role of work-life conflict, it is possible to hypothesize that it would exacerbate workplace bullying's harmful effects on employees' health. Moreover, since previous studies have reported mixed or inconsistent results when considering gender differences with the above-mentioned dimensions, it seems worth investigating the role of employee gender in representing (and response to) the bullying experiences. Building on these considerations, this work verifies whether: (1) work-life conflict mediates the relationship between workplace bullying and burnout; (2) gender moderates all the possible relationships among the constructs. Such hypotheses are verified on a sample of school principals, in light of their peculiar job role. Overall, our findings showed that: (1) Workplace bullying and burnout are associated, both with and without the perception of a concurring work-life conflict; (2) Gender does not moderate all the possible relationships among workplace bullying, work-life conflict and burnout. Overall, being female heightens the risk to perceive work-life conflict in general, as well as to be burnt out, when bullied, with and without the presence of work-life conflict; being male heightens the risk to perceive work-life conflict when bullied. Furthermore, the current findings suggest that family demands may influence school principals' feelings of exhaustion regardless of gender. These findings confirm and expand previous literature, especially concerning a less studied occupation, namely school principals, shedding a new light on their work experiences. Furthermore, the present study offers interesting implications for trainings on principal's skills and professional identity.

Unravelling Teacher Job Satisfaction: The Contribution of Collective Efficacy and Emotions Towards Professional Role.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore whether, and to what extent, collective beliefs and emotions towards professional role could predict job satisfaction, above and beyond the role of self-efficacy and emotions towards students. More specifically, we expected job satisfaction to be incrementally predicted by beliefs and emotions related to professional role (collective efficacy and role-related hedonic balance). Design/Methodology/Approach: The analysis was performed through the administration of a questionnaire to 266 Italian secondary school teachers. After having assessed measures of reliability, correlational analyses and a hierarchical regression model were performed. Findings: Results showed that collective efficacy and hedonic balance related to professional role have a unique effect on job satisfaction, accounting for nearly the 30% of its variance. Research Limitations/Implications: Despite some limitations related to the cross-sectional design, the study suggests a practical implication for teacher training, as well as underlying the need to study schools from an organizational point of view. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the psychological research on the role of the organizational dimensions in teachers' well-being at work.

The Interplay of Compassion, Subjective Happiness and Proactive Strategies on Kindergarten Teachers' Work Engagement and Perceived Working Environment Fit.

BACKGROUND: The current cross-sectional study examines a model that was designed to advance understanding of the interplay between compassion towards teachers expressed by teaching colleagues, subjective happiness, proactive strategies and kindergarten teachers' levels of work engagement, and perceived working environment fit. METHODS: The research was conducted with a sample of 319 full-time in-service kindergarten teachers at Italian public preschools-a context in which a few previous studies have been carried out. Self-report questionnaires were administered: The Subjective Happiness Scale, the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Proactive Strategy Scale, and the Teacher-working environment fit scale. Data were analyzed by using the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. RESULTS: Results show that compassion and subjective happiness have a direct positive total effect on work engagement, whereas the effects of compassion and subjective happiness on experienced working environment fit suggest that the association among constructs is mediated by the role of proactive strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these findings, we strongly advocate that educational policy makers and head teachers' pay close attention to the areas of personal and collective resources and work-related well-being, with a view to effectively address the promotion of early childhood teachers' work engagement and working environment fit.

Trait Emotional Intelligence and School Burnout: The Mediating Role of Resilience and Academic Anxiety in High School.

The main aim of the current study was to investigate the role of trait emotional intelligence (TEI) in preventing students' school burnout directly and indirectly via anxiety and academic resilience. The data were derived from a sample of 1235 high school students (962 females and 273 males), ranging in age between 13 and 17 years (mean = 15.46; stand deviation = 1.22). Structural equation modelling revealed a strong indirect effect of TEI on school burnout, mediated via anxiety and resilience. Overall, students with high TEI were less likely to experience school anxiety and more likely to exhibit resilience which, in turn, reduced school burnout risk. Findings are discussed with reference to the wider role of TEI in educational contexts and highlight the need and potential for scientifically driven interventions to enhance emotional adjustment at school and in life, more generally.

The Impact of Emotions and Hedonic Balance on Teachers' Self-Efficacy: Testing the Bouncing Back Effect of Positive Emotions.

Emotions toward students (e.g., Chan, 2004) and professional role (e.g., O'Connor, 2008) impact teachers' self-efficacy (TSE) beliefs. The effect of positive emotions (PEs) can be explained by the broaden and build theory, stating that the higher the PEs individuals attribute to themselves, the higher the chance to build positive aspects of the self (Fredrickson, 2001). At the same time, negative emotions (NEs) at school inversely influence TSE, reducing teachers' confidence (Chan, 2004). Furthermore, Fredrickson et al. (2000)'s studies inform about the bouncing back effect of PEs on the detrimental effects of NEs on self-efficacy. Starting from these considerations, this study (1) evaluated the bouncing back effect of PEs on negative ones, when predicting self-efficacy; (2) verified whether emotions toward professional role moderated the bouncing back effect. Self-efficacy and emotions in teaching (MESI, Moè et al., 2010) were measured. Two hundred and seventy-two Italian secondary school teachers (F = 73%) were involved. PEs toward students might act as buffering factors against the detrimental effect of NEs on self-efficacy [F(2,270) = 26.17, P < 0.001, R 2 = 0.199]. Finally, emotions toward students and emotions toward professional role do not interact when predicting self-efficacy. The relationships with students seem to have an highly protective effect on teachers' mental health. At the same time, the perception of one's own role as detached from the teaching community may have a role in justifying the non-significant effect of emotions toward professional role in the model and shed new light on intervention objectives.

Alexithymia in Young people's academic career: The mediating role of anxiety and resilience.

Alexithymia prevents people from understanding and adopting verbal language to describe and regulate one's emotions. Recent studies have found that alexithymia symptoms also impact on young people's academic achievement. Nevertheless, it is worth investigating risk and protective roles played by students' academic anxiety and resilience, respectively. The authors expected that students' anxiety and resilience mediated the effect of alexithymia symptoms on students' academic burnout and performance. A sample of 257 university students answered self-report questionnaires about alexithymia, academic anxiety and resilience, and academic burnout and performance. Mediation analyses were performed by the structural equation model. Anxiety acted as a mediator between alexithymia and academic burnout and performance. Furthermore, resilience mediated the effect of alexithymia on burnout, but not on academic performance. The study provides support for preventing alexithymia consequences on young people's academic career by reducing their anxiety and promoting academic resilience. Implications of intervention programs were discussed.

Predicting Adolescent Depression: The Interrelated Roles of Self-Esteem and Interpersonal Stressors.

Depression in adolescents can lead to social and educational impairment and is a major risk factor for suicide and substance misuse. Thus, predicting and preventing this disorder are extremely important. The current study aimed to analyze the contribution of adolescents' self-esteem (i.e., quality of interpersonal relationships, control of life events, and management of negative emotions) and interpersonal stressor sources (relationships with parents, teachers, classmates and friends) in predicting several depression manifestations (i.e., depressed mood, sense of inadequacy, and insecurity). Participants were 182 Italian pre-adolescents and adolescents, aged 10-14 years, were recruited from three Italian schools. They were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that self-esteem was a major factor to be considered in adolescents' depression. In particular, adolescents' perception of negative emotion management was the most important protective factor against depression manifestations. Conversely, sources of interpersonal stressors contributed only marginally to depression. Among these, problems with parents and friends increased adolescents' depressed mood, while troubles with classmates impacted on their sense of inadequacy and insecurity. Implications of these results for positive practices which could enhance adolescents' self-esteem and further expansions of the study are discussed.