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Occupational Health Challenges: Mapping Psychosocial Factors Driving Healthy Organizations
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Occupational Health Challenges: Mapping Psychosocial Factors Driving Healthy Organizations

A special issue of European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education (ISSN 2254-9625).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 3868

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Samuel Fernández-Salinero

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Guest Editor
Psychology Department, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Madrid, Spain
Interests: organizational psychology; burnout; discrimination; social identity; occupational health; healthy organizations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Gabriela Topa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, The National Distance Education University, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: psychology of sustainability and sustainable development; vulnerable workers and decent work for all; retirement and early retirement; late career development and financial planning, with special reference to women and migrant workers; psychological contract breach and its relationship with other individual and psychosocial variables
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Giorgi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Human Sciences, European University of Rome, via degli Aldobrandeschi, 190, 00163 Rome, Italy
Interests: workplace mental health; organizational intelligence; emotional intelligence; innovation; stress; PTSD; marketing; psychological testing; cross-cultural psychology; welfare; occupational risks; social competition; future of work; future of work in religious organizations; digital stress
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, the study of occupational health has gained critical relevance within organizations, due to the growing body of evidence suggesting that psychosocial factors play a pivotal role in workers' health and well-being. Globalization, technological advances, and changes in the structure of work have generated new demands that affect both the work environment and talent management. In this context, new types of organizations are emerging. In light of these challenges, there is a need to understand how psychosocial factors influence individual and collective well-being within organizations and how they can be managed to contribute to the creation of healthy and productive work environments.

This Special Issue, titled "Occupational Health Challenges: Mapping Psychosocial Factors Driving Healthy Organizations", aims to deepen our understanding of contemporary challenges by providing a platform for the comprehension, analysis, and dissemination of research findings in the organizational field. Although it has been demonstrated that well-being within organizations leads to benefits for workers' physical and mental health, as well as for performance and productivity, many questions remain unanswered.

Topics covered in this Special Issue include workplace stress, work–family balance, participation in decision-making within the organization, organizational justice, burnout, engagement, interpersonal and group relationships at work, diversity, telework and mental health, among others.

From an interdisciplinary perspective, this Special Issue is envisioned as a meeting ground for psychologists, sociologists, occupational health specialists, human resource management researchers, and other professionals interested in the study of organizational well-being. The invitation to contribute to this Special Issue seeks to promote a deep and critical reflection on how psychosocial factors can be addressed from different theoretical and methodological approaches, and how evidence-based interventions can contribute to the construction of healthier organizations.

Therefore, we invite researchers, academics, and professionals in related fields to submit their original research, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses that offer new perspectives and solutions to the psychosocial challenges in the workplace.

Prof. Dr. Samuel Fernández-Salinero
Prof. Dr. Gabriela Topa
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Giorgi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • workplace stress, burnout
  • psychological demands
  • social support at work
  • mental workload
  • organizational climate
  • work–family balance
  • job control
  • participation in decision-making
  • job satisfaction
  • work demands
  • job resources
  • work-life balance
  • emotional exhaustion
  • work engagement
  • perception of organizational justice
  • workplace harassment
  • role ambiguity
  • job recognition
  • job autonomy

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 1047 KiB  
Article
The Hidden Cost of High Aspirations: Examining the Stress-Enhancing Effect of Motivational Goals Using Vignette Methodology
by Tamara Gschneidner and Timo Kortsch
Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2025, 15(7), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15070128 - 10 Jul 2025
Abstract
Occupational stress is a major contributor to mental and physical health problems, yet individuals vary in how they appraise and respond to stress, even in identical situations. This study investigates whether motivational goals and internalized conflict schemas—as proposed by Grawe’s Consistency Theory—account for [...] Read more.
Occupational stress is a major contributor to mental and physical health problems, yet individuals vary in how they appraise and respond to stress, even in identical situations. This study investigates whether motivational goals and internalized conflict schemas—as proposed by Grawe’s Consistency Theory—account for these differences by intensifying subjective stress when approach and avoidance goals are simultaneously activated. In a vignette-based pilot study, we validated 12 workplace scenarios varying in incongruence levels. In the main study (N = 482; mean age 25 years; 83.2% female), participants completed the FAMOS questionnaire to assess approach and avoidance goals and were randomly assigned to 4 out of the 12 pretested vignettes. Subjective stress was measured before and after vignette exposure using the SSSQ, and subjective wellbeing was measured using the PANAS. Multilevel modeling showed that participants with stronger avoidance goals and conflict schemas reported higher baseline stress, and that experimentally induced high incongruence led to greater increase in stress levels compared to low incongruence in three out of four scenarios. These findings suggest that psychological inconsistencies—particularly avoidance goals, conflict schemas, and goal incongruence—serve as internal stressors that intensify stress responses. The results highlight the importance of considering individual motivational patterns in stress research and intervention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health Challenges: Mapping Psychosocial Factors Driving Healthy Organizations)
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28 pages, 642 KiB  
Article
Contextual Emotions in Organizations: A Latent Profile Analysis of Their Co-Occurrence and Their Effects on Employee Well-Being
by Laura Petitta, Lixin Jiang and Valerio Ghezzi
Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2025, 15(7), 122; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15070122 - 2 Jul 2025
Viewed by 233
Abstract
Workplace contextual emotions are structured ways of emotionally thinking about specific cues in the context that employees share within their organization. These dynamics reflect how employees emotionally interpret and respond to organizational environments. Contextual emotions may shape working relationships into different types of [...] Read more.
Workplace contextual emotions are structured ways of emotionally thinking about specific cues in the context that employees share within their organization. These dynamics reflect how employees emotionally interpret and respond to organizational environments. Contextual emotions may shape working relationships into different types of toxic emotional dynamics (e.g., claiming, controlling, distrusting, provoking) or, conversely, positive emotional dynamics (i.e., exchanging), thus setting the emotional tone that affects employees’ actions and their level of comfort/discomfort. The present study uses latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify subpopulations of employees who may experience differing levels of both positive and negative emotional dynamics (i.e., different configurations of emotional patterns of workplace behavior). Moreover, it examines whether the emergent profiles predict work-related (i.e., job satisfaction, burnout) and health-related outcomes (i.e., sleep disturbances, physical and mental health). Using data from 801 Italian employees, we identified four latent profiles: “functional dynamics” (low toxic emotions and high exchange), “dialectical dynamics” (co-existence of medium toxic emotions and medium exchange), “mild dysfunctional dynamics” (moderately high toxic emotions and low exchange), and “highly dysfunctional dynamics” (extremely high toxic emotions and extremely low exchange). Moreover, employees in the dialectical, mild dysfunctional, and highly dysfunctional groups reported progressively higher levels of poor health outcomes and progressively lower levels of satisfaction, whereas the functional group was at low risk of stress and was the most satisfied group. The theoretical and practical implications of the LPA-classified emotional patterns of workplace behavior are discussed in light of the relevance of identifying vulnerable subpopulations of employees diversely exposed to toxic configurations of emotional/relational ambience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health Challenges: Mapping Psychosocial Factors Driving Healthy Organizations)
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17 pages, 1298 KiB  
Article
Beyond the Workplace: How Psychological Empowerment Influences Employee Creativity in the Saudi Hotel Sector—The Mediating Role of Affective Commitment and the Moderating Role of Psychological Safety
by Ahmed Mohamed Hasanein and Musaddag Elrayah
Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2025, 15(5), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15050076 - 9 May 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 649
Abstract
Businesses in the hotel and hospitality sectors face significant challenges when they lack originality and creativity. Creativity and innovative behavior are both necessary to increase employee effectiveness. This study aims to investigate how psychological empowerment (PEMP) directly affects employee creativity (EC) and affective [...] Read more.
Businesses in the hotel and hospitality sectors face significant challenges when they lack originality and creativity. Creativity and innovative behavior are both necessary to increase employee effectiveness. This study aims to investigate how psychological empowerment (PEMP) directly affects employee creativity (EC) and affective commitment (AC) in the Saudi hotel industry. Additionally, this study examines the moderating function of psychological safety (PS) and the mediating role of affective commitment. Data were collected through an online cross-sectional survey of a purposive sample of 536 operational staff at hotels in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed framework (PLS-SEM). Surprisingly, these findings revealed no significant direct effect of PEMP on EC. However, AC has emerged as a crucial mediating mechanism through which PEMP indirectly fosters creativity. Furthermore, psychological safety (PS) is found to moderate the PEMP–EC relationship, enhancing its impact under favorable conditions. These results highlight the theoretical and practical significance of emotional commitment as a conduit for empowering employees to engage in creative behavior. This study offers new insights into how psychological and organizational factors interact to shape creativity in the hospitality context. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health Challenges: Mapping Psychosocial Factors Driving Healthy Organizations)
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19 pages, 1864 KiB  
Article
Impact of Psychosocial Factors on Mental Health and Turnover Intention Among Health Workers at Different Occupational Statuses: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study in China
by Fuyuan Wang, Min Zhang, Yiming Huang, Yuting Tang, Chuning He, Xinxin Fang, Xuechun Wang and Yiran Zhang
Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2025, 15(5), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15050073 - 7 May 2025
Viewed by 968
Abstract
Workplace psychosocial hazards pose significant risks to the well-being of health workers (HWs). This study aimed to explore the levels of psychosocial factors experienced by Chinese and international workers and examine associations between psychosocial factors, health-related outcomes (mental problems and general health), and [...] Read more.
Workplace psychosocial hazards pose significant risks to the well-being of health workers (HWs). This study aimed to explore the levels of psychosocial factors experienced by Chinese and international workers and examine associations between psychosocial factors, health-related outcomes (mental problems and general health), and turnover intention across various occupational stages. A cross-sectional study was conducted using stratified cluster sampling methods at four hospitals in southern China. Psychosocial factors, mental health, general health, and turnover intention were assessed using the Chinese version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire III. Multivariate linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted. A total of 1054 HWs participated in this study (response rate: 80.21%). Compared to international samples, Chinese HWs showed significant differences in nine psychosocial dimensions, particularly interpersonal relations, leadership, and the work–individual interface. Senior hospital managers reported significantly higher stress (51.09 ± 23.88, p < 0.001), sleep troubles (53.26 ± 24.92, p = 0.003), and poorer general health (57.61 ± 37.26, p = 0.035) than other occupational stages. Work–life conflict (β = 0.172), emotional demands (β = 0.132), and role clarity (β = −0.132) were the strongest predictors of mental health issues. Hiding emotions demands (β = −0.141) and leadership quality (β = 0.130) most strongly predicted general health. The turnover intention rate was 11.01%, with job satisfaction (OR = 0.964) being the strongest negative predictor. Reducing psychosocial stressors, particularly in work–life balance, role clarity, emotional demand, and leadership quality, could improve HWs’ well-being and reduce turnover intention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health Challenges: Mapping Psychosocial Factors Driving Healthy Organizations)
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21 pages, 554 KiB  
Article
Individual Work Attitudes and Work Ability
by Nicola Magnavita, Carlo Chiorri, Francesco Chirico and Igor Meraglia
Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2025, 15(4), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe15040053 - 3 Apr 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 930
Abstract
Work capacity depends on many factors, including the age and health status of the employee, but also on personal characteristics and attitudes, such as reduced tolerance of unfavorable working conditions (Work Annoyance, WA), excessive commitment to work (Overcommitment, OC), passion for work (Work [...] Read more.
Work capacity depends on many factors, including the age and health status of the employee, but also on personal characteristics and attitudes, such as reduced tolerance of unfavorable working conditions (Work Annoyance, WA), excessive commitment to work (Overcommitment, OC), passion for work (Work Engagement, WE), and social interactions (Social Capital, SC). A total of 1309 workers who underwent a medical examination at work completed questionnaires on work attitudes and assessed their work ability using the Work Ability Score (WAS). The relationship between variables expressing work attitudes and WAS was studied using hierarchical linear regression and moderation analyses. WA is associated with low WAS values; SC is a positive predictor of WAS and moderates the effect of WA on WAS. OC reduces work ability, while Vigor and Dedication, components of WE, have a strong positive effect on work ability. To improve the work ability of employees, employers and managers should improve social relations in the workplace and discourage overcommitment. A positive working environment can increase engagement and avoid triggers of work annoyance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health Challenges: Mapping Psychosocial Factors Driving Healthy Organizations)
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