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Increased levels of work from home, the most significant pandemic legacy, is here to stay, necessitating its examination from different perspectives. This paper focuses on the well-being, work-life balance and health challenges this paradigm shiftbrings. In our survey of 241 Slovenian companies, we found that the experience of forced work from home was better than expected, though it still poses risk to well-being, work-life balance and health, and that consensual work from home positively influences worker satisfaction, leading to increased productivity. However, the forced work from home resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is not comparable to consensual remote work because it provides a more controlled environment; it is, therefore, critical that workers and their representatives are involved in organizing work from home with management to develop strategies to better develop motivation and optimize productivity. Further research should focus on longitudinal studies to specifically examine the impact on workers in this context, which will also provide a more robust basis for formulating recommendations and policy.

Over the past decade, researchers and human-resource managers, par­ticularly in larger private sector organisations, have shown an increased interest in talent management, while this issue has been overlooked in the public sector. The purpose of this paper is to present the literature review about talent management in the public sector and to show how the existing legislation allows the creation of a talent management system for Slovenian public sector organisations. The main methodological ap­proach used was qualitative research with document analysis. The pa­per sought answers to three research questions: (How) are talented em­ployees treated differently from other employees? What types of models or practices in the field of talent management are applied in European countries? What are the legal limitations in the field of civil servant talent management in Slovenia? The literature review shows that organisations that are aware of the importance and contribution to the ultimate or­ganisational objectives treat talented employees differently from other employees in the organisation. Models or practices in the field of talent management vary widely among different European countries. The limitations in Slovenia are strict observance of the principle of equality and thus equal opportunities for inclusion in the system of talented civil servants with limited reward opportunities and, consequently, for the promotion of civil servants. In order to enable good practices in Slovenia, a change of the legal framework is necessary.

The article focuses on worker representative cooperation in management bodies and works councils in selected Slovenian companies, their mutual communication and degree of management inclusion activity in such processes. Using a qualitative research approach and semi-structured interviews in 19 selected companies with CEO or board members, worker representatives in the supervisory boards and works council members, we identified stakeholder internal communication best practice and found that well-considered, comprehensive, timely and accurate internal communication in line with company culture is not only essential for ensuring sufficient information but also for maintaining and improving constructive relationships for the efficient implementation of worker co-determination.

An increasing number of studies and practical experience confirm that employment quality and security affect the mental and physical wellbeing of workers. This applies even more to those who are included in precarious types of work, as these are marked by work process inclusion uncertainty and lower quality in several dimensions of work performance. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to analyse mental health self-perception in individuals who have described their work as precarious. The study involved 201 participants aged 18 to 40 years old working in Slovenia. This is one of the first studies focusing on this topic on a Slovenian sample. Results evidence that those performing precarious work report low life satisfaction, including higher depression, anxiety and emotional exhaustion symptom incidence, confirming that performing precarious work is connected with poorer emotional health indicators in young adults.

Over the last ten years we observe an increase of atypical forms of employment and other forms of work in Slovenia as a response to changed work conditions. Since we can expect the growth of new forms of work also in the future and, at the same time, these forms of work are often associated with the risk of precariousness, initiatives to preserve decent work and needs to carefully monitor developments of these forms of work in terms of maintaining workers’ rights and the social security system have been initiated in foreign and domestic literature and public. This paper aims to examine the concept of decent work, present the labor market situation in term of developments of new forms of work in Slovenia and to analyze legal dilemmas brought about by new forms of work.

PurposeThe article focuses on the role that ‘confidential information’ plays in relation to the work of board-level worker representatives, and their interaction with other worker participation mechanisms. Thus, the purpose of the paper is to explore the implications of confidentiality of board-level information for effective worker participation. The main argument is that if board-level worker representatives are excessively constrained by confidentiality provisions, their capacity to work effectively is brought into question.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research was undertaken on a sample of 12 public limited companies in Slovenia. In each company, three interviews were conducted: with the CEO or board member, with a board-level worker representative and with a works councilor, who was not a board-level worker representative (36 interviews in total). Each of these interviewees has a particular role, and interest, in handling confidential information. Thus, a method of triangulation by groups was employed. The interviews were conducted at the company premises during October and November 2017. The results were analysed by the content analysis method.FindingsThis research confirms that in the majority of companies, nearly all of the material and information discussed by the board is deemed to be ‘confidential’. Consequently, communication between board-level worker representatives and the works council is rendered difficult, if not impossible. The results indicate an urgent need to redefine the concept of confidentiality and to reinforce the level of communication between management boards and works councils.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to one country, which, by no means, is fatal, as international comparisons, although of greater breadth, often lose some depth of analysis (especially, for example, where there are differences in legal contexts). Although the issues discussed in the paper are of relevance to all those with an interest in worker participation mechanisms, they cannot be generalised mostly due to national specificities.Originality/valueThe question of confidentiality as between the board, board-level worker representatives, works councils, trade unions and other form of worker representation, despite its importance, has been raised quite rarely in research. In this research, three groups of stakeholders (CEO/board member, board-level workers representative and works council members) have been covered, with the aim to extend the understanding of how confidentiality obligations impact relationships between these.

PurposeThe aim of the paper is to identify the causal effect of the COVID-19 induced crisis on students' decisions about their educational plans. The authors hypothesise that students adjusted their decisions by delaying graduation, dropping out or change the field of education because of increased uncertainty about future employment and monetary returns.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical approach is based on a survey done during the first wave of COVID-19 in Slovenia. The probability of dropping out, prolonging or stop-out is designed by applying probit and probit with insturmental variables empirical model.FindingsPrimary orientation towards work increases the probability of dropping out and financial constraints increase the probability of prolonging studies. The same holds after accounting for endogeneity. However, the authors do not find that poor job expectations due to COVID-19 affect students' decisions to prolong, drop-out or stop-out. The authors also find that the primary orientation toward work or study explains the differences in the probability of each outcome that is not influenced by enrolment in a particular field of study.Research limitations/implicationsThe results cannot be read as an objective prediction of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on college failures. However, the study provides insight into how students' expectations change their intentions to prolong, drop-out, or stop-out during periods of high uncertainty. The extent, to which measured intentions are realised, however, is uncertain.Practical implicationsUnderstanding the response diversity and motives behind students' study decisions represents extremely valuable insights for economic policy. Mapped apprehensions, augmented by heterogeneity in personal and financial characteristics, are relevant for policymakers. In terms of future research, it would be interesting to analyse what changes occurred over a five-year period, specifically which field of study was most affected by students' adjusted plans due to the pandemic.Social implicationsStudents have always been a special group in the labour market. After the initial shock of closing activities, studying online and the drastic decrease in student work due to COVID-19, the decision was made in spring 2020 to continue on the chosen path or not. This paper provides insight into the changing decision students made about their educational plans.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first to highlight the implications of COVID-19 for the adaptation of student plans in the transition from school-to work in Europe. It departs from the classical literature of college failures, as specific macroeconomic conditions influence students to reconsider their educational decisions. Moreover, the paper also contributes to the rapidly growing literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on household-level labour market outcomes, particularly with respect to job search and labour supply decisions in general.

Anincreasing number of studies and practical experience confirmthat employment quality and security affect the mental and physical wellbeing of workers. This applies even more to those who are included in precarious types of work, as these are  marked by work process inclusion uncertainty and lower quality in several dimensions of work performance. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to analyse mental health self-perception in individuals who have described their work as precarious. The study involved 201 participants aged 18 to 40 years old working in Slovenia. This is one of the first studies focusing on this topic on a Slovenian sample. Results evidence that those performing precarious work report low life satisfaction, including higher depression, anxiety and emotional exhaustion symptom incidence, confirming that performing precarious work is connected with poorer emotional health indicators in young adults.

An increasing number of studies and practical experience confirm that employment quality and security affect the mental and physical wellbeing of workers. This applies even more to those who are included in precarious types of work, as these are marked by work process inclusion uncertainty and lower quality in several dimensions of work performance. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to analyse mental health self-perception in individuals who have described their work as precarious. The study involved 201 participantsaged 18 to 40 years old working in Slovenia. This is one of the first studies focusing on this topic on a Slovenian sample. Results evidence that those performing precarious work report low life satisfaction, including higher depression, anxiety and emotional exhaustion symptom incidence, confirming that performing precarious work is connected with poorer emotional health indicators in young adults.

Marginalised groups of workers in Slovenia are traditionally most affected by labour market uncertainty, but increasingly middle-class and upper-class workers are experiencing the same. Furthermore, new work forms have given rise to ethical, psychological and legal dilemmas. In this paper, we examine the concept of decent work and focus on job-related and organisational aspects of work in Slovenia. In the empirical part of the paper we therefore focus on working time, work organisation and co-operation within teams, work-life balance, health and stress, and overall satisfaction with working conditions. Our results evidence that new work forms increase insecurity and consequently diminish worker well-being; and this is most experienced by younger, agency and self-employed workers in Slovenia. This suggests that the development of multilevel and multifaceted measures which take into account socio-psychological and legislative factors to address labour market segmentation is necessary, especially when addressing the needs of those forced to work atypically.