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Thanks to the rapid advances of technology, we are currently experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, which is introducing several changes in how organizations operate and how people learn and do their work. Many questions arise within this framework about how these transformations may affect workers’ wellbeing, and the Work and Organizational Psychology is called upon to address these open issues. This study aims to investigate personal and organizational antecedents (resilience, goal orientation and opportunities for information and training) and one consequence (work engagement) of technology acceptance within factories, comparing white- and blue-collar workers. The study involved a sample of 598 workers (white-collar = 220, blue-collar = 378) employed at an Italian company who filled in a self-report questionnaire. In both samples, the multi-group structural equation model showed a positive relationship between resilience, opportunities for information and training, and technology acceptance, which in turn showed a positive association with work engagement. All indirect effects were significant. This study investigated the motivational dynamics related to the introduction of new technologies within factories involving the little-studied population of blue-collar workers. Results highlighted the importance of providing information and opportunities for training to all employees, in order to support Industry 4.0 transformations without impacting on workers’ motivation.

The interest in the promotion of entrepreneurship is significantly increasing, particularly in those countries, such as Italy, that suffered during the recent great economic recession and subsequently needed to revitalize their economy. Entrepreneurial intention (EI) is a crucial stage in the entrepreneurial process and represents the basis for consequential entrepreneurial actions. Several research projects have sought to understand the antecedents of EI. This study, using a situational approach, has investigated the personal and contextual determinants of EI, exploring gender differences. In particular, the mediational role of general self-efficacy between internal locus of control (LoC), self-regulation, and support from family and friends, on the one hand, and EI, on the other hand, has been investigated. The study involved a sample of 658 Italian participants, of which 319 were male and 339 were female. Data were collected with a self-report on-line questionnaire and analysed with SPSS 23 and Mplus 7 to test a multi-group structural equation model. The results showed that self-efficacy totally mediated the relationship between internal LoC, self-regulation and EI. Moreover, it partially mediated the relationship between support from family and friends and EI. All the relations were significant for both men and women; however, our findings highlighted a stronger relationship between self-efficacy and EI for men, and between support from family and friends and both self-efficacy and EI for women. Findings highlighted the role of contextual characteristics in addition to personal ones in influencing EI and confirmed the key mediational function of self-efficacy. As for gender, results suggested that differences between men and women in relation to the entrepreneur role still exist. Practical implications for trainers and educators are discussed.

During the first months of 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected several countries all over the world, including Italy. To prevent the spread of the virus, governments instructed employers and self-employed workers to close their offices and work from home. Thus, the use of remote working increased during the pandemic and is expected to maintain high levels of application even after the emergency. Despite its benefits for both organizations and workers, remote working entails negative consequences, such as technostress. The present study had a double aim: to test the psychometric characteristics of the Italian translation of the brief version of the technostress creators scale and to apply the scale to investigate technostress during the Covid-19 emergency. The research involved 878 participants for the first study and 749 participants for the second one; they completed a self-report online questionnaire. Results confirmed the three-factor structure of the Italian technostress creators scale and highlighted positive relationships between workload, techno-stressors, work–family conflict and behavioural stress. The role of remote working conditions has been analysed as well. The study provided a useful tool for the investigation of technostress in the Italian context. Moreover, it provided indications for practice in the field of remote working and workers’ wellbeing.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, people started teleworking intensively, which has led to some benefits in terms of economic continuity, but also some complaints. International teams of scholars have pointed out the new work-related challenges, underlining leaders’ role in successfully managing them. This study aimed at investigating the role of destructive leadership in the job demands–resources and recovery model during the Covid-19 pandemic. In detail, this study intended to assess (1) whether destructive leadership is positively associated with off-work-hours technology-assisted job demand (off-TAJD) and cognitive demands, as well as whether it decreases autonomy, (2) whether two demands—off-TAJD and cognitive demands—and two resources—social support and autonomy—are respectively negatively and positively related to recovery, and (3) whether recovery mediates the relationship between demands, resources, and exhaustion. A total of 716 French remote workers (61% were women) took part in this study. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. A multi-group structural equation model was used to test the hypotheses. The findings confirmed a significant association between destructive leadership, the two job demands, and autonomy; furthermore, all three variables mediated the relationship between destructive leadership and recovery. The findings showed the key role played by recovery as a mediator between, on one hand, off-TAJD, cognitive demands, autonomy, and social support, and, on the other hand, exhaustion. This study highlighted the role of destructive leadership, job resources, job demands, and recovery as determinants of exhaustion, illustrating their relationships in a sample of remote workers. Practical implications are discussed.

Turnover intentions refer to employees' intent to leave the organization and, within call centers, it can be influenced by factors such as relational variables or the perception of the quality of working life, which can be affected by emotional dissonance. This specific job demand to express emotions not felt is peculiar in call centers, and can influence job satisfaction and turnover intentions, a crucial problem among these working contexts. This study aims to detect, within the theoretical framework of the Job Demands-Resources Model, the role of emotional dissonance (job demand), and two resources, job autonomy and supervisors' support, in the perception of job satisfaction and turnover intentions among an Italian call center. The study involved 318 call center agents of an Italian Telecommunication Company. Data analysis first performed descriptive statistics through SPSS 22. A path analysis was then performed through LISREL 8.72 and tested both direct and indirect effects. Results suggest the role of resources in fostering job satisfaction and in decreasing turnover intentions. Emotional dissonance reveals a negative relation with job satisfaction and a positive relation with turnover. Moreover, job satisfaction is negatively related with turnover and mediates the relationship between job resources and turnover. This study contributes to extend the knowledge about the variables influencing turnover intentions, a crucial problem among call centers. Moreover, the study identifies theoretical considerations and practical implications to promote well-being among call center employees. To foster job satisfaction and reduce turnover intentions, in fact, it is important to make resources available, but also to offer specific training programs to make employees and supervisors aware about the consequences of emotional dissonance.

Background Recognition of the factors that influence academic performance in university students constitutes one of the key objectives of education researchers. Few studies have been conducted in this sphere in relation to veterinary students; however, considering the high levels of depression, anxiety symptoms, and decreased life satisfaction revealed in recent literature for this demographic, understanding these factors is of great importance. Moreover, the literature on veterinary education has mostly focused on cognitive factors as antecedents to academic performance, while very little attention has been directed toward personal characteristics. Methods The present cross-sectional study aims to investigate the relationships between psychological characteristics (internal locus of control and self-efficacy), academic fit, well-being (engagement and exhaustion), and academic performance (average grade) among veterinary students. The study was conducted in the Department of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Turin between September 2021 and January 2022 involving 231 students. Results The results of the Structural Equation Model confirmed a positive relationship between both internal locus of control and self-efficacy and academic fit, which in turn showed a positive relationship with engagement and a negative relationship with exhaustion. Finally, a significant positive relationship between engagement and academic performance was highlighted. Indirect effects were also significant, confirming the mediating role of academic fit and engagement. Conclusions The study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the direct and indirect relationships among the variables selected in a sample group of veterinary students. These findings provide information for practical interventions that could support the academic experience and prospects of veterinary students by improving their psychological parameters and well-being.

The external purpose of Employer Branding is attraction, that is, the brand’s capability to be preferred to its competitors through attractiveness and reputation. This study aims to (1) propose the Italian adaptation of the Employer Attractiveness scale (EmpAt scale) in its “real” version; (2) propose a tool to evaluate employer reputation; and (3) measure the convergent and predictive validity of these two measures. An online survey was administered to a sample of convenience (N = 407; 56% were women). The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are presented for both scales, including correlations and regression results to demonstrate reliability and validity. Organizations could use these two tools to perform preliminary analyses to improve their employer branding, being aware of their own image’s strengths and areas for improvement, and thus differentiating themselves from competitors.

Remote working is increasingly being recognized as a practice that can advance organizational sustainability across environmental, economic and social dimensions. However, little is known about how employees perceive its benefits within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and about the role of leadership in shaping these perceptions. This study aimed to identify distinct profiles of perceived remote working benefits and to examine how socio-demographic characteristics and leader–member exchange (LMX) predict profile membership. Data were collected through an online survey administered to 377 employees of a medium-sized Italian IT company. Measures included perceived benefits of remote working and supportive leadership, and analyses were conducted using latent class analysis (LCA) and multinomial logistic regression. Results revealed four profiles: Enthusiastic Supporters (37%), Cautious Adopters (25%), Remote Work Skeptics (22%), and Core Pragmatists (17%). Younger employees were more likely to belong to the Enthusiastic Supporters category, while supportive leadership increased the probability of being Cautious Adopters rather than Skeptics. These findings stress the importance of considering diverse employee experiences when implementing remote work policies and highlight the role of leadership in fostering positive evaluations of remote working. The study provides practical insights for SMEs aiming to align remote working practices with sustainability goals.

Academic employment has shifted from focusing primarily on teaching and research to including broader institutional responsibilities. This expansion of roles has impacted academics’ overall well-being, with additional challenges arising from the integration of new technologies. In demanding professional contexts like academia, work passion, intended as an enduring love for a meaningful activity, plays a critical role in shaping motivation, well-being, and work-life balance. This study is grounded in the dualistic model of passion, which distinguishes between two different facets: harmonious passion, internalized and aligned with personal goals, and obsessive passion, driven by compulsive, external factors. This research involved 1,119 Italian academics across 11 universities during the COVID-19 lockdown, investigating the interplay between the two facets of work passion—harmonious and obsessive—and work-family conflict and insomnia, through a multigroup structural equation model. Results revealed that harmonious passion was associated with reduced work-family conflict and insomnia, while the opposite was true for obsessive passion. Moreover, work-family conflict mediated the relationship between passion and insomnia. Notably, female academics reported higher levels of work-family conflict and insomnia compared to their male counterparts. These findings underscored the protective role of harmonious passion in fostering work-family balance and mitigating sleep-related issues, contrasting with the potential adverse outcomes associated with obsessive passion. The implications suggest the need for governmental and organizational efforts to address factors contributing to obsessive behaviors in academia. Moreover, creating a supportive environment that facilitates the positive integration of work passion with other life domains is crucial. Plain Language Summary Research about the how passion for work in people working in universities had different effects on private life and trouble sleeping during the COVID-19 pandemic In recent years, academic jobs have changed. They used to focus mainly on teaching and research, but now academics also have a lot of administrative tasks. This shift has affected the well-being of academics, especially with new technologies and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Passion for work plays a big role in how motivated and balanced academics feel, especially since academia can be demanding. A study looked at 1119 Italian academics from 11 universities during the pandemic. The research studied two types of work passion: harmonious passion, which is when people feel in line with their internal goals, and obsessive passion, which occurs when people are passionate about their work because they are influenced by external factors. The authors found that having a harmonious passion for work is associated with less conflict between work and family life and less trouble sleeping. On the other hand, being obsessively passionate about work was associated with more conflict between work and family, as well as more trouble sleeping. Work-family conflict was also associated with having trouble sleeping. On average, women academics seemed to have more conflict between work and family, and more trouble sleeping, compared to men. Women academics tended to experience more work-family conflict and trouble sleeping. The study suggests that a healthy balance between work passion and other life aspects has a positive is very important for well-being. It also highlights the importance of addressing obsessive work behaviors within academia through governmental and organizational support.

IntroductionCurrent management of rectal cancers (RC) includes radiotherapy as these low tumours have a fixed position within the pelvis. Response to radiotherapy can be highly variable, with data from the S:CORT consortium showing a negative association between tumour response to radiation and TGFβ activation status. The pleiotrophic morphogen TGF is implicated in fibroblast activation and immune cell evasion, with TGF inhibition enhancing radiosensitivity in a mouse lung cancer model (Lan et al., 2021). Here we have established a heterotopic in vivo model of RC to assess the impact of combining radiotherapy and a novel TGFβ inhibitor.MethodsOrganoids were cultured from an autochthonous RC mouse model with APC-/- , KRASG12D , p53-/- , TGFβR1-/- (AKPT) tumours. Organoids were implanted in C57BL/6 mice subcutaneously to establish tumours. These mice were then randomised into control, TGFβ inhibitor, radiation, and combination treatment groups. The TGFβ inhibitor was given prior to irradiation then on a five-day schedule.Tumours were harvested for RNAseq and multiplex imaging for assessment of treatment specific cell population and transcriptional changes.ResultsTGFβ inhibition alone had no impact on tumour growth or mouse survival. Irradiation alone showed modest effect on survival with tumours temporarily arrested. Combination therapy proved significantly more effective, with prolonged tumour arrest.Abstract O40 Figure 1Combination therapy of radiotherapy and a TGFB inhibitor improved survival in AKPT heterotopic RC mouse models. Control and TGFβ inhibitor groups showed very similar overall survival, radiation providing modest impact on survival, and combination therapy providing greatest survivalAdditionally, multiplex analysis of tumours post-treatment demonstrated a change in the immune cell population and overall stromal structure. Notably, inhibition of TGFβ caused an increase in α-SMA+ cancer-associated fibroblasts.ConclusionsHeterotopic injection of murine colorectal cancer organoids is a tractable and reproducible model for preclinical testing of combination radiotherapy, including novel agents. Irradiation of the AKPT organoid-derived tumours caused an initial arrest of tumour growth, which was enhanced by TGFβ inhibition. RNAseq and multiplex analysis demonstrated combined therapy impacted the remodelling of immune and stromal cell landscapes. This study implicates that TGFβ inhibition and irradiation combined may ameliorate the anti-tumour effect of radiation through maintaining immunogenicity and preventing the development of radioresistance.Reference Lan Y, et al. Simultaneous targeting of TGF-β/PD-L1 synergizes with radiotherapy by reprogramming the tumor microenvironment to overcome immune evasion. Cancer Cell 2021;39(10):1388–1403.e1310.