Analysis of Current Research in the Field of Sustainable Employment Based on Latent Dirichlet Allocation

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

These are my comments regarding your manuscript.

Use the reference style of the journal. There are multiple cases when the references in the text do not comply with journal requirements.

It seems to me that important papers on the topic from the literature are missing e.g. 1) Karen van Dam, Tinka van Vuuren & Sofie Kemps (2017) Sustainable employment: the importance of intrinsically valuable work and an age-supportive climate, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28:17, 2449-2472 or 2) Deng J, Liu J, Deng W, Yang T, Duan Z. Redefinition and Measurement Dimensions of Sustainable Employability Based on the swAge-Model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(24):13230.

I do not understand the title of section 2.3. Paradoxical leadership. Its content is related to perplexity.

The authors are using topic and theme with the same meaning, which is confusing.

There are many cases of statements which need to be referenced e.g. “Recent research by many scholars has demonstrated their focus on understanding and promoting the continuous development of individuals in their careers”; “Under this research theme, scholars have discussed strategies for promoting employment, empowering youth, and addressing socio-economic factors in response to educational and market challenges”.

Section 4 should be only conclusion and not recommendations. The recommendations themselves are too general.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Proofreading the manuscript is recommended.

Author Response

1. Use the reference style of the journal. There are multiple cases when the references in the text do not comply with journal requirements.

Reply: Thank you for your suggestions. We have carefully checked and corrected the citation styles in our manuscript that did not comply with the literature standards. These corrections have been marked in the text.

 

2. It seems to me that important papers on the topic from the literature are missing e.g. 1) Karen van Dam, Tinka van Vuuren & Sofie Kemps (2017) Sustainable employment: the importance of intrinsically valuable work and an age-supportive climate, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28:17, 2449-2472 or 2) Deng J, Liu J, Deng W, Yang T, Duan Z. Redefinition and Measurement Dimensions of Sustainable Employability Based on the swAge-Model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(24):13230.

Reply: Thank you for your suggestions. The articles you recommended are very important for the issue of sustainable employment. I have added these two articles to the '1. Introduction' section of the manuscript and highlighted them in yellow. The details are as follows:"

 

Unlike the earlier focus on employment security and employability [5,6], occupa-tional sustainability has emerged as a novel concept gaining attention across numer-ous fields, including the economy [7]. With ongoing research into careers, occupational sustainability has evolved to encompass “sequences of career experiences reflected through a variety of patterns of continuity over time, thereby crossing several social spaces, characterized by individual agency, herewith providing meaning to the indi-vidual” [1]. Employment provides individuals with economic security and social connections that are vital for personal survival and societal development. Achieving sustainable employment can extend employees’ working lives beyond official retirement. This not only helps maintain an individual‘s social activity and economic independence, but also promotes the efficient use of societal resources and contributes to sustained economic growth [8]. The unpredictability of the environment and the study of sustainable employment have been widely discussed, including how compa-nies influence career continuity and how instability factors lead to employees’ inability to fully engage with their organization [9]. The availability of good opportunities for career development can also affect staff loyalty, such as how different leadership styles affect the level of sustainable employment among employees [10,11]. Discussions on occupational sustainability from employees’ perspectives have also emerged. Employ-ees’ tendencies to leave their jobs are negatively correlated with their local social cul-ture and religious beliefs [12]. As the labor market ages and youthifies, businesses increasingly rely on older workers. Simultaneously, rising retirement costs have forced people to work longer than in the past. Therefore, addressing the sustainable participation of older employees in the labor market has become particularly crucial. This is significant for corporate human resource management and the economic stability of society [13]. Research has explored the impact on the sustainable employment of hotel employees from perspectives such as psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) model and perceived organizational support [14]. Studies have also found that nurses are affected by their health and job satisfaction throughout their ca-reers [3].

 

3. I do not understand the title of section 2.3. Paradoxical leadership. Its content is related to perplexity.

Reply: Thank you for your suggestion. We have identified the error and have changed the title to “Determining the Optimal Number of Topics”.

 

4.The authors are using topic and theme with the same meaning, which is confusing.

Reply: "Thank you for your suggestion. We have identified the error and have changed the title to 'Determining the Optimal Number of Topics'."

 

5.There are many cases of statements which need to be referenced e.g. “Recent research by many scholars has demonstrated their focus on understanding and promoting the continuous development of individuals in their careers”; “Under this research theme, scholars have discussed strategies for promoting employment, empowering youth, and addressing socio-economic factors in response to educational and market challenges”.

Reply: Thank you for your suggestion. I have added references to the sentences of this type in Sections 3.2.1, 3.2.2, and 3.2.3.

 

6.Section 4 should be only conclusion and not recommendations. The recommendations themselves are too general.

Reply: Thank you for your suggestion. We have revised the content of the recommendations in the conclusion section, dividing it into two parts: 'Theoretical Significance' and 'Practical Significance.' The specific adjustments are as follows:

 

4.1. Theoretical Significance

Through the LDA topic modeling approach, this study reveals the main research themes within sustainable employment. Current research on sustainable employment focuses on several thematic dimensions, including “Occupational Sustainability & Employee Development,” “Socio-Economic Dynamics & Strategies,” “Age, Health & Sustainable Workforce in the Labor Market,” and “Workplace Interventions & Psy-chological Health Support.” These themes reveal the multifaceted nature of sustaina-ble employment issues. The data analysis results indicate that these research topics encompass various dimensions, such as individual development, socioeconomic strat-egies, health and age issues in the labor market, and the impact of the work environ-ment on psychological health, highlighting the complexity and diversity of sustainable employment at both the individual and organizational levels. This approach allows us to identify key discussion points under different themes of sustainable employment, thereby providing a new perspective and theoretical basis for future research distinct from traditional literature analysis methods such as co-citation analysis and keyword networks [23].

4.2. Practical Significance

This study provides multidimensional strategic suggestions for promoting sus-tainable employment. We recommend that organizations regularly assess and update their leadership styles and employee development strategies to meet the challenges of the current labor market [11,28]. Organizations should enhance employee adaptability and job satisfaction in a rapidly evolving technological environment by offering cus-tomized career development programs and skill training [27]. Additionally, policy-makers should encourage cross-industry cooperation to formulate inclusive employ-ment policies that cover marginalized groups and low-income families, thereby im-proving the quality and prevalence of sustainable employment [33]. To address the age and health challenges in the labor market, governments and businesses should jointly develop support policies for the elderly and those with chronic diseases [40,42]. For example, health promotion and pain management programs can reduce work disrup-tions caused by health issues. Moreover, strengthening psychological health support and intervention measures in the workplace, such as mental health workshops and stress management courses, could create a supportive work environment [46]. These measures not only help increase job satisfaction among employees but also significant-ly improve their overall well-being. Through these practical measures, the effective-ness of sustainable employment can be effectively enhanced, resulting in long-term stability and positive impacts on the labor market.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

General comments:
The article "Analysis of current research in the field of sustainable employment based on the Latent Dirichlet Allocation” This is an interesting research paper, also well written. However, revision is required to address the following:

The summary focused in-depth on describing the current study without giving sufficient focus on the research outcomes and the most important recommendations that are of interest to decision makers.

What is the significance of the data included in Table 1? It is preferable to delete it and be satisfied with what is included in the context.

The research needs more citations to previous studies

The conclusion requires more summarization and focus on the most important outcomes of the study without going into detail

Author Response

1. The summary focused in-depth on describing the current study without giving sufficient focus on the research outcomes and the most important recommendations that are of interest to decision makers.

Reply: "Thank you for your suggestions. We have made revisions to the abstract section. The specific adjustments are as follows:"

 

Abstract: In the current context of sluggish global economic recovery, widening regional disparities, and little room for policy error, the global employment situation is unprecedentedly severe. Therefore, research on sustainable employment is critical. In this study, we utilized a Latent Di-richlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling approach to identify four central topics within the realm of sustainable employment: “Career Sustainability and Employee Development,” “Socio-Economic Dynamics and Strategies for Sustainable Employment,“ “Study on Age, Health, and Sustainable Workforce in the Labor Market,” and “Research on the Impact of Workplace Interventions and Psychological Health Support.” The findings revealed the multidimensional, complex nature of sustainable employment issues. This study expands the theoretical horizon of sustainable em-ployment and proposes multidimensional strategic suggestions for practical applications, including regularly assessing and updating organizations’ leadership styles and employee development strategies, offering customized career development programs and skill training, and formulating inclusive employment policies and supportive workplace environments in order to enhance em-ployee job satisfaction and overall well-being, thereby effectively improving the practical outcomes of sustainable employment and bringing about long-term stability and positive impacts on the labor market. These results provide essential theoretical and practical contributions for policymakers, organizational leaders, and anyone seeking sustainable employment.

 

2. What is the significance of the data included in Table 1? It is preferable to delete it and be satisfied with what is included in the context.

Reply: Thank you for your suggestions. We have provided additional explanations for Table 1 in Section 3.1. Data Results. Table 1 displays the training results of the LDA topic model. We identified the content of each topic by focusing on the highest-ranking words in the 'topic-word' distributions, using these high-probability terms to accurately discern the topics. During this process, topics that were repetitive or ambiguous were disregarded to ensure each identified topic was clear and distinct. By thoroughly organizing and analyzing the high-probability terms of each topic, we summarized the most representative identifiers, which are displayed in Table 1. This table clearly shows the four sustainable employment themes classified by the LDA topic model and their corresponding word distributions, helping us to deeply understand the specific content and characteristics of each theme. The specific content adjustments are as follows:

 

Table 1 lists the training results of the LDA topic model. By focusing on the high-est-ranking words in each topic’s “topic-word” distribution, we use these high-probability terms to determine and precisely identify the content of the topics. In this process, topics that were redundant or ambiguous were disregarded to ensure that each identified topic was clear and distinct [15]. Through a detailed organization and analysis of the high-probability terms for each topic, we summarized the most repre-sentative identifiers as shown in Table 1. This table shows the four sustainable em-ployment topics classified by the LDA topic model and their corresponding word dis-tributions, helping us understand each topic’s specific content and characteristics. For instance, in Topic 1, high-probability feature words such as “social,” “research,” “de-velopment,” “job,” “economic,” and “employability” highlight the focus on strategies to promote employment within the social and economic realms, and how these strate-gies affect employment opportunities and quality for different groups. This topic ex-plores the optimization of employment policies, education, and training systems, as well as how to enhance the adaptability and competitiveness of the labor market. Therefore, this topic is named “Socio-Economic Dynamics and Strategies for Sustaina-ble Employment.” In Topic 0, high-probability feature words include “career,” “sus-tainability,” “employees,” and “relationship,” emphasizing the importance of re-searching career sustainability and how employees can achieve ongoing development throughout their careers. High-probability feature words like “satisfaction,” “role,” and “perceived” underscore the investigation into employee satisfaction, role percep-tion’s impact on career sustainability, and how these factors manifest differently across various organizational and cultural contexts. Thus, based on these feature words and the research focus, the topic was “Career Sustainability and Employee De-velopment.” Topic 2 features high-probability words such as “work,” “age,” “physical,” “demands,” “older,” “market,” “participation,” and “risk,” focusing on the increase in age of the labor market, impact of health status on work capacity, and ways to pro-mote sustainable employment for all age groups through policy and workplace inter-ventions. Hence, this topic is “Study of Age, Health, and Sustainable Workforce in the Labor Market.” In Topic 3, high-probability feature words include “health,” “work,” “support,” “mental,” “interventions,” and “occupational,” pointing toward the re-search focus on workplace health and support and how interventions can improve employees’ work capacity and quality of life. Therefore, this topic goes beyond the “Research on the Impact of Workplace Interventions and Psychological Health Sup-port.”

 

3. The research needs more citations to previous studies

Reply: "Thank you for your suggestions. We have supplemented our manuscript with several previous studies to further enhance our research content. The added literature is detailed in the manuscript as follows:

 

Unlike the earlier focus on employment security and employability [5,6], occupa-tional sustainability has emerged as a novel concept gaining attention across numer-ous fields, including the economy [7]. With ongoing research into careers, occupational sustainability has evolved to encompass “sequences of career experiences reflected through a variety of patterns of continuity over time, thereby crossing several social spaces, characterized by individual agency, herewith providing meaning to the indi-vidual” [1]. Employment provides individuals with economic security and social connections that are vital for personal survival and societal development. Achieving sustainable employment can extend employees’ working lives beyond official retirement. This not only helps maintain an individual‘s social activity and economic independence, but also promotes the efficient use of societal resources and contributes to sustained economic growth [8]. The unpredictability of the environment and the study of sustainable employment have been widely discussed, including how compa-nies influence career continuity and how instability factors lead to employees’ inability to fully engage with their organization [9]. The availability of good opportunities for career development can also affect staff loyalty, such as how different leadership styles affect the level of sustainable employment among employees [10,11]. Discussions on occupational sustainability from employees’ perspectives have also emerged. Employ-ees’ tendencies to leave their jobs are negatively correlated with their local social cul-ture and religious beliefs [12]. As the labor market ages and youthifies, businesses increasingly rely on older workers. Simultaneously, rising retirement costs have forced people to work longer than in the past. Therefore, addressing the sustainable participation of older employees in the labor market has become particularly crucial. This is significant for corporate human resource management and the economic stability of society [13]. Research has explored the impact on the sustainable employment of hotel employees from perspectives such as psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) model and perceived organizational support [14]. Studies have also found that nurses are affected by their health and job satisfaction throughout their ca-reers [3].

Recent research by many scholars has focused on understanding and promoting the continuous development of individuals in their careers [11,27-30]. By synthesizing different studies, they reveal the main research trends and theoretical advancements in sustainable employment. Li et al. (2023) highlight the role of paradoxical leadership in reducing employees’ resistance to digital technology, especially in the Chinese cross-border e-commerce industry, where such leadership styles are more conducive to achieving career sustainability. Their research indicated the importance of leadership styles in digital transformation for employee adaptability and career development [11]. Ge et al. (2023) revealed how individual career development practices and organiza-tional support can collectively promote sustained career development by exploring the impact of self-goal setting on career sustainability, the role of career shaping, and or-ganizational goal clarity in addressing the sustainability of specific groups [27]. Luo et al. provided insights into how female workers in the e-commerce industry can enhance their self-efficacy and career sustainability through supportive supervisor behavior that accommodates family needs [28]. Additionally, they explored the impact of leisure activities on occupational sustainability based on the Conservation of Resources theory, providing a new perspective for investigating sustainable employment among em-ployees. By focusing on the effects of leisure time on psychological resources such as resilience and self-efficacy among locals in England, their findings underscore the im-portance of a balanced approach to leisure activities. Their study highlights the fact that not all leisure activities contribute similarly to occupational sustainability. This also illustrates the complex dynamics between leisure activities and occupational sus-tainability, proving that the benefits of leisure activities in professional life depend largely on the relationship between the characteristics of leisure activities and the de-mands of the occupation [31].

Deng, J.; Liu, J.; Deng, W.; Yang, T.; Duan, Z. redefinition and measurement dimensions of sustainable employability based on the swAge-model. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2021, 18, 13230.

Van Dam, K.; Van Vuuren, T.; Kemps, S. Sustainable employment: the importance of intrinsically valuable work and an age-supportive climate. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 2017, 28, 2449-2472.

Kelly, C.M.; Strauss, K.; Arnold, J.; Stride, C. The relationship between leisure activities and psychological resources that support a sustainable career: The role of leisure seriousness and work-leisure similarity. Journal of Vocational Behavior 2020, 117, 103340.

 

4. The conclusion requires more summarization and focus on the most important outcomes of the study without going into detail

Reply: Thank you for your suggestions. We have revised the content of the conclusion section, dividing it into 'Theoretical Significance' and 'Practical Significance.' The specific adjustments are as follows:

 

Conclusions and Recommendations

4.1. Theoretical Significance

Through the LDA topic modeling approach, this study reveals the main research themes within sustainable employment. Current research on sustainable employment focuses on several thematic dimensions, including “Occupational Sustainability & Employee Development,” “Socio-Economic Dynamics & Strategies,” “Age, Health & Sustainable Workforce in the Labor Market,” and “Workplace Interventions & Psy-chological Health Support.” These themes reveal the multifaceted nature of sustaina-ble employment issues. The data analysis results indicate that these research topics encompass various dimensions, such as individual development, socioeconomic strat-egies, health and age issues in the labor market, and the impact of the work environ-ment on psychological health, highlighting the complexity and diversity of sustainable employment at both the individual and organizational levels. This approach allows us to identify key discussion points under different themes of sustainable employment, thereby providing a new perspective and theoretical basis for future research distinct from traditional literature analysis methods such as co-citation analysis and keyword networks [23].

4.2.Practical Significance

This study provides multidimensional strategic suggestions for promoting sus-tainable employment. We recommend that organizations regularly assess and update their leadership styles and employee development strategies to meet the challenges of the current labor market [11,28]. Organizations should enhance employee adaptability and job satisfaction in a rapidly evolving technological environment by offering cus-tomized career development programs and skill training [27]. Additionally, policy-makers should encourage cross-industry cooperation to formulate inclusive employ-ment policies that cover marginalized groups and low-income families, thereby im-proving the quality and prevalence of sustainable employment [33]. To address the age and health challenges in the labor market, governments and businesses should jointly develop support policies for the elderly and those with chronic diseases [40,42]. For example, health promotion and pain management programs can reduce work disrup-tions caused by health issues. Moreover, strengthening psychological health support and intervention measures in the workplace, such as mental health workshops and stress management courses, could create a supportive work environment [46]. These measures not only help increase job satisfaction among employees but also significant-ly improve their overall well-being. Through these practical measures, the effective-ness of sustainable employment can be effectively enhanced, resulting in long-term stability and positive impacts on the labor market.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for the opportunity to review this manuscript. It concerns the issue of a sustainable labor market, in particular employment and the determinants of the employee situation.

The interesting concept of Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was used in the work, which allowed for the visualization of the most important issues and problems related to employees. The authors rightly begin their argument with the concept of sustainable development, taking into account the aspect of a sustainable labor market. Table 1, however, provides information about the most common words and themes resulting from the literature review. Then, in-depth analyzes were carried out for each of the four topics.

I have no objections to the concept of the manuscript, the method used and the conclusions and recommendations provided. Sections 3.2.4 are also worth mentioning. which treats, among others, about one of the key current issues, namely mental health, and section 5, where the authors point out a reasonable limitation of the study and implications for future research.

Finally, I would like to propose some minor improvements:

1. In section 3.2.1. it is worth going beyond the Asian source area to balance the "sustainable development" described in the work.

2. I would consider replacing the word "hot" in the title of section 3.2.

Author Response

1. In section 3.2.1. it is worth going beyond the Asian source area to balance the "sustainable development" described in the work.

Reply: "Thank you for your suggestions. In Section 3.2.1, we have added findings related to sustainable employment in the England region, balancing the 'sustainable development' described in the article. The specific adjustments are as follows:"

 

Recent research by many scholars has focused on understanding and promoting the continuous development of individuals in their careers [11,27-30]. By synthesizing different studies, they reveal the main research trends and theoretical advancements in sustainable employment. Li et al. (2023) highlight the role of paradoxical leadership in reducing employees’ resistance to digital technology, especially in the Chinese cross-border e-commerce industry, where such leadership styles are more conducive to achieving career sustainability. Their research indicated the importance of leadership styles in digital transformation for employee adaptability and career development [11]. Ge et al. (2023) revealed how individual career development practices and organiza-tional support can collectively promote sustained career development by exploring the impact of self-goal setting on career sustainability, the role of career shaping, and or-ganizational goal clarity in addressing the sustainability of specific groups [27]. Luo et al. provided insights into how female workers in the e-commerce industry can enhance their self-efficacy and career sustainability through supportive supervisor behavior that accommodates family needs [28]. Additionally, they explored the impact of leisure activities on occupational sustainability based on the Conservation of Resources theory, providing a new perspective for investigating sustainable employment among em-ployees. By focusing on the effects of leisure time on psychological resources such as resilience and self-efficacy among locals in England, their findings underscore the im-portance of a balanced approach to leisure activities. Their study highlights the fact that not all leisure activities contribute similarly to occupational sustainability. This also illustrates the complex dynamics between leisure activities and occupational sus-tainability, proving that the benefits of leisure activities in professional life depend largely on the relationship between the characteristics of leisure activities and the de-mands of the occupation [31].

 

2. I would consider replacing the word "hot" in the title of section 3.2.

Reply: Thank you for your suggestions. We have revised the title of Section 3.2 to “Critical Themes in Sustainable Employment Research”.

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for your efforts