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Building on the Conservation of Resources (COR) framework (Hobfoll American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524, 1989), employability can be conceived as a personal resource that, similarly to core self-evaluation concepts such as self-esteem, relates favourably to a wide array of both work-related and more general well-being outcomes. We carried out a survey involving 254 Italian and 254 Finnish employees via a self-report questionnaire to investigate whether employability orientation acted as a mediator on the well-established relationship between self-esteem and psychological well-being. Results indicated that self-esteem was positively associated with employability orientation; moreover, country moderated such relationship, given that the association between these two variables was stronger among Italian than Finnish employees. Furthermore, self-esteem predicted different facets of psychological well-being at work (job satisfaction, vigour, emotional exhaustion, psychological symptoms) in both countries. We investigated both the mediated effect of employability orientation on the association between self-esteem and psychological well-being and the possible moderating effect originated by the country of origin of respondents. In several cases, employability orientation partly mediated the effects of self-esteem on psychological well-being. Findings confirm self-esteem and employability to be personal resources that are likely to affect positively psychological well-being at work.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of organisational career growth (OCG) in the process linking organisational work–family support and work–family conflict.Design/methodology/approachSince previous contributions reported theoretical and empirical evidence of possible gender differences in this process, a moderated mediation model was examined including gender as moderating variable of both direct and indirect effects. Conditional process analysis was used to test the hypotheses on a sample of 507 Italian employees who were also parents.FindingsResults showed a significant mediation effect of OCG in the relationship between organisational work–family support and work–family conflict. Furthermore, evidence of a moderated effect of gender was found in the way that the negative direct effect of organisational work–family support on work–family conflict was stronger among women, whereas the direct effect of OCG on work–family conflict was significant only for men.Originality/valueThis is the first study addressing the possible negative effect of OCG on a specific target of employees.

The integration of molecular imprinting technology with electrochemical methods has become fundamental in the development of next-generation sensors. This study explores two different strategies for developing a dopamine-based molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the electrochemical sensing of levofloxacin. In the first case, the MIP is developed by electropolymerization on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) surface using cyclic voltammetry, while in the second, the MIP is obtained by an oxidation process, and the resulting dispersion is drop-cast on the SPCE surface. The same approach is used for a non-imprinted polymer. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized materials and the surface morphology of the modified electrodes are investigated by several techniques. Differential pulse voltammetry is used to evaluate the performance of the modified electrodes, assessing their linear concentration range, limit of detection, and limit of quantification, together with repeatability and selectivity. MIP-based SPCEs obtained with these two fabrication strategies exhibited comparable imprinting factor values and linear concentration ranges, along with comparable limits of detection and quantification. The MIP-based SPCE obtained by electropolymerization showed greater repeatability, whereas the MIP-based SPCE produced by drop-casting provided higher sensitivity in levofloxacin detection.

The work-family interface is a compelling topic that calls into question labor market dynamics and work processes, together with important social and family composition changes. The present study aimed at examining the antecedents of Work-Family Balance (WFB) in Italy consistent with Greenhaus and Allen’s (2011) conceptual model in which the characteristics of work and family roles have an indirect impact on work-family balance through Work-Family Conflict (WFC) and Work-Family Enrichment (WFE), and where job and family satisfaction are considered as predictors of WFB. A total of 568 workers participated in a time-lagged correlational study, filling a questionnaire. The theoretical model was tested by assessing the mediating role of job and family satisfaction as well as related antecedents, conflict, and enrichment between the family and work contexts, through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results partially confirmed the theoretical model: work-to-family enrichment and work-to-family conflict predicted family satisfaction, which also mediated their association with WFB. The results in the family-to-work direction did not support the initial research hypotheses. The hypotheses about associations between demands and resources, conflict and enrichment in both directions, and of the moderating role of core self-evaluations were partially confirmed. The results highlighted that organizations need to carry out periodic assessments of WFC and WFE, in order to provide benefits and resources, to reduce conflict, and increase enrichment, through proper interventions (training activities, professional development, mentoring, and forms of flexibility).

Our aim was to investigate some predictors and outcomes of family-to-work enrichment (FWE) via a mixed-method approach. We sampled 447 married employees of an Italian factory. Survey results from Study 1 showed that emotional support from family positively predicted FWE, while this latter mediated the associations between the former on one side, and work engagement and life satisfaction on the other. Moreover, extra-household support directly associated positively with life satisfaction. Evidence from 20 anthropological in-depth interviews (Study 2) returned a more complex picture, highlighting the gendered role of partners inside couples, the importance of kinship support, the sense and the value of filiation and parenthood in their connection with job roles, the complex and continuous interplay between family and life domains. In combination, results from both studies stressed the importance of family support; additionally, evidences from Study 2 suggested that FWE could be better understood taking into account crossover dynamics and the compresence of work-to-family enrichment and conflict. In sum, these studies contributed to shed light on FWE dynamics, an under-researched topic in Italy, whose knowledge could be of great empirical and practical value.

PurposeAs employees face increased turbulence due to uncertain economic and organisational conditions, they are nowadays pushed to be proactive in both their jobs and careers in terms of heightened customisation, adaptability and flexibility. Drawing from the career construction theory, we examine the reciprocal associations of a contemporary career orientation among employees to customise one’s own career (i.e. protean career orientation) vs one’s own job (i.e. job crafting behaviours) as well as the boundary conditions due to the levels of career adaptability.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted a cross-lagged study with three waves using data collected from a sample of Polish employees. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling in AMOS.FindingsResults from a cross-lagged panel study with 168 participants revealed a bidirectional relationship between protean career orientation and job crafting behaviours. The results also confirmed the moderating role of career adaptability between these two variables.Originality/valueThis research is one of the first to examine a reciprocal relationship between protean career orientation and job crafting. Moreover, it examines the moderating role of career adaptability in the aforementioned association.

With the aim of investigating the impact of gender-related personality characteristics on bullying perceptions and outcomes, a correlational study was designed with 114 individuals who had used a public health service aimed at harassed workers identifying themselves as victims of mobbing in central Italy. The study was conducted using the following questionnaires: the Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ), a measure of workplace bullying; the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), used to provide information to measure personality dimensions for workplace screening; the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BRIEF) which assesses four domains assumed to represent the quality of life construct; and the Suicidal Potential Scale (SPS) used to assess suicidal ideation. MMPI-2 profile results show a significant elevation of specific MMPI scales and gender differences. When compared to women, men who complain of being the victims of negative actions at work are more depressed, paranoid, introverted, anxious, and obsessive, and have higher anger levels and lower self-esteem. Many different MMPI-2 scales are also predictors of quality of life (QoL) perceptions and suicidal tendencies. The NAQ total score, however, predicts quality of life and suicide risk. Perceptions of negative actions have a serious effect on life outcomes. The results provide useful indications on personality profiles and gender differences, which can be understood as antecedents in the perception of negative events, and factors capable of modulating the effect of perceived bullying actions on outcomes.

Purpose Constant and frequent technological changes within organizations call for further scholarly attention, as behavioural intentions need to be coupled also with future learning intentions to predict the present and prospective individual adaptations and performance. This study, grounded on the technology acceptance model, aims to examine the association between training opportunities and behavioural and future learning intentions also taking into account the role of task–technology fit as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach A survey was carried out within a single organization in the water processing sector on a sample of 200 workers who recently experienced a technological change through the adoption of System Application and Product in data processing. A moderated–mediation model was estimated through regression analyses with bootstrapping. Findings The results were consistent with study hypotheses. In particular, task–technology fit amplified the positive association between perceived ease of use and training opportunities as well as the indirect effect of this latter on both behavioural and future learning intentions through perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. In sum, the hypothesized moderated–mediation model was confirmed. Originality/value Three novelty factors of this study can be stressed: it is among the few studies carried out on Italian workers in the realm of technology adoption, it expanded the technology acceptance model by including traditional behavioural intentions and future learning intentions as outcome variables and it integrated the task–technology fit perspective within the technology acceptance model.

This study aimed to examine the main predictors of employability, building on a recent conceptual model on employability developed by Lo Presti and Pluviano (Organ Psychol Rev 6(2): 192–211, 2016). Survey based data were collected from a sample of 263 Italian job-seekers through a longitudinal study. The results revealed that employability was more strongly determined by personal dispositions than by external factors, such as life circumstances and that the variables with the most impact were proactive personality, core self-evaluations, and educational level, rather than employability culture, family employability support, and previous work experience. The paper reveals an understanding of the relative importance of antecedents that determine employability.

While the majority of research on affective disorders has neglected the cultural context, we applied a paremiological perspective to examine how proverbs reflect mental states of people with various levels of depressiveness. The purpose was to test a psychotrecic tool for assessing optimism and pessimism. Based on two cross-sectional surveys (N = 303 and N = 405), we carried out a multi-step study to validate a Proverb Questionnaire of Optimism and Pessimism (PQOP) with measures of depressiveness (Beck Depressiveness Inventory, BDI), positive orientation (Life Orientation Test, LOT-R), and personality (International Personality Item Pool, IPIP). Based on the proverbs, we employed cultural life scripts (CLS), linking them with personal life scripts (PLS) anchored in mental states. We tested the structural validity of the PQOP, its reliability, and age and gender invariance. Additionally, we verified the convergent and incremental validity of the PQOP as well as its theoretical validity, employing mediation analysis, where optimism and pessimism subscales of the LOT-R were predictors of depressiveness, and two subscales of the PQOP were mediators. The study shows: (a) the validity, reliability, and gender and age invariance of the (7-item) PQOP comprising two subscales of optimism and pessimism as a culture-bound aspect of depressiveness, and (b) how proverbs function as mediators in the relationship between pessimism/optimism and depressiveness. The study offers a paremiological view of depressiveness, emphasizing the role of cultural scripts in affective disorders. The new tool offers implications based on paremiology for more culture-related clinical practices.