Occupational safety in homecare organizations: the design and implementation of a train-the-trainer program.

Homecare workers face significant occupational risks, necessitating effective safety training programs. This paper presents a comprehensive Train-the-Trainer (TTT) program developed to enhance occupational safety in homecare organizations. Through an analysis of 229 reported safety events, the frequency and type of incidents, such as injuries during handling, road crashes, slips, trips, and falls, were identified and primarily attributed to human errors and violations. Based on the results, a TTT program was designed and implemented. The TTT successfully engaged Health, Safety, and Environment managers, fostering collaborative activities, knowledge sharing, and resource discussions. The program modules address critical areas, including distractions and inattentions, fatigue, time pressure, frustration and aggressiveness, and safety behaviors. This innovative approach provides valuable insights for organizations seeking to improve homecare workers' safety. The findings add to the broader comprehension of occupational safety in the homecare sector, proposing a pragmatic framework for future interventions.

Migrants' human rights and health protection during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Mediterranean Sea: what we have learnt from direct inspections in two Italian hotspots.

This study aims to assess the situation of Italian hotspots for migrant reception during the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifically analyzing the situation of two hotspots located in the Sicily Region (Pozzallo harbor and Lampedusa Island), to identify critical issues. At the same time, we hypothesize solutions to guarantee the respect of human rights and suggest an operational protocol to be applied in similar situations, considering that the migration phenomenon is increasing and involving new geographical areas. Based on data obtained through the site inspections, the facilities of Pozzallo and Lampedusa exceeded their capacity to adequately contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Considering these findings, we suggest a practical workflow summarizing the main actions that should be applied to contain COVID-19, or other infectious disease, spreading in hotspots for migrants. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrants has received limited attention, although the migration phenomenon did not slow down during the pandemic period. Regarding the risk of spreading infectious diseases such as COVID-19, it is necessary that those countries who are most exposed to migration flows, such as Italy, plan dedicated strategies to minimize the possibility of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, using adequate protocols to monitor the possible insurgence of variants of interest (VOIs) or variants of concern (VOCs). Finally, it is important to state that these suggestions could be applied in any future pandemics.

Workload and Mental Well-Being of Homeworkers: The Mediating Effects of Work-Family Conflict, Sleeping Problems, and Work Engagement.

OBJECTIVE: Based on the Conservation of Resources theory, this cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between workload experienced by employees when working at home and their mental well-being. Work-family conflict, sleeping problems, and work engagement are proposed as mediators. METHODS: A sample of 11,501 homeworkers was drawn from the sixth wave of the European Working Condition Survey data set. RESULTS: Unlike the expected, the higher the workload, the higher the mental well-being of employees. However, as expected, high workload was correlated with lower well-being when indirect effects through work-family conflict, sleep problems, and work engagement were considered. Similarly, the total effect of workload on mental well-being was negative. CONCLUSIONS: The study suggests that organizations should pay more attention to the amount of workload experienced by their homeworkers because it may be harmful to their health and well-being.

Can activity worthwhileness explain OCB-I change? The mediating role of positive emotions / Puede la valía de la actividad explicar el cambio de OCB-I? El papel mediador de las emociones positivas

The competitiveness of today's markets requires employees to do more than is formally expected from them by collaborating with others to benefit the organization (e.g., organizational citizenship behavior focused on individuals, OCB-I). Based on the idea that eudaimonic wellbeing positively influences OCB-I, and considering that positive emotions lead to optimal functioning and important work outcomes, this study analyzes the mediating role of positive emotions in the relationship between activity worthwhileness and OCB-I. Results of hierarchical regressions in a two-wave longitudinal study with a sample of 108 white collar employees show that activity worthwhileness indirectly (but not directly) explains change in OCB-I through positive emotions. Therefore, when it comes to improving performance in the workplace, investment in both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing contributes to more effectively benefitting both employees and organizations.(AU)

La competitividad de los mercados actuales requiere que los empleados hagan más de lo que formalmente se espera de ellos colaborando con otros para favorecer a la organización (por ejemplo, comportamiento de ciudadanía organizacional centrado en las personas, OCB-I). Partiendo de la idea de que el bienestar eudaimónico influye positivamente en el OCB-I, y considerando que las emociones positivas conducen a un funcionamiento óptimo y a importantes resultados laborales, el presente estudio analiza el papel mediador de las emociones positivas en la relación entre la valía de la actividad y el OCB-I. Los resultados de regresiones jerárquicas en el presente estudio longitudinal con una muestra de 108 trabajadores administrativos muestran que la valía de la actividad explica indirecta, pero no directamente, el cambio en OCB-I a través de las emociones positivas. Por lo tanto, cuando se trata de mejorar el desempeño en el lugar de trabajo, la inversión en bienestar, tanto hedónico como eudaimónico, contribuye a favorecer tanto a los empleados como a las organizaciones.(AU)

Working Remotely During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Work-Related Psychosocial Factors, Work Satisfaction, and Job Performance Among Russian Employees.

Background: The spread of COVID-19 has forced organizations to quickly offer remote work arrangements to employees. Objective: The study focuses on remote work during the first wave of the pandemic and describes how Russian employees experienced remote work. The research has three main objectives: (1) to investigate the influence of gender and age on employees' perceptions of remote work; (2) to investigate the relationship between remote work and psychosocial variables, such as remote work stress, remote work engagement, and family-work conflict; (3) to examine whether and how much such psychosocial factors are related to remote work satisfaction and job performance. These objectives were the basis for developing six hypotheses. Design: A cross-sectional study involved 313 Russian employees. Data were collected using an online survey distributed in April and May 2020. The hypotheses were tested using ANOVA, correlations, and multiple linear regression analyses. Results: Women experienced more stress and more engagement when working remotely; older employees perceived remote work as a less positive experience; opinions about remote work and remote work engagement were positively related to remote work satisfaction; leader-member exchange (LMX) was a significant predictor of job performance. Conclusion: During the lockdown, remote work was perceived as a positive experience. We discuss some practical implications for organizations and managers.

Not All Remote Workers Are Similar: Technology Acceptance, Remote Work Beliefs, and Wellbeing of Remote Workers during the Second Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Although a large part of the world's workforce engaged in mandatory Work from Home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the experience was not the same for everyone. This study explores whether different groups of employees, based on their work and organizational characteristics (i.e., organizational size, number of days per week working from home, working in team) and personal characteristics (i.e., remote work experience, having children at home), express different beliefs about working remotely, acceptance of the technology necessary to Work from Home, and well-being. A study was conducted with 163 Italian workers who answered an online questionnaire from November 2020 to January 2021. A cluster analysis revealed that work, organizational, and personal variables distinguish five different types of workers. ANOVA statistics showed that remote workers from big companies who worked remotely several days a week, had experience (because they worked remotely before the national lockdowns), and worked in a team, had more positive beliefs about working remotely, higher technology acceptance, and better coping strategies, compared to the other groups of workers. Practical implications to support institutional and organizational decision-makers and HR managers to promote remote work and employee well-being are presented.

The Implementation of a Remote Work Program in an Italian Municipality before COVID-19: Suggestions to HR Officers for the Post-COVID-19 Era.

This case study describes the implementation stages and some outcomes of a remote work program that was adopted in an Italian municipality before the COVID-19 pandemic. This research used a qualitative case study approach, proposing a semi-structured interview with 14 staff members (six remote-worker employees, their respective managers, and two intermediate-level managers) about the experience with the remote work program. In addition, two researchers attended two preparatory program meetings. The evidence shows that, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work was mainly performed at home, for one or two days a week. Together with their manager, remote workers decided the tasks to perform remotely and the criteria to monitor remote work. Furthermore, employees appreciated the remote work program, perceiving themselves to be more productive in their work. Elements of this case study may be relevant for companies that aim to move from an emergency to a more planned remote work.

Work From Home During the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Impact on Employees' Remote Work Productivity, Engagement, and Stress.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic made working from home (WFH) the new way of working. This study investigates the impact that family-work conflict, social isolation, distracting environment, job autonomy, and self-leadership have on employees' productivity, work engagement, and stress experienced when WFH during the pandemic. METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed data collected through an online questionnaire completed by 209 employees WFH during the pandemic. The assumptions were tested using hierarchical linear regression. RESULTS: Employees' family-work conflict and social isolation were negatively related, while self-leadership and autonomy were positively related, to WFH productivity and WFH engagement. Family-work conflict and social isolation were negatively related to WFH stress, which was not affected by autonomy and self-leadership. CONCLUSION: Individual- and work-related aspects both hinder and facilitate WFH during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Current Approaches, Typologies and Predictors of Deviant Work Behaviors: A Scoping Review of Reviews.

This study provides a scoping review of the recent conceptual developments about the deviant work behavior and counterproductive work behavior constructs. It also examines the specific types of deviant work behavior that have been more consistently investigated in the last decade, and whether they cover the interpersonal or organizational type of deviant behavior. In addition, individual, group, and organizational predictors of deviant work behaviors are examined. A scoping review of reviews was conducted on Scopus and Web of Science databases and 54 studies published from 2010 to June 2021 were taken into account. Results show that more recent conceptualizations are based on well established models in the literature and consider the hierarchical structure of these two constructs. Recent reviews examine the relationships of deviant work behavior with job performance and ethical behavior constructs, the multilevel nature of deviant work behavior, and the consequences for the actor of the deviance. The specific types of deviant work behavior more frequently reviewed in the last decade are workplace abuse, incivility, ostracism, bullying and sexual harassment, and abusive and destructive leadership; this evidence suggests a much greater attention to interpersonal, rather than organizational, forms of deviant work behavior. Regarding antecedents, results show the continuing prevalence of personality factors antecedents. Limitations of the study and theoretical and practical implications for the field are also provided.

Personal Initiative, Passive-Avoidant Leadership and Support for Innovation as Antecedents of Nurses' Idea Generation and Idea Implementation.

PURPOSE: This study aims to explore the role of individual (work engagement, personal initiative), group (transformational, transactional, passive-avoidant leadership) and organisational factors (support for innovation climate) in fostering the two components of nurses' innovative behaviours, idea generation and idea implementation. DESIGN AND METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted in an Italian public hospital, in two departments that had been created by merging other departments. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 118 nurses. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. FINDINGS: Respondents reported a high frequency of idea generation followed by idea implementation. Personal initiative and passive-avoidant leadership were significantly and positively related to nurses' idea generation and idea implementation. Support for innovation was positively related to idea implementation. Transactional and transformational leadership did not show any relationships with the two innovative work behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that nurses' innovative work behaviour is a complex and multi determined behaviour, influenced by individual, group, and organisational factors. It also shows that low levels of passive-avoidant leadership may contribute to innovation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Healthcare policies and strategies are needed to support a leadership style that allows space for autonomy, and that, together with support for innovation and personal initiative, facilitates nurses' idea generation and idea implementation.

The Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS): Italian adaptation and exploration of the nomological network in a health care setting.

AIM: To validate the Ethical Leadership Scale by Brown, Treviño and Harrison (2005) in Italian language, and assess, in health care setting, whether ethical leadership is related to leader-member exchange and also job satisfaction, work engagement, cynicism and organisational service climate. BACKGROUND: Ethics is a key component in health care professions, and leaders have to encourage ethical behaviour. Unfortunately, no instrument is currently validated in Italy and the associations between this construct and the proposed measures have been understudied. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a large organisation offering health care services. All employees were invited to fill an online survey. The answers of 637 respondents, working in 48 centres for elderly and disabled people, were examined with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and aggregated at the centre level to test the association among the examined measures. RESULTS: The 10 items on the ethical leadership scale load on a single factor, negatively related to cynicism and positively related to the other examined variables. CONCLUSION: The proposed scale is a reliable tool to assess the ethical leadership of Italian health care managers and nurse leaders. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The scale allows to assess and monitor ethical leadership in health care workplaces. Supporting ethical leadership may stimulate employees' work attitudes and promote organisational service climate.

Job Crafting as a Mediator between Work Engagement and Wellbeing Outcomes: A Time-Lagged Study.

This time-lagged study, using the framework of the JD-R model, tested the mediating role of job crafting measuring: at T1, work engagement, workaholism and emotional exhaustion; at T2, job crafting; and, at T3, flourishing, job performance and job satisfaction. Respondents were 443 Spanish employees working in different companies. Results show that job crafting mediates the relationship between work engagement and some of its outcomes (job performance and flourishing). In particular, the job crafting component 'increasing structural job resources' mediates the positive effect of work engagement on flourishing and job performance, and the job crafting component 'increasing challenging demands' mediates the positive effect of work engagement on job performance. No job crafting mediation is found between work engagement and job satisfaction.

Four Wellbeing Patterns and their Antecedents in Millennials at Work.

Literature suggests that job satisfaction and health are related to each other in a synergic way. However, this might not always be the case, and they may present misaligned relationships. Considering job satisfaction and mental health as indicators of wellbeing at work, we aim to identify four patterns (i.e., satisfied-healthy, unsatisfied-unhealthy, satisfied-unhealthy, and unsatisfied-healthy) and some of their antecedents. In a sample of 783 young Spanish employees, a two-step cluster analysis procedure showed that the unsatisfied-unhealthy pattern was the most frequent (33%), followed by unsatisfied-healthy (26.6%), satisfied-unhealthy (24.8%) and, finally, the satisfied-healthy pattern (14.3%). Moreover, as hypothesized, discriminant analysis suggests that higher levels of job importance and lower levels of role ambiguity mainly differentiate the satisfied-healthy pattern, whereas overqualification and role overload differentiate, respectively, the unsatisfied-healthy and satisfied-unhealthy patterns. Contrary to our expectations, role conflict also characterizes the satisfied-unhealthy pattern. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.

Financial Management Behavior Among Young Adults: The Role of Need for Cognitive Closure in a Three-Wave Moderated Mediation Model.

This three-wave study aims to explore whether the impact of investment literacy on the financial management behavior is mediated by investment advice use and moderated by the need for cognitive closure. A total number of 272 financially independent adults, under 40 years, completed questionnaires at three different times with 3-month intervals. The results reveal that employees with more investment advice use and characterized by high need for cognitive closure show a higher level of financial management behavior, in relation to both the urgency (seizing) of getting knowledge and the permanence (freezing) of such knowledge. The present study contributes to better understand how and when investment literacy drives well-informed and responsible financial behavior. According to these results, interventions to improve financial behavior should focus on the combination of investment advice use and metacognitive strategies used by individuals to make financial decisions.

Transformational leadership and team effectiveness: the mediating role of affective team commitment / El liderazgo transformacional y la eficacia grupal: el papel mediador del compromiso afectivo con el equipo

This paper investigates the effects of transformational leadership on team effectiveness. In particular, we studied the effects of transformational leadership on three criteria of team effectiveness: viability, team process improvement, and quality of group experience. In addition, we examined the indirect effect of transformational leadership on team effectiveness via affective team commitment. Ninety teams working in different organizational contexts in Portugal were surveyed. Two different questionnaires were administrated, respectively, to team members and team leaders. Team members (N = 445) were surveyed about leadership, team commitment, and quality of the group experience, whereas team leaders (N = 90) were asked to assess team viability and team process improvement. Hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling. Results revealed that affective team commitment partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and quality of the group experience. The mediational role of affective team commitment between transformational leadership and both team viability and team process improvement was not supported. Implications for practice and suggestions for further research are provided

El objetivo de esta investigación fue contribuir a aclarar los efectos del liderazgo transformacional en la eficacia de los equipos. Hemos estudiado los efectos directos e indirectos del liderazgo transformacional en tres criterios de eficacia del equipo: la viabilidad, la mejora del proceso en equipo y la calidad de la experiencia grupal. Además, analizamos el efecto indirecto del liderazgo transformacional en la eficacia grupal a través del compromiso afectivo con el equipo. Se encuestó a 90 equipos que trabajaban en diferentes contextos organizacionales en Portugal. Se administraron dos cuestionarios diferentes respectivamente a los miembros del equipo y a los líderes. Los miembros del equipo (N = 445) fueron encuestados sobre el liderazgo, el compromiso con el equipo y la calidad de la experiencia grupal, mientras que a los líderes (N = 90) se les pidió que evaluasen la viabilidad del equipo y la mejora del proceso en equipo. Las hipótesis se examinaron mediante modelos de ecuaciones estructurales. Los resultados revelaron que el compromiso afectivo con el equipo media parcialmente la relación entre el liderazgo transformacional y la calidad de la experiencia grupal. El rol de mediación del compromiso afectivo del equipo entre el liderazgo transformacional, la viabilidad de éste y la mejora del proceso en equipo, no ha sido sustentado empíricamente. Además, presentamos implicaciones para la práctica y sugerencias para futuras investigaciones