Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6020012

Authors: Theodoro Batsios Sumanjeet Rajak Elisabetta Rubiolo Abel Perez-Gonzalez

Purpose: This study presents an evidence gap map (EGM) of recent empirical survey-based research on decent work published between 2022 and 2025. The aim is to systematically visualize where empirical evidence has accumulated and to identify persistent knowledge gaps across key dimensions, populations, regions, outcomes, and methodological approaches, thereby informing future research agendas and evidence-informed policy development. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic mapping review was conducted following established guidance for evidence gap maps. Searches were performed in major bibliographic databases using a focused strategy to identify studies explicitly engaging with the decent work construct. Empirical quantitative studies based on survey methods were screened against predefined eligibility criteria. A total of 214 studies published between January 2022 and 2025 were included and coded using a structured framework covering decent work dimensions, population characteristics, geographic context, methodological design, and outcome variables. Evidence gap maps were constructed using matrix-based visualizations to display evidence density and gaps. Findings: Despite a substantial increase in publication volume since 2022, the evidence base remains unevenly distributed. Empirical research continues to concentrate on a limited subset of decent work dimensions and individual-level outcomes, while dimensions related to social dialogue and employment security receive comparatively little attention. Vulnerable worker populations—including persons with disabilities, domestic workers, and gig economy workers—remain critically underrepresented. Methodologically, cross-sectional designs predominate, with longitudinal and multilevel approaches still relatively scarce. Geographic coverage is similarly uneven, with research activity concentrated in a limited number of regions. Research limitations/implications: By systematically mapping recent empirical survey-based evidence, this study highlights persistent misalignments between theoretical ambitions, policy priorities, and empirical practice. The findings provide a structured basis for prioritizing future research and for aligning psychological research on decent work more closely with equity-oriented policy objectives. Originality/value: This study is the first evidence gap map focusing specifically on recent empirical survey-based research on decent work. By applying a rigorous EGM approach to post-2021 literature, it offers a structured overview of this segment of the evidence base and identifies priority areas where empirical knowledge remains limited.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6020011

Authors: Enkhzul Galsanjigmed

Women’s advancement into leadership roles remains uneven in many post-socialist labor markets despite high levels of female education and workforce participation. While prior research has emphasized structural barriers and national institutional conditions, less is known about how firm-level organizational environments shape women’s evaluations of leadership as a viable career pathway. This study aims to examine how firm type shapes women’s managerial aspirations across career stages in post-socialist Mongolia. Using cross-sectional survey data from 191 employed women in Ulaanbaatar, aspiration patterns were compared across three organizational contexts: foreign-owned firms, domestic private firms, and public-sector organizations. Career aspirations were operationalized as three states—high aspiration, constrained aspiration, and low aspiration—to capture differences between leadership motivation and perceived feasibility. Pearson’s chi-square tests and Cramér’s V were used to assess associations between firm type, career stage, and aspiration categories. The results show that women in foreign-owned firms are more likely to sustain leadership aspirations, whereas constrained and low aspirations are more prevalent in domestic private firms and the public sector, particularly at mid-career stages. These findings suggest that leadership aspirations reflect organizationally shaped feasibility assessments rather than individual motivation alone, and that firm type operates as a critical meso-level opportunity structure within shared post-socialist institutional conditions.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6020010

Authors: Hermann Lassleben Stefan Litz

This study examines Millennial business students’ expectations of organizational career systems (OCS) to inform the design of work environments that attract and retain Millennial employees. It explores preferred OCS features, the role of personal value orientations (PVO), and potential cross-national differences. Data were collected through a cross-national survey of 284 business students in Canada and Germany. Variance analyses and group comparisons were used to assess differences in OCS expectations, and ordinary least squares regression examined the influence of PVO on preferences for four OCS features: internal recruitment, recognition of group contributions, formal promotion processes, and tenure-based advancement. The results show that Millennial business students favor OCS that emphasize recognition of group contributions and transparent, formal procedures, while placing less importance on internal recruitment and tenure-based advancement. PVO significantly predict these preferences: self-transcendence values are positively associated with preferences for formal procedures, whereas conservation values relate positively to tenure-based advancement. Canadian respondents exhibit slightly stronger preferences for formal procedures, group recognition, and tenure than German respondents, although overall cross-national differences remain modest. The study’s reliance on a convenience sample and self-reported data limits generalizability, highlighting the need for more diverse samples and qualitative approaches. By linking career system expectations to underlying personal values rather than generational labels, this study provides theoretical insight and practical guidance for designing fair and transparent OCS aligned with the career expectations of Millennial respondents.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6020009

Authors: Olimpia State Diana-Maria Preda (Naum) Daniela-Elena Mocanu Vlad Diaconescu

Digital transformation and sustainability have become key priorities in strategic HR management; however, their implementation and integration remain inconsistent and are strongly influenced by organizational context. This study examines strategic HR management at the intersection of digital transformation, sustainability, and organizational culture. The objective is to explore how Romanian organizations align these dimensions within strategic human resource management. The research employed a qualitative approach, consisting of nine semi-structured interviews with HR professionals and managers from diverse organizational settings. Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns across the three dimensions. Although limited to the characteristics of the qualitative sample and not intended to generate findings applicable to the entire Romanian HR practice, the findings suggest that digital transformation in HR is primarily experienced as a capability development process, supported by integrated digital systems that enhance employee efficiency and autonomy, while also presenting challenges related to resistance to change and skills shortages. Sustainability emerges as a developing component of HR strategy, often limited by inadequate measurement mechanisms and competing organizational priorities. Organizational culture serves a mediating role by shaping how digital and sustainability initiatives are interpreted, adopted, and evaluated. The study highlights the need to align technological, sustainability, and cultural dimensions to support coherent and future-oriented HR strategies.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6010008

Authors: Wendy E. Rowe Niels Agger-Gupta

The Action Research Engagement (ARE) framework was developed in 2012 to assist graduate students in facilitating organizational leadership or change projects. Ten years later, the authors implemented a qualitative meta-evaluative study to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the framework based on a document review of 49 organizational change research studies that had purported to use the ARE framework. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 student researchers leading the studies. The results revealed that the framework was mostly or fully followed in all projects guiding organizations on how to initiate a change initiative, but that many projects suffered from weaknesses in stakeholder communication, engaging everyone in change goals, and maintaining sponsor active involvement through all phases of the project. All projects engaged stakeholders in inquiry activities but not necessarily using sequenced action research cycles. Follow-through to decisions and action by leaders was lacking in many projects. Student researchers identified two weaknesses in the original ARE framework: there was no clarity on how inquiry processes might engage larger numbers of stakeholders in the change goals, nor did the framework address how to facilitate decision-making or taking action toward future changes. Based on the study’s findings, an enhanced framework (ARE-2) is offered that makes greater deliberative use of action research principles and cycles of inquiry and reflection to deepen the inquiry process and consequently to strengthen stakeholder engagement, leadership commitment, and readiness for organizational change. The ARE-2 framework has practical application for guiding leaders on how to implement sustainable change in their organization.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6010007

Authors: Claudia-Elena Țuclea Luciana-Floriana Poenaru

This study investigates the factors influencing employee acceptance and actual AI use intensity (frequency and routinization) by integrating the Technology Acceptance Model with organizational and psychosocial variables. Data were collected via an online survey of Romanian Generation Z participants with work experience (N = 272) between 10 May and 25 May 2025, and analyzed using PLS-SEM with a moderated mediation model. Perceived usefulness emerged as the strongest driver of attitude, intention, and AI use intensity. Organizational AI readiness increased perceived usefulness and was positively associated with psychological safety. Trust influenced both intention and AI use intensity and partially mediated the relationship between perceived usefulness and intention. Technostress was negatively associated with attitudes and weakened the positive relationship between psychological safety and perceived ease of use. By shifting the focus from intention to AI use intensity, the study refines acceptance theory for AI-enabled work and clarifies how organizational context, trust, and digital strain shape sustained and routinized AI use in daily work. Practically, the findings suggest that organizations should communicate AI value and task fit, foster psychologically safe learning climates, build trust through transparency and guidance, and actively mitigate technostress through training, workload design, and clear expectations.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6010006

Authors: Abel Perez-Gonzalez Ferdinando Tuscani Raul Pelagaggi Mohamed Nasser

This systematic review examines how gender shapes exposure to and experiences of psychosocial risks in the workplace. Drawing on 89 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2024, the review synthesizes evidence from occupational health psychology, gender studies, and organizational research. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, and PsycINFO, and included empirical studies published in English and Spanish. Following PRISMA guidelines, a qualitative thematic synthesis was conducted to integrate findings across diverse sectors, populations, and methodological approaches. The evidence reveals persistent gendered patterns in psychosocial risk exposure and outcomes: women are more frequently exposed to emotionally demanding and relational forms of work and report poorer mental health outcomes; men experience performance-driven strain linked to workload, competition, and reward insecurity more often; and transgender and non-binary workers face additional psychosocial burdens associated with stigma, discrimination, and minority stress. Across the literature, structural and cultural determinants—such as occupational segregation, unequal recognition, and gendered organizational norms—emerge as central mechanisms underlying these disparities. Theoretical frameworks including effort–reward imbalance, demand–control, work–family conflict, organizational climate, and minority stress collectively contribute to explaining how gendered psychosocial risks are produced and sustained. Overall, the review underscores the need to move beyond individualistic and binary models of psychosocial risk toward gender-responsive approaches that account for structural, relational, and identity-based dimensions of work, thereby informing research and organizational strategies aimed at promoting equitable and sustainable well-being at work.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6010005

Authors: Yosefiani Tamatur Marcus Goncalves Elizabeth Rhyne

This study examines how rural Indonesian women entrepreneurs navigate the gendered structures and institutional barriers that shape their entrepreneurial experiences. Grounded in the Gender and Development (GAD) framework, the research employs a qualitative, interpretive design and draws on 22 semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs from diverse regions and sectors. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns of constraint, agency, and transformation within women’s narratives. Findings reveal that patriarchal norms and time poverty continue to restrict women’s visibility and resource access. Nevertheless, they exercise negotiated agency through adaptive strategies such as front-stage/back-stage role division, emotional resilience, and collective peer support. Over time, these adaptive behaviors evolve into transformative practices, such as digital market-making, gender-conscious leadership, and intergenerational empowerment, that challenge structural inequalities from within. The study refines GAD theory by conceptualizing empowerment as cyclical and context-embedded, rather than linear or absolute. Policy implications emphasize reforms linking inclusion to transformation through childcare-linked training, collateral access, digital literacy, and institutional support for women’s networks. Overall, entrepreneurship emerges as both a livelihood strategy and a transformative social practice redefining gender relations in Indonesia.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6010004

Authors: Georgiana-Raluca Ladaru Ionut Laurentiu Petre Steliana Mocanu Anca Simina Popescu

The aim of this study is to empirically assess how labour market dysfunctions, human capital, innovation and economic development jointly influence the employment rate in the European Union within the framework of SDG 8—Decent Work and Economic Growth. While the link between employment and sustainability is well-recognized, this research addresses a significant gap by identifying how structural inefficiencies, specifically youth inactivity (NEET) and low work intensity, act as primary inhibitors that decouple economic growth from sustainable social integration. Using a multivariate panel regression, the study quantifies the impact of human capital and R&D investment as catalysts for decent work. The findings challenge the traditional growth-centric paradigm, revealing that achieving SDG 8 targets in the EU depends more on the quality of labour market integration and human capital resilience than on overall GDP expansion. This paper provides a robust empirical framework for policymakers to transition from quantitative employment targets to qualitative, sustainable labour integration.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6010003

Authors: Ali Mohammed Almashyakhi

Employer-funded education and training (EFET) has gained increasing attention as a strategic human resource practice for developing human capital and enhancing organizational performance. However, empirical evidence on its effectiveness remains limited in emerging economies, particularly within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), where workforce localization and human capital development are central to Vision 2030. This study examines the associations between EFET participation and three key employee outcomes: motivation, retention intention, and productivity. Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from 200 employees and managers across multiple sectors in KSA through a structured questionnaire. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships while controlling for gender, age, sector, and years of experience. The results indicate that EFET participation is positively and significantly associated with employee motivation, retention intention, and self-reported productivity, with the strongest association observed for retention intention. Model fit indices demonstrate an excellent overall fit, supporting the proposed model’s robustness. By integrating Human Capital Theory with empirical evidence from the Saudi context, this study contributes to the literature by extending understanding of how employer-funded education functions within a non-Western labor market. The findings offer practical implications for organizations and policymakers seeking to optimize education and training investments in support of sustainable workforce development and Vision 2030 objectives.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6010002

Authors: Michele Kremer Sott Mariluza Sott Bender Richard Ecke dos Santos Kamila da Silva Baum Gislene Cassia dos Santos Schwambach Rodrigo Evaldo Schwambach

The concept of intersectionality examines how multiple and interdependent forms of oppression manifest among marginalized social groups, considering their social markers. This study aims to analyze intersectionality in the labor market, with a critical focus on the interactions between race, gender, and class as structuring axes of inequality. An integrative literature review was conducted, encompassing an in-depth analysis of 140 articles addressing intersectionality in the labor context. The findings reveal a persistent conceptual fragmentation of intersectionality and a dilution of critical debates within labor market research. Empirical evidence consistently shows that women and racialized groups face enduring structural barriers, including wage gaps, occupational segregation, and limited access to leadership positions. Moreover, these inequalities are often obscured or reduced to superficial diversity and inclusion initiatives rather than being addressed as systemic issues. The study emphasizes the importance of committed and critical intersectional approaches to understanding and addressing systemic inequalities in the labor market, highlighting theoretical and epistemological gaps that must be addressed to advance emancipatory practices and policies that directly confront structural racism, patriarchy, and class-based exploitation. The study contributes theoretically by deepening the application of intersectionality in the labor market and by identifying conceptual and epistemological gaps in the literature. Empirically, it provides practical guidance for organizations to transform diversity initiatives into strategic and inclusive actions, integrating multiple social identities into management policies and practices.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits6010001

Authors: Lucie Stecker Alfredo Salomão Filho Tanja Tillmanns Theofilos Pouliopoulos Tiago Marques

Ageism remains a pervasive yet under-addressed form of workplace discrimination, affecting employees across age groups. This study, conducted within the framework of the EU-funded project SNAW–Say No to Ageism in the Workplace, presents findings from a cross-national survey in Germany, Romania, Ireland, Portugal, and Greece, with 511 participants including employees and employers. The survey examined five dimensions of workplace ageism (cognitive, emotional, behavioural, institutional, and outcome-related) through questions on stereotypes, experiences, organisational practices, and perceived impacts. Results indicate that age-based stereotypes are widely recognised, especially in Germany, Ireland, and Greece. Older workers were often portrayed as resistant to change or technologically outdated, while younger workers were described as inexperienced or unreliable. Despite some positive perceptions, these ambivalent views contribute to exclusionary dynamics. Employees consistently reported higher levels of ageism than employers, revealing a “perception gap”. Institutional responses were uneven: awareness of policies or initiatives promoting age diversity was low, and their effectiveness remained uncertain. Across countries, respondents linked ageism to reduced job satisfaction and productivity, though the perceived severity varied. The findings highlight ageism as a multifaceted challenge that undermines well-being and organisational performance. Counteracting it requires raising awareness, transparent communication, inclusive policies, and leadership engagement across Europe.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5040024

Authors: Jocelyn Peltier-Huntley

Despite the existence of human rights legislation in Canada, equitable access to these rights remains elusive in many workplaces—particularly in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as engineering and mining. This paper argues that the proactive application of human rights frameworks can drive meaningful workplace culture transformation by addressing both overt and systemic inequities. While Canadian human rights laws offer legal remedies for discrimination, underrepresented groups continue to face barriers, especially in non-unionized environments where support mechanisms are limited. This paper presents a novel analysis of Canadian workplaces through a human rights lens, emphasizing the need for policies that go beyond reactive measures. It advocates for increased public awareness, targeted allyship training, and leadership accountability to foster inclusive and equitable work environments. The findings have broad implications for advancing decent work across sectors and for building representative and inclusive workforces.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5040023

Authors: Carmen Nastase Andreea Adomnitei Anisoara Apetri

The rapid integration of emerging technologies into organizational processes has fundamentally redefined the role of strategic human resource management (SHRM). This paper explores how digital innovations—such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), blockchain, and immersive technologies—are reshaping the workforce and transforming the way organizations attract, develop, and retain talent. In the context of the digital era, human capital is no longer a passive input but a strategic enabler of sustainable competitive advantage. The purpose of the study is to analyze how SHRM practices must evolve to align with technology-driven organizational models, combining insights from a systematic literature review, institutional reports, and illustrative corporate cases. Findings indicate that agility, continuous reskilling, ethical AI governance, and employee well-being are critical levers for sustainable advantage. Comparative tables highlight differences between traditional HRM and SHRM in the digital era, while case studies (IBM, Walmart, Unilever, and UiPath) demonstrate the strategic value of predictive analytics, diversity and inclusion programs, virtual training, and people analytics. By proposing a conceptual model that links emerging technologies, SHRM, and competitiveness, the paper contributes to current debates on the transformation of work and organizational resilience. The study offers practical implications for HR leaders, policymakers, and academics navigating digital transformation while reinforcing human-centric performance and sustainability.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5040022

Authors: Santos Manuel Cavero López Ignacio Ruiz Guerra Jesús Barreal Pernas

In the ESG era, the hospitality sector faces an urgent need to transform its governance models. However, a conceptual gap exists regarding the specific mechanisms that drive this transformation. This study addresses this gap through a systematic literature review to propose a novel integrative framework. Unlike previous reviews that analyze sustainable leadership and ESG governance in isolation, this paper positions sustainable leadership as the central mechanism that catalyzes the systemic integration of ESG criteria into the sector’s organizational culture and strategy. The proposed framework articulates how this leadership style facilitates a cultural, strategic, and operational transformation by balancing economic performance with social well-being and environmental protection. Specifically, within the hospitality context, sustainable leadership is shown to be key in fostering organizational resilience, responsible innovation, and participatory governance. The analysis also identifies critical barriers to implementation, such as cultural resistance, the lack of clear metrics, and the need for specialized leadership training. The unique contribution of this article is to offer a conceptual model that articulates the causal relationship between leadership and applied ESG governance, presenting sustainable leadership not merely as a management style, but as the fundamental component for building resilient and legitimate hospitality organizations in the long term.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5040021

Authors: Abdelaziz Abdalla Alowais Abubakr Suliman

This research explores how coalitions of leaders who score high in the Dark Triad traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—rebuild moral architectures in organizations to consolidate power, suppress dissent, and secure their rule. Contrary to work that has focused predominantly on individual toxic leaders, this research examines the collective processes that emerge when multiple high-DT-scoring leaders coalesce and unify their moral leadership front. Adopting a qualitative, article-based document analysis methodology, this study synthesizes and critiques evidence from 55 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025. Thematic analysis identified three fundamental dynamics through which Dark Triad leaders collectively exercise dominance. The first, the Ethics Cartel, involves the construction of a shared moral façade that legitimates power and shields wrongdoing. The second, Mutual Cover, outlines forms of mutual protection in which leaders shield one another from accountability and scrutiny. The third, Cultural Capture, outlines processes through which organizational culture is increasingly reconfigured such that “ethics” are structured to favor leadership over employees or wider stakeholders. This study illustrates how these coalitions cross over into individual transgressions, creating systemic risk that warps the fabric of organizational culture. Employees are confronted with a work culture that positions ethics as a means of developing survival adaptive mechanisms, such as silence, withdrawal, or compliance. These processes not only harm psychological safety and break trust but also disable accountability mechanisms established to maintain integrity. This study contributes to the study of leadership and organizational ethics by framing ethics not as merely an individual moral stance but as a collective instrument of power. It calls for more attention to the risks that follow collaboration among toxic leaders and for governance arrangements that address the organizational and systemic consequences of these unions. By situating these findings within the broader debate on power, people, and performance, this paper aligns with the focus of the Special Issue “Power, People, and Performance: Rethinking Organizational Leadership and Management” by showing how collective Dark Triad leadership distorts organizational performance outcomes while reshaping power relations in ways that undermine people’s trust and well-being. These insights extend Alowais & Suliman’s findings, highlighting the systemic feedback loops sustaining ethical distortion.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5040020

Authors: Xintong Chen

The nonprofit sector provides roughly one in ten jobs in the United States. Yet retirement benefits remain uneven and often inadequate compared to those in the public and private sectors. This article examines disparities in nonprofit access to retirement plans and analyzes how organizational and community characteristics shape retirement benefit provision. The study uses panel regression approaches with data from the NCCS Core PC files and the U.S. Census. The analysis shows that most nonprofits do not offer retirement plans, and those that do often contribute only minimally. Larger organizations and those with higher levels of donative revenue are more likely to offer and contribute to retirement plans. By contrast, the arts and humanities nonprofits and nonprofits in communities with lower educational attainment are significantly less likely to do so. Racial and geographic disparities also persist. Nonprofits in whiter communities are more likely to offer plans, though not necessarily at higher contribution levels. These findings underscore the need for targeted policy and philanthropic interventions. Supporting under-resourced organizations in providing competitive retirement benefits can promote workforce stability and advance equity across the nonprofit sector.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5040019

Authors: Kudrat Khuda Palash Kamruzzaman Matthijs Bal

Employee turnover remains a major concern for businesses globally. In Western contexts, the concept of psychological contract breach (PCB) is often employed to understand this phenomenon. This paper takes Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) sector as a case study to explore the factors that support employee retention in their jobs, despite reported poor working conditions and associated issues in garment factories. Data were gathered among 400 RMG workers and linear regression analysis was used to answer this question. We demonstrated that while PCB was positively related to turnover intention, its impact on the retention of Bangladeshi garment workers was relatively minimal. Qualitative data showed how cultural and social factors distinct from known Western retention causes shaped our findings. The evidence presented in this paper sheds new light on employee retention in a Bangladeshi context, where socio-cultural issues challenge the PCB theory, which was developed largely based on Western economies.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5040018

Authors: Carla Curado Tiago Gonçalves Cláudia Ribeiro

In the original publication [...]

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5040017

Authors: Hannah Karrlein Kevin Rui-Han Teoh Marleen Reinke Gail Kinman Nicola Cordell Joanna Yarker

Medical doctors are at risk of poor mental health, linked to their working conditions. However, little distinction is made between private and public practice where working conditions differ. This review examines the relationship between perceived working conditions, psychological health, and patient care among doctors in private practice, considering how differences between private and public practice impact these outcomes and the implications of working across sectors. We conducted a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The search encompassed Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, and Medline. Included studies were coded in line with the Job Demands–Resources model. The initial search identified 309 papers, with 14 being selected for final full-text review. Higher job demands were associated with higher levels of burnout, while social resources, job crafting, and healthy coping mechanisms were linked with lower levels of burnout. Working in private practice was associated with higher demands. Doctors in private practice had more negative perceptions of performance, less satisfactory leadership, and a lack of feedback. However, private practice also offered better work–life balance, more control, and greater reward. Notably, no study was found that examined the implications of dual roles where doctors worked across both sectors, which is common. A clear definition of private practice as well as a more granular understanding of work-related risks posed to private practice and dual roles should be the focus of future research.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5030016

Authors: Tamás Prugberger Bernadett Solymosi-Szekeres

Platform contracts are a central element of digital work and therefore present a number of legal challenges, in particular with regard to the classification of the legal relationship based on them. In this paper, the two forms of platform work, work on demand via apps and crowdwork, are analysed, with a separate analysis which highlights legal doctrinal inconsistencies. In doing so, we will also discuss the related problematic and varied jurisprudence. This jurisprudence illustrates the complex dispute between the worker and the platform company. Finally, the new Platform Directive of the European Union, which may not hold the key to a real solution to the problem of setting up an appropriate legal qualification system for platform workers, will be analysed. The study is based on the desk-research method, presenting national and EU legislation and case law through qualitative analysis.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5030015

Authors: Myia S. Williams Alyson K. Myers Oyindamola Adebo Lisa Anang

Despite decades of ongoing efforts to address gender equality, female physicians, particularly women of color, continue to face significant barriers in medicine, which are exacerbated by microaggressions. In this qualitative study, 133 female physicians recalled experiences with microaggressions and the impact of these experiences on their professional identities and career progression. Thematic analysis revealed four major themes: (1) disregard for professional status; (2) undermining contributions; (3) intersectionality; (4) impact on career mobility and professional confidence. Further, there was one emerging theme: leadership and culture. The results underscore the compounding effects of microaggressions for female physicians with intersecting identities. Highlighting the application of social identity theory, intersectionality, and organizational justice, this study provides a comprehensive view of the impact of microaggressions on female physicians, offering new perspectives on the intersectional nature of discrimination and its effects on professional identity and career satisfaction.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5020014

Authors: Ana-Isabel Alonso-Sastre Juan Pardo Oscar Cortijo Antonio Falcó

In the world of academia, there is a great mobility of talented university professors with a high level of movement among different entities. This could be a major problem, as universities must retain a minimum level of talent to support their various academic programmes. In this sense, finding out what factors could increase the loyalty of such staff can be of great interest to human resource (HR) departments and the overall administrative management of an organisation. Thus, this area, also known as People Analytics (PA), has become very powerful in human resource management to strategically address challenges in talent management. This paper examines talent commitment within the university environment, focusing on identifying key factors that influence the loyalty of professors and researchers. To achieve this, machine learning (ML) techniques are employed, as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for dimensionality reduction and clustering techniques for individual segmentation have been employed in such tasks. This methodological approach allowed us to identify such critical factors, which we have termed Quantitative Emotional Salary (QES), enabling us to identify those factors beyond those merely related to compensation. The findings offer a novel data-driven perspective to enhance talent management strategies in academia, promoting long-term engagement and loyalty.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5020013

Authors: Pedro J. De La Cruz Albizu Gerald Maraia

This essay argues for the inclusion of mindfulness training in educational leadership preparation programs in the United States. Educational leaders have a determining influence on school effectiveness, and their success depends on the quality of the preparation they receive. As such, increased attention to school leadership and school leader preparation has emerged, and important efforts to improve the preparation of school leaders have been undertaken, including the development of the National Educational Leadership Preparation standards. However, while the standards are extremely valuable, they concentrate on what leaders know and do for others, not on their well-being, who they are, or how they determine what to do. Hence, the standards may contribute to the increasingly technocratic orientation in the narrative about and preparation of educational leaders. While such orientation supports the development of necessary knowledge and skills, it may leave gaps in relational and internal capacities; capacities that have been identified as increasingly important for today’s school leaders, not just for their job performance, but also for their well-being and longevity on the job. This essay highlights some of the ways in which mindfulness can support the preparation of school leaders while enhancing their relational, internal, and standards-based capacities.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5020012

Authors: Donald R. Mendenhall Suzanne H. Jones LeAnn G. Putney

Poverty can contribute to students’ struggles with academic success, yet these struggles may be mitigated in schools with high levels of collective teacher efficacy (CTE). The purpose of this study was to identify effective Title I-eligible schools, serving a high percentage of financially disadvantaged students, while also maintaining high levels of CTE. Two schools were selected for cross-case analysis to explore how leadership characteristics and actions nurtured and sustained schoolwide CTE. The methodology used in this study was a qualitative cross-case analysis. The researchers purposefully selected the schools as cases based on the level of CTE existing in the schools. The qualitative cases provided means of determining how CTE was nurtured and sustained in the exemplary schools. These findings have substantial significance for educational leaders at the school, district, university and state levels. The results identified element characteristics and actions of instructional leaders to actuate CTE, increased teacher confidence and more significant collaborative relationships in schools. This study supports existing CTE research regarding connections between CTE and shared leadership, and CTE and trust among faculty.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5020011

Authors: Damola Victor Akinwande Georgios Boustras Omoye Mary Akhagba Chizubem Benson

During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown and working from home (WFH) were two significant non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) deployed to stop the spread of the virus and also maintain economic activity. Lockdown caused significant socio-economic disruptions and varied in efficacy by location, even while it helped slow the spread of the virus and provided medical personnel with more time to respond to the crisis. WFH, however, was introduced to mitigate business collapse, and it presented crucial benefits such as flexibility and reduced commuting. However, it also presented major challenges, including work–life conflicts, productivity concerns, and mental health issues. By examining the short- and long-term effects of these NPIs on various sectors and demographics, this study assesses their efficacy in crisis management, and our results show that although WFH and lockdowns were essential for crisis management, their effectiveness varied depending on sectoral differences, timing, and implementation tactics. Furthermore, the ongoing shift towards hybrid work underscores the need for adaptive policies that balance productivity, mental well-being, and economic sustainability. Moreover, future research should focus on exploring the long-term implications of WFH and hybrid work models in order to ensure better preparedness for future crises and refine existing NPIs for more effective crisis management.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5020010

Authors: Jennifer Feitosa Aaliyah Marie Almeida Teslin Ishee

This paper provides guidance for organizations and individuals to combat the subtle yet impactful discrimination of microaggressions. Drawing from interdisciplinary sources, it integrates insights from organizational science and health psychology, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Through a review of 69 sources, including empirical studies, government reports, and policy analyses, the paper identifies where microaggressions are likely to occur, why they matter to managers, and how they can be addressed in the workplace. Practical, evidence-based strategies are offered to help reshape perceptions, reduce discriminatory behaviors, and create more equitable opportunities, ultimately fostering greater satisfaction and enabling diverse workplaces to reach their full potential. The findings emphasize the importance of mindful management and actionable DEI practices that drive meaningful change in workplace culture. By providing tools to recognize and respond to microaggressions, this paper contributes to broader efforts to reduce inequities and enhance the work environment, ensuring employees can thrive, regardless of their subgroup identities.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5020009

Authors: Marcus Goncalves Esteban De La Vega Ahumada

This study conducts a bibliometric and altmetric analysis of women’s entrepreneurship, examining research trends, challenges, and contributions to sustainable development. By analyzing 6729 journal articles from the Web of Science (1975–2024), this study employs citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and co-word analysis, alongside altmetric indicators, to assess research impact. Visualization tools such as VOSViewer (version 16.20) were used to map the scholarly landscape. Key findings highlight critical themes, including gender disparities, financial barriers, socio-cultural challenges, and digital transformation, underscoring the crucial role of women entrepreneurs in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study identifies major research clusters, leading authors, and institutions that shape the field, while also revealing regional disparities in research output. The growing prevalence of open-access research has enhanced knowledge dissemination, yet access to financial and technological resources remains a challenge for women entrepreneurs. This study emphasizes the need for targeted policies to improve access to finance, digital tools, and entrepreneurial education, fostering an enabling ecosystem for women-led businesses. By integrating traditional bibliometric techniques with altmetrics, this research provides a comprehensive assessment of global trends in women’s entrepreneurship, offering valuable insights for academics, policymakers, and practitioners. It contributes to the literature on gender and entrepreneurship by identifying emerging themes and gaps, advocating for inclusive policies and enhanced support mechanisms to drive sustainable economic growth.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5020008

Authors: Natália Teixeira

The transition to a Circular Economy (CE) is a fundamental response to contemporary environmental and economic challenges. Sustainable human resource management (SHRM) is pivotal in equipping the workforce with green skills, reskilling strategies, and fostering organisational sustainability. This study undertakes a comparative analysis of Portugal and Sweden to examine the influence of SHRM strategies on CE adoption. Utilising Eurostat data and employing statistical analyses, the study assesses workforce training, circular material use, and green employment growth in both countries. The findings reveal that Sweden exhibits considerably higher engagement in workforce training (32.26% vs. 10.87% in Portugal), more prevalent circular material use (7.73% vs. 2.31%), and more consistent green job growth (higher R2 in regression models). These findings underscore the pivotal role of well-designed public policies and SHRM strategies in fostering CE adoption, underscoring their alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDGs 8 and 12. The insights derived from this study are of significance for policymakers and organisations seeking to enhance workforce sustainability and circular business models.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5010007

Authors: Anas Al-Fattal

This study explores the marketing challenges perceived by aspiring entrepreneurs, focusing on undergraduate business students’ perspectives. Drawing on an empirical qualitative approach, this research utilizes data from semi-structured interviews with 31 students at a midwestern U.S. university to examine key barriers that hinder business development and growth. The research identifies five key themes: budget constraints, customer identification and engagement, branding and market differentiation, digital marketing barriers, and the role of education. The findings reveal that financial limitations and resource constraints hinder students’ ability to implement effective marketing strategies, while limited practical experience complicates customer engagement and market research efforts. Additionally, participants emphasized challenges in establishing distinct brand identities and adapting to rapidly evolving digital marketing tools. These insights align with existing entrepreneurial marketing theories, reinforcing the role of adaptability and resourcefulness in early-stage business ventures. Education emerged as both a strength and an area for improvement, with students valuing theoretical foundations but identifying gaps in hands-on, experiential learning opportunities. This study contributes to entrepreneurial marketing literature by highlighting the interplay between resource constraints, creativity, and adaptability in understanding marketing challenges. It further underscores the importance of integrating digital marketing competencies and alternative financing strategies, such as crowdfunding and fintech solutions, into entrepreneurship education. It also emphasizes the need for educational reforms that integrate practical applications, mentorship, and digital marketing training to prepare students for real-world entrepreneurial endeavors. By addressing these gaps, the findings offer actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and entrepreneurial support systems to better equip aspiring entrepreneurs for sustainable success.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5010006

Authors: Larissa Ronha Rosa Isabel Rodrigues

Mobbing, also referred to as workplace bullying, has significant impacts on employee behavior within organizational contexts, negatively affecting organizational performance. Consequently, promoting workplace well-being and individual performance emerges as a critical factor in mitigating the adverse effects associated with this phenomenon. This study aims to fill a gap in the research because it integrates a sequential mediation model, which elucidates the underlying mechanisms through which mobbing influences organizational outcomes. The research involved 388 workers from the public and private sectors, aged between 21 and 59 years, selected through non-probabilistic convenience sampling. Despite its limitations, this method was chosen to ensure an adequate representation of employees experiencing workplace mobbing across different sectors. Data collection was carried out using the Luxembourg Workplace Mobbing Scale, the Job Performance Questionnaire, the Organizational Performance Questionnaire, and the Workplace Welfare Scale. The findings revealed that high levels of mobbing are significantly associated with a reduction in organizational performance. Furthermore, workplace well-being and individual performance were identified as serial mediators in this relationship, indicating that more harmonious work environments enhance individual efficacy, thereby contributing to improved organizational performance. These results highlight the importance of strategic interventions focused on promoting well-being in the workplace to promote healthier and more productive organizational cultures.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5010005

Authors: Steven Mellor Ross Elliott

The humility at work scale was developed to provide a numeric representation of the humility at work construct, defined as one’s estimate of low to modest self-importance in the act of doing the work itself and in relation to one’s role in doing the work. In prior studies, scores yielded by the scale have shown concurrent validity with measures of predicted union outcomes. In the present study, published and unpublished sample data were used to show convergent-discriminant validity as a demonstration of construct validity stemming from item-content validity. Using principal component analysis, four distinctive item-content domains were identified as interpretable: expressive humility, supportive humility, effective humility, and appreciative humility. Represented as item-subscales, yielded scores were found to show convergent-discriminant validity with scores yielded from measures of constructs thought to be related and unrelated to the humility construct, with the exception of scores yielded by the effective humility subscale. Included are discussion points for detected and undetected scale validity with an eye on scale use in prediction models and construct applications that bear on the experience of work in reference to supervisors and subordinates whether employed as union or nonunion employees and whether employed in union or nonunion work environments.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5010004

Authors: Keisuke Kokubun Yoshiaki Ino Kazuyoshi Ishimura

As the fear of the spread of COVID-19 has faded, governments around the world are moving to lift strict behavioral restrictions. How should human resource management at overseas subsidiaries adapt to these system changes? To find the answer, this paper clarifies the anxiety of employees working at overseas subsidiaries after the strict behavioral restrictions introduced by governments during the spread of COVID-19 have been lifted, as well as the relationship between psychological and social resources and intention to leave. To this end, we applied and verified the analytical model of “China 2020”, which was conducted on 2973 people in East and South China from February to May 2020, the results of which have been published in previous studies, to psychological questionnaire data from “Wuhan 2023”, which was conducted on 813 people in Wuhan City from January to March 2023. As a result, it was shown that the analytical model based on the conservation of resources theory (COR) can be applied not only to China 2020 but also to Wuhan 2023. This study proposes an analytical framework that can be widely applied across time and place and can be used as a reference for foreign companies that lack local information on disasters that expand while the nature and impact of the damage change.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5010003

Authors: María C. Navas-Jiménez Ana Laguia Rocio Schettini Fidel Rodríguez-Batalla David Guillén-Corchado Juan A. Moriano

Based on attachment theory, this research explores Secure Base Leadership’s (SBL) efficacy in mitigating the negative impact of emotional demands on employee exhaustion, with an aim to reduce burnout rates and improve workplace well-being. A survey sample of 428 Spanish employees from various sectors was collected, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the research model. Emotional demands were found to significantly increase employee exhaustion, whereas SBL reduced and moderated these effects, proving its protective function. Furthermore, increased exhaustion was associated with longer tenure and employment in private organizations. Findings support integrating SBL in leadership development to foster a supportive environment, mitigate burnout, and boost employee well-being. Highlighting the application of attachment theory in organizational settings, this study contributes to understanding SBL’s effectiveness against emotional demands, guiding leadership practices to enhance organizational health.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5010002

Authors: Michele Kremer Sott Mariluza Sott Bender

Leading multidisciplinary teams requires not only strong leadership skills, but also a supportive organizational environment. This study examines the key characteristics necessary for adaptive leadership and identifies the main organizational factors that facilitate its development. A systematic literature review, following the PRISMA-P protocol, was conducted, analyzing 33 studies on the traits of adaptive leaders and relevant organizational factors. Based on these findings, we propose a conceptual framework representing the feedback cycle of the adaptive leadership process within organizations and present three propositions associated with this model. The results indicate that the primary characteristics of adaptive leaders include flexibility, empathy, innovation, and long-term vision. Conversely, organizations possess factors that can either facilitate or hinder the development of adaptive leadership, such as organizational culture, structure, innovation history, and strategy. The findings emphasize that orchestrating adaptive teams during times of crisis is especially challenging, requiring additional competencies in resilience and adaptability. This study contributes to the literature by identifying the essential capabilities of adaptive leaders and discussing key considerations for leaders and practitioners seeking to transition from traditional to adaptive leadership.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits5010001

Authors: Marcus Goncalves Sadaf Sartipi Ghazale Asadi Damavandi

This study explores the motivations and constraints of Iranian women entrepreneurs within a restrictive socioeconomic and cultural landscape. It adopts a qualitative approach and utilizes semi-structured interviews to investigate the complex interplay between financial limitations, gender biases, and regulatory challenges entrepreneurs face. These findings underscore the importance of resilience, adaptability, and creativity for entrepreneurial success. Women entrepreneurs in Iran adopt incremental growth strategies, utilize digital platforms for market access, and cultivate informal networks to manage risks and scale their ventures. They also creatively integrate family responsibilities into their business models, highlighting the cultural shaping of their entrepreneurial activities. The concept of regulatory adaptation was introduced to illustrate how entrepreneurs restructure their operations to comply with stringent government regulations while sustaining growth. The emotional burden of navigating these hurdles is also evident, emphasizing the need for support mechanisms that address mental health and well-being. Policy implications are discussed, and enhancements in financial access, gender equality, digital entrepreneurship, and mental health support for women entrepreneurs are recommended. This study contributes to the entrepreneurship theory by understanding how sociocultural contexts influence women’s entrepreneurial activities and resilience strategies.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040035

Authors: Rosa Rodrigues Natália Teixeira Bernardo Costa

In recent years, the role of leadership in increasing employee satisfaction (ES) has received significant attention, with emotional intelligence (EI) emerging as a key factor in promoting effective leadership (EL) in organizations. Although research has demonstrated the positive impact of EI on workplace outcomes, the interplay between perceived LE, EI, and ES remains underexplored. This research is part of this theme and aims to investigate the influence of the perceived levels of LE and EI of SE leaders in the work environment. This study highlights the importance of integrating emotionally intelligent leaders into organizational structures to improve SE, which subsequently contributes to organizational success. A quantitative methodology was used, with data collected through the application of three questionnaires: one to assess the perception of LE, another to measure EI, and a third to assess SE. The results indicated a positive correlation between all constructs. Employees with more favorable perceptions of their leaders’ EI levels and leadership effectiveness reported greater workplace satisfaction. We also found that LE and EI significantly predicted ES. These findings emphasize the need to foster leadership that is not only competent, but also emotionally intelligent to increase workplace satisfaction and productivity.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040034

Authors: Tafadzwa Dzinamarira Enos Moyo Diego F. Cuadros Helena Herrera Oscar Mano Ferris T. Munyonho Malizgani Mhango Godfrey Musuka

Introduction: The objective of this narrative review is to examine the health risks associated with informal mining in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with a particular focus on HIV prevention. It aims to review existing interventions targeting this population and identify challenges and opportunities for improvement. Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library. Studies and reports published between 2000 and 2023 that focused on occupational health risks and HIV prevention interventions in the informal mining sector of SSA were included in the analysis. Results: Informal mining in SSA presents significant health risks to workers, including exposure to hazardous substances, poor working conditions, and limited access to healthcare. These factors, combined with the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the region, make informal miners particularly vulnerable to infection. The review identified several key themes related to occupational health risks, such as poor environmental and sanitation conditions, increased vulnerability due to factors like poverty and lack of education, and limited access to healthcare services. A variety of interventions have been implemented to address HIV prevention among informal miners in SSA. These include behavioral strategies like peer education and social marketing campaigns, as well as biomedical interventions such as counseling, testing, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). However, challenges persist in delivering effective HIV prevention services to this population. These challenges include restricted access to healthcare, the high mobility of miners, limited resources, and stigma associated with HIV. Conclusions: The findings of this review highlight the urgent need for integrated health services and tailored interventions that address the specific issues faced by informal miners in SSA. Community-based and culturally sensitive programs, developed in collaboration with mining communities, are essential for effective HIV prevention. Future research should evaluate the long-term impact of interventions and explore their scalability. To improve intervention effectiveness and sustainability, stakeholders should focus on community engagement, strengthening health systems, and addressing structural barriers. A multi-sectoral approach is necessary to tackle the broader determinants of health in mining communities.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040033

Authors: Rogie Royce Carandang Forter Puguon Jr. Mary Louisse Santos Elizabeth Ilagan Kellie Gwyneth Gamboa Jose Gerardo Aquino

Burnout among pharmacists is an increasingly urgent concern, with previous studies emphasizing its physical, psychological, and occupational consequences. However, limited research has explored specific burnout experiences and their impact on turnover intentions among Filipino pharmacists. This study examined the association between burnout, its symptoms, and turnover intentions among pharmacists in Metro Manila, Philippines. We used the Burnout Assessment Tool and Turnover Intention Scale to conduct a cross-sectional study among 300 community and hospital pharmacists. A multiple logistic regression analysis examined the association between burnout and turnover intentions among pharmacists. Of the 300 pharmacists, 73.0% were at risk of or experiencing severe burnout, and 75.7% reported a turnover intention. Pharmacists at risk of or experiencing severe burnout showed a higher likelihood of leaving their jobs (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 7.59; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 3.68, 15.64), especially if they felt exhausted (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.27, 4.89) or mentally distant (AOR = 3.92, 95% CI = 1.95, 7.86) from their work. Furthermore, dissatisfaction with salary, lack of incentives and promotions, and insufficient staffing emerged as other factors associated with the desire to leave. Addressing pharmacists’ physical and mental well-being, alongside workplace improvements, is crucial for reducing turnover intentions.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040032

Authors: Ali Mohammed Almashyakhi

The role of talent management is to ensure that employees’ special skills and talents are identified, and that the right jobs are assigned along their career paths. This study examines the relationship between talent management and employee retention within the Saudi Arabia government sector, specifically among civil service employees working for the Saudi government. A sample size of 440 participants was used in the study. The results revealed that talent management practices are positively related to employee retention. These findings highlight the importance for organizations, especially in the public sector, to implement effective talent retention strategies to retain their most skilled employees over the long term. This research contributes to closing the existing gap in understanding talent management and retention within the context of Saudi Arabia’s civil service sector.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040031

Authors: Sophia Anastasiou Konstantinos Ntokas

This study aimed to assess the contribution of leadership to Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation in secondary education and to determine the extent of TQM practices, as perceived by teachers, within the Ioannina region, NW Greece. The study also explored how these perceptions relate to various variables. A quantitative approach was employed, involving 128 teachers from secondary education schools in the Ioannina region, NW Greece. The findings illuminate the profound influence of leadership on successful TQM implementation. Effective leaders foster a climate of collaboration, provide resources, and encourage teamwork, ultimately contributing to the enhancement of teaching and learning quality. Moreover, this research study underscores the compatibility of the TQM and EFQM principles in promoting quality enhancement within educational settings. The EFQM Leadership score was calculated by averaging the ratings of leadership behaviors like collaboration, communication, and decision making. The results reveal a strong commitment to TQM principles, with overall TQM and EFQM Leadership scores of 3.58 (±0.11) and 3.46 (±0.30), respectively. The EFQM Leadership dimensions demonstrated significant alignment, particularly in areas such as teacher participation and communication of quality standards. However, there is room for improvement in encouraging two-way communication and ensuring consistent leadership decision implementation. This study highlights the crucial role of effective leadership in fostering a culture of quality and excellence in secondary education, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, communication, and alignment with EFQM principles for successful TQM implementation.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040030

Authors: Seong-Uk Baek Jong-Uk Won Jin-Ha Yoon

Poor lifestyle behaviors, including unhealthy dietary habits, lack of physical activity, smoking, inadequate and poor-quality sleep, and alcohol consumption, are well-documented risk factors for health deterioration. Previous studies have suggested that such undesirable lifestyle behaviors may mediate the effects of long working hours on negative health outcomes. This protocol paper aims to introduce and outline the methods for this scoping review. The proposed scoping review will map the existing research on the relationship between working hours and lifestyle behaviors, identifying areas and gaps in the evidence that warrant further investigation. This review will include only peer-reviewed, published articles written in English. All studies examining the relationship or effects of working hours on the five a priori defined major lifestyle components will be considered (diet, physical activity, tobacco use, sleep, and alcohol use), without restrictions on region, publication year, or study design. This review will be performed based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. The databases will include MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. The search equation will be structured to include the topic of working hours while also encompassing at least one of the five lifestyle topics: physical activity, diet, sleep, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption. Two reviewers will screen the articles and extract pertinent data. This investigation will primarily focus on evaluating the existing evidence and identifying any gaps in understanding the relationship between working hours and each lifestyle component. A narrative summary will be presented to explain the findings of the included studies.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040029

Authors: Justin Travis Catherine A. Neale Samuel J. Wilgus

Despite advances in understanding the factors that predict unethical behaviors such as counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB), there is still substantial variance left unexplained in the occurrence of unethical behavior. Recent research has examined how unethical behavior may change beyond initially reported levels due to the gradual erosion of ethicality via justification processes such as moral disengagement. The present study extends this research by examining the role of personality in determining the extent to which individuals make subsequent unethical decisions at greater or lower levels beyond their initial levels. Studies 1 and 2 used an experimental design that presents half of participants with an opportunity to practice moral disengagement by allowing participants to justify their actions. Results in study 1 demonstrate that individuals with high levels of dark personality traits tend to increase their level of unethical decision making when given the chance to justify their actions, whereas those with low levels of dark personality become less unethical. Study 2 examines the extent to which the mediating role of perceived justice changes when participants are given an opportunity to justify their actions. Results from study 2 show the effects of justice as a mediating mechanism are significantly diminished when the justification manipulation is present. Implications emphasize the need to use both selection and development interventions in organizations to reduce gradual decreases in ethicality as well as reduced reliance on cross-sectional research to study a phenomenon that can change as unethical behavior is justified.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040028

Authors: Justina Budreikaitė Violeta Rapuano Agota Giedrė Raišienė

The multifaceted challenges posed by globalization, medical advancements, conflicts and crises necessitate a critical examination of social and organizational inclusion. Despite the acknowledged advantages of inclusive leadership (IL), there remains a significant research gap concerning the perceptions of IL among diverse employee groups, particularly within heterogeneous organizations. This study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the perceptions of IL across various sociodemographic groups within fintech companies in Lithuania. By concentrating on this rapidly evolving sector, this research enhances the understanding of IL by assessing how sociodemographic variables influence perceptions of inclusive leadership practices. A total of 236 responses were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests, supplemented by the Bonferroni correction to ensure statistical robustness. The findings elucidate the dynamics of IL within the fast-paced fintech environment, revealing unique challenges and opportunities to foster organizational inclusivity. The implications of this research provide actionable insights for industry leaders striving to implement IL strategies that empower minority groups and enhance overall organizational performance. Although the results indicate that fintech organizations have made strides in embedding IL principles, these advancements are not uniformly experienced across diverse employee demographics. Specifically, this study identifies significant disparities in IL perceptions between employees of other genders and those with health-related impairments. Acknowledging certain limitations, particularly the small sample sizes of some examined employee subgroups, this study advocates for further research to yield generalizable findings that can inform and improve inclusive organizational practices.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040027

Authors: Lawrence P. W. Wong

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies with human-level cognitive abilities are increasingly integrated into workplaces, posing risks of job displacement and redundancy. Understanding AI’s impact on job automation is thus essential, as it helps students understand which occupational roles are likely to be automated. However, there is a lack of coherent understanding of this topic due to the diverse research methodologies deployed, leading to the formation of fragmented and inconsistent insights. This article reviews career literature and global reports from expert sources (e.g., the World Economic Forum) to provide an overview of AI’s influence on job sectors and the skills students need to thrive in a technologically disrupted workplace. The findings emphasize the importance of developing human-centric skills.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040026

Authors: João Teixeira Leonor Pais Nuno Rebelo dos Santos Bruno de Sousa

The military serves as a vital bridge between strategic goals and societal values. This study aims to comprehensively analyze the potential and limitations of Empowering Leadership (EL) in the armed forces. Considering the current post-pandemic context and the geopolitical shifts in a volatile, uncertain, fragile, and complex world, we look at how EL can boost adaptability. We started by addressing military organization structure and evolution, followed by the EL concept and its impact on organizational performance. We discussed its benefits, progress, and role in modern military environments. The analysis points out EL benefits, despite the challenges posed by the military’s strict hierarchy, which can limit EL’s effectiveness, but concluded that this style can be effective when aligned with Mission Command. We analyze EL’s nuances in military settings, presenting three propositions and stating their potential, challenges, and limitations. This study offers insights into leadership dynamics in the military, highlighting the delicate balance between empowerment and traditional structures.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040025

Authors: Ernest Nkansah-Dwamena

This study examines the critical role of inclusive, people-centered strategies in driving organizational sustainability, focusing on two key institutions in the Ashanti Region of Ghana: Presbyterian University College (PUC) and Presbyterian Agogo Women’s College of Education (APWCE). Employing a qualitative research design, including 100 interviews, five focus groups, and participant observations, this study investigates employee perspectives on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices in the workplace. The findings identify key empowerment strategies—flexible job roles, participatory decision-making, leadership development, and open communication—that enhance employee engagement and commitment to sustainability efforts. The findings also demonstrate employees’ vital role in advancing sustainability through involvement in green initiatives, community engagement, and integrating sustainability into core organizational practices. This contribution intellectually bridges the gap between DEI policies and their practical application, offering a nuanced understanding of how cultural and social dimensions influence sustainability in underexplored contexts like Ghana. It emphasizes aligning organizational values with employee well-being to enhance job satisfaction and retention, presenting actionable strategies for fostering innovation, resilience, and long-term success. The increasing global focus on sustainability and the growing need for inclusive practices in organizational settings underscores the timeliness of this manuscript. It offers a holistic, forward-thinking approach that is especially relevant for organizations navigating post-pandemic workplace dynamics and seeking to align sustainability with equity and inclusivity.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4040024

Authors: Fabienne Riesel Volker Bräutigam Florian Wittmeier

Rarely do so many areas of society change as quickly as now. This study analyses the disruptive transformation of HR/qualification in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the leading sectors of mechanical and plant engineering and the automotive industry in Lower Franconia, Bavaria. More precisely, this study is about the Mainfranken region. Administratively, it comprises the two independent cities of Würzburg and Schweinfurt as well as seven administrative districts. This paper researches the long-term transformation of the world of work in terms of skill shortages, procurement strategies and employee performance. This study is based on quantitative and qualitative findings from the funding project transform.RMF in the form of an overarching literature review, a commissioned online survey, stakeholder workshops to identify regional trends and self-conducted expert interviews. Unsurprisingly, the shortage of skilled labour is a serious problem for regional SMEs. Managing directors are aware of the need to act in the acquisition and retention of recruited specialists. This includes in-house benefits, New Work models and competitive acquisition strategies. We must overcome the biggest obstacle to transformation—a lack of qualified personnel—together, structurally. Based on our insights, we create recommendations for action and connecting the potential in the network. In the future, the aim will be to intensify cooperation between society, business, science and politics at the regional level—transform.RMF’s mission in the interests of its members.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030023

Authors: Gabriela Topa

As the new Editor-in-Chief of Merits, I am truly excited to help steer the journal in a new direction [...]

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030022

Authors: William T. Howe Onyinyechi Beatrice Nwoko

Tom MacDonald’s success in the music industry can provide valuable insights for leaders and founders, particularly in the context of high-reliability organization (HRO) theory—MacDonald’s approach to music challenges conventional wisdom and societal norms, promoting open communication and adaptability. HROs should prioritize open channels, invest in training, and support continuous learning. Clear communication is crucial for employees to understand the organization’s roles, responsibilities, and goals, facilitating collaboration and problem-solving. It also helps manage change and prevents crises. Investing in communication skills and practices is essential for driving organizational success and resilience in today’s fast-paced business environment.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030021

Authors: Wendy Rowe Jennifer Walinga

Lessons learned from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of teachers reveal how school administrators can promote teacher stress adaptation and thriving, even in highly disruptive work environments. In a mixed-methods study within a single school district in Canada, consisting of a survey of 65 K-12 teachers and interviews with 10 administrators and teachers, the results showed the degree to which teachers were coping, had job satisfaction, and demonstrated thriving. Interviews yielded information on the limitations of the education system response and how school district administration could provide additional key resources that would strengthen individual stress coping and resiliency, create a culture of safety and community, and lay the foundations for teacher thriving, even in challenging and disruptive conditions

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030020

Authors: Sinéad Clarkson Lucy Hind Sambo Lyson Zulu

In the original publication [...]

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030019

Authors: Saskia L. Shirley Jennifer Feitosa

The concept of the ‘glass ceiling’ represents the significant barriers that women face in climbing the corporate hierarchy, but recently, the focus has shifted to the ‘broken bottom rung’, where women are bypassed for initial leadership roles. This paper investigates the impact of gender on performance evaluations, particularly female-to-female peer ratings, which are critical to career progression. Our study tested three hypotheses about the disparity in female allyship within professional contexts. Participants (N = 160) from psychology classes in 2018–2019 evaluated their peers in project teams using five ITPMetrics measures. Contrary to previous research suggesting that women receive more critical evaluations than men, this study found no evidence supporting such bias. However, it revealed that women scored higher in process-based skills rather than outcome-based skills, aligning with role congruity theory and the notion of gendered skills. These findings highlight the need for further research into female peer evaluations and their impact on career advancement. This study challenges assumptions about women’s roles in the workplace and advocates for organizations reconsidering the emphasis placed on performance appraisals, proposing alternative assessment methods to foster more equitable and inclusive professional environments.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030018

Authors: Jazael Albalá-Genol Pedro A. Díaz-Fúnez Francisco G. Martín-Martín Miguel A. Mañas-Rodríguez

When analyzing occupational safety factors, a human factor is associated with 80–90% of incidents and accidents that occur. Controlling this factor is essential when it comes to creating healthy and safe organizations. Personality traits have shown great relevance when understanding the behavior of safety or self-protection in the workplace, affecting the motivation of subjects and, therefore, their behavior. The objective of this study is to analyze the influence of the extraversion trait on compliance with safety rules and behaviors, while evaluating the mediating effect of motivation for safety in health professionals. The sample is composed of 183 nurses and wardens of a hospital in Spain. The obtained results confirm the hypotheses raised, validating the negative influences of extraversion on motivation for security and compliance with norms, behaviors, and security, while verifying the effect of the total mediation of motivation for security in the influence of extraversion on security compliance. This confirms the effect of this personality trait on employees’ safety behaviors, and the possibility of reducing this influence by controlling personal motivations with interventions from the organization.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030017

Authors: Chapman Cox Matthew S. Thiese Joseph A. Allen

Background: Law professionals are understudied, and little is known about their mental health. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the relationship between the amount of physical activity and depressive symptoms. Methods: A sample of 681 law professionals completed a survey that assessed mental health conditions and activities to promote well-being. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated for the relationship between the number of days of an hour or more of physical activity and two levels of depression from the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Results: Law professionals were found to have significantly more depressive symptoms, mild or worse and moderate or worse, when reporting 0 days of physical activity when compared to 7 days, with OR of 6.07 (95% CI 2.55–14.48) and 8.64 (95% CI 1.97–37.82) and adjusted ORs of 3.91 (95% CI 1.58–9.68) and 6.32 (95% CI 1.4–28.33), respectively. A dose response was also noted. Conclusions: There was a statistically significant relationship found between amounts of physical activity and depressive symptoms in law professionals. We recommend future research be conducted to better understand this relationship.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030016

Authors: Fernanda Bethlem Tigre

Innovation is crucial for achieving and maintaining a competitive edge, especially evident in the digital business landscape, where the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions are occurring concurrently. Leadership behavior significantly influences the direction of organizations toward innovation. This study investigated whether a propensity for risk taking, along with a commitment to diversity and agility, promotes or impedes leaders’ innovative behavior. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis was employed to assess the data gathered from an online survey of 119 global leaders. The results exposed four distinct routes to fostering innovative behavior and three paths leading to noninnovative behavior that should be evaded. All conditions play a vital role in triggering innovative behavior. Conversely, the lack of these conditions can result in noninnovative leadership. This study’s novelty rests on the empirical evidence it provides about the paths guiding leaders toward innovative behavior and avoiding the danger of noninnovative leadership. These findings can assist managers and HR departments in pursuing certain paths for hiring and training managers to boost innovative behavior and preclude paths leading to noninnovative conduct.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4030015

Authors: Anthony Tak Kin Wong

Purpose—This study aims to examine the links between transformational leadership, team-member exchange and job performance of people with disabilities in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach—Data were collected from a sample of 108 direct supervisors of people with disabilities via an online survey with validated scales. The structural equation modelling approach via SmartPLS (Version 3.0) was used to investigate the linear relations and the mediated effect amongst the variables. Findings—Transformational leadership was positively related to team-member exchange (p = 0.013), but its link with job performance was insignificant (p ≥ 0.05). Team-member exchange was positively related to job performance (p = 0.000). Hence, team-member exchange fully mediated the relationship between leaders’ transformational leadership and the job performance of people with disabilities. Originality/value—Transformational leadership is favorable for the job performance of people with disabilities, but its influence is indirect. High level of team-member exchange quality is necessary, as team-member exchange fully mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and the job performance of people with disabilities. Managers should demonstrate transformational leadership to all employees and not only pay attention to people with disabilities. This insight helps drive workplace disability inclusion.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4020014

Authors: Oluseye Olugboyega Obuks Ejohwomu Emmanuel Dele Omopariola Alohan Omoregie

Leaders who lack leadership energy may struggle to demonstrate sustained competence and achieve effectiveness in difficult leadership situations. This research investigates the sources of leadership energy and examines the impact of leadership energy on the development and sustainability of leadership effectiveness and competence. This study employed a hypothetico-deductive research design, wherein the formulated hypotheses were tested through structural equation modelling (SEM). Data were collected using a questionnaire survey. A total of 272 responses were received from leaders of various industries, indicating a response rate of 66%. The findings of this study indicate that a leader’s capacity to respond to various situations, comprehend the importance of being directive, prioritize the development of positive attitudes and supportiveness, and recognize the significance of achievement are all factors that contribute to the internal mechanisms necessary for the leader’s manifestation of leadership energy. The study additionally discovered that leaders’ skills, qualities, and abilities are derived and maintained through their internal capacity and personal resilience emanating from their leadership energy. The hypotheses that were validated suggest a direct causal relationship, indicating that leadership motivation, leadership personality, and leadership orientation are significant factors in the generation of leadership energy. This study’s conclusions suggest that to sustain leadership competence and effectiveness, leaders must cultivate a culture that prioritizes both effectiveness and competence. The findings also imply that individuals must establish precise developmental objectives, as well as exhibit cognizance of and the acquisition of leadership expertise, knowledge and approaches. Thus, the need to reevaluate the competency-based approach to leadership is overwhelming. This study introduces the concept of leadership energy as a catalyst for perpetuating leadership effectiveness and competence. The study claims that the energy emanating from the intricate interplay of leaders’ orientation, experience, development, personality, and motivation engenders and perpetuates their efficacy and aptitude.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4020013

Authors: Markus Marschhäuser Fabienne Riesel Volker Bräutigam

This study endeavors to automate the assessment of competencies within the domain of entrepreneurship, specifically targeting the augmentation of entrepreneurial cognition and conduct within universities in German rural regions, like Lower Franconia. Employing methods, including literature analyses and expert interviews, we formulated and validated an entrepreneurship competence profile and accompanying self-assessment tool. The ensuing evaluative framework is poised for seamless integration into learning management systems, thereby facilitating intelligent competence monitoring within educational environments. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to develop an automated competence assessment procedure in the field of entrepreneurship. This can be used in the university environment in the long term to promote and teach entrepreneurial thinking and behavior in order to sustainably improve the quality of learning outcomes and achieve targeted promotion of entrepreneurship. Methodology: Based on a relevant literature analysis, four guideline-based expert interviews were created and conducted. The results of the interviews were compiled and validated in a structured competence profile (entrepreneurship competence profile). Based on this competence catalog for entrepreneurs, an empirically valid self-test was created using standard psychometric questionnaire construction methods. Results: The entrepreneurship competence profile and a consequential empirically validated self-test for competence assessment were created. This test provides the basis for the long-term competence development of students and can further be embedded automatically into a learning management system (LMS) as part of intelligent competence monitoring, which allows for the recording of competencies for each student and the individual incorporation of gap closure into the curriculum. Originality/value: In previous research, there were no competence profiles or competence assessment procedures in the field of entrepreneurship that derived relevant competencies directly from actors within this environment. This work illustrates the development of a competence assessment procedure for entrepreneurs and shows which methods can be used to close prevailing research gaps in the field of intelligent competence monitoring.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4020012

Authors: Elisabeth Nöhammer

A lot of time and effort is put into reducing waiting times in organizational life. However, jobs can include phases of waiting. The aim of this conceptual paper is to analyze waiting on the job level and provide a theoretical rationale for individual management of waiting times of employees. Wait crafting is introduced based on (job) crafting and its advantages for individuals and organizations outlined. Steps towards integrating the possibility of job crafting and needs for future research are indicated.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4020011

Authors: Edrisa Sanyang Ashley Adams Ritchie Taylor Vernell McDonald Gretchen Macy Jacqueline Basham

Due to the emerging threat conditions in the work environment, firefighters are at a high risk of exposure to not only toxic substances but also biological agents in the dayroom and during emergency runs. The aim of this study is to evaluate firefighter (career and volunteer) knowledge and practice behaviors on infection control. This study surveyed 444 firefighters (210 career, 234 volunteer) in rural Northwestern Kentucky. The self-reported survey focused on individual characteristics, knowledge on exposure incident control, precautionary actions, and personal protections. We evaluated the descriptive characteristics of knowledge and practice scores stratified by firefighter groups (career and volunteers). The associations between infection control training received (yes/no) and firefighter knowledge and practice scores were also examined. Firefighters who were trained on infection control prevention had significantly higher knowledge scores (M = 63.7, SD = 13.4 vs. M = 59.7, SD = 15.9; p = 0.012). Volunteer firefighters exhibited better infection control practice behaviors than career firefighters (M = 70.6, SD = 13.0 vs. M = 67.4, SD = 11.1; p = 0.05). Firefighters who followed infection control guidelines (M = 69.5, SD = 11.9 vs. M = 58.1, SD = 9.9; p = 0.012) and expressed need for a comprehensive training on personal protective equipment (PPE) selection (β = 3.41, SE = 1.54, aOR = 30.22, 95% CI: 1.47–620.87; p = 0.028) had significantly higher practice scores compared to those who did not. The study results have policy implications for infection prevention and control (IPC) in rural fire departments, both career and volunteer. A review of infection control policies is needed, especially as it relates to training and practice behaviors during emergency calls and in the dayroom. Results also suggest the need to develop strategies to improve the culture of PPE use and training on the selection of PPEs appropriate to the emergency response type.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4020010

Authors: Iacopo Odoardi Dario D’Ingiullo Ada Di Nucci Davide Quaglione

The occurrence of criminal activities has the potential to hinder socioeconomic advancement, preventing individuals from investing in human capital and pursuing employment opportunities. Our investigation focuses on the hypothesis that the NEET (not in education, employment, or training) rate is related to crime levels. Through an econometric analysis based on regional data, we examine the impact of crimes against property and against persons on NEET rates within central-northern and southern Italy, while controlling for prevalent determinants of the NEET phenomenon. Our findings reveal that, compared with prevailing discouragement factors such as youth unemployment and lack of interest in tertiary education, crime exerts a more pronounced influence on elevating NEET rates. This effect is particularly evident in the relatively less developed southern regions, where violent crimes, although relatively uncommon, may disproportionately contribute to feelings of apprehension and uncertainty regarding future prospects.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4020009

Authors: Cristina de Sousa Fernando Acabado Romana

This paper presents the outcomes of the “Training for Sustainable Employment of Youth and Young Adults” project, originally developed with the assistance of a consortium of institutions in six countries. These countries comprised five EU member states, Portugal, Italy, Romania, the Czech Republic, and Spain, and an EU candidate, Turkey. The main objective of the project was to analyse the gap between the needs of employers and the skill sets of youth and young adults, in order to assess the training needs of young people to equip them to be sustainably employed. In addition, the project set out to create a course programme that contained targeted training to meet the identified training needs of both employers and young people. The data collection was performed using a focus group (n = 144) and an online survey aimed at a convenience sample of the target groups (n = 244) in the six participating countries. The data were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The findings indicated six main competencies to develop in training: flexibility, inclusivity, diversity, and wellbeing; innovation and knowledge management; mobilisation of human resources; international orientation; entrepreneurship; and presentation. In conclusion, this study illustrated the need for a course programme to be established, structured around the six categories that correspond to the main topics obtained through the consortium’s research. Therefore, the main gain of the project study was the creation of a course programme, focused on improving young people’s inclusion in the job market and meeting companies’ needs for skilled employees.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4020008

Authors: Sean P. M. Rice

The present study evaluated the empirical distinction between the PERMA-Profiler and the Workplace PERMA-Profiler, which measure flourishing using the same items with different contexts (i.e., general vs. workplace orientations). Both scales were administered online via MTurk (N = 601), and single-group measurement and structural invariances were assessed. Partial metric and scalar invariances were supported, indicating that the PERMA constructs were measured equivalently across scales (except for the relationships factor). Structural properties (covariances, means) were not invariant, indicating distinct utility for each scale in their respective contexts. The results suggest that simple adaptations to items to change their context, but not content, may retain the original scale’s psychometric properties and function with discrimination.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4010007

Authors: Bénédicte Gendron

The lockdown during the pandemic questioned the learning and working conditions but underlined crucially the teaching pedagogy and new essential teachers’ roles and competencies, and on the whole, the operational framework of education for quality of education for all. The research was carried out through a European Project and gathered at training centers in two countries focusing on learning and pedagogical issues during the lockdown through focus group discussion methodology and labels analysis. If planning, material resources, and health issues came out as relevant difficulty categories, the findings underlined collaborative projects and capacitating pedagogy as efficient and helpful. The findings also questioned the quality-of-life framework at school and the teaching pedagogy and new teachers’ roles as competencies to cope with such a situation to support transformative learning. The outcomes suggested a positive operational framework, the innovative bienvivance paradigm, derived from medical methodology, which can help school organizations by inner development for outer changes to integrate diversity, equity, and educational quality efforts into their missions. It aims at serving inclusive excellence toward human resource sustainability and zero waste of human resources. It can be seen as an effective framework for quality and equity in education. It supports the UN and UNESCO recommendations and the psycho-socio-economic optimization of human resource issues, which are crucial in these human resource mobility and migrations waves, and broadly copes with global changes.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4010006

Authors: Franziska M. Renz Julian U. N. Vogel

This study presents a problem-based learning (i.e., PBL) assignment to engage students around the areas of diversity, justice, equity, inclusion, belonging (i.e., DEI), and sustainability in the classroom and workplace. The assignment is developed based on the learning objectives of an upper division business course following an outlined three-step process. A pretest-posttest research design with a control group demonstrates that the experiential assignment is effective in enhancing students’ problem-solving skills which, according to employers, recent college graduates need to improve upon. The PBL approach also increases students’ interest in DEI and sustainability so that they want to make a difference in society. While students’ confidence in their preparedness to become a manager decreases over the course of a semester, this loss in confidence is mitigated by students’ active participation in the PBL assignment.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4010005

Authors: Ryan Humeniuk Elham Erfanian G. Jason Jolley

Ohio’s 5G and broadband industry is rapidly changing. In this study, we assess the current skills and skills gaps of the state’s workforce and the supply and demand of labor within the 5G and broadband industry. We use a skillshed analysis to determine declining occupations with easy and challenging transitions into 5G and broadband occupations. Based on the analysis, we determine where skills gaps exist and where additional resources are needed to prepare the state’s workforce for the 5G and broadband industry.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4010004

Authors: Camille Giovannini David Giauque

During the COVID-19 crisis, organizations had to demonstrate organizational resilience (OR) to continue to carry out their missions. We conducted qualitative research to identify the factors that contributed to the OR of police and penitentiary institutions in French-speaking Switzerland, in terms of their operations and management. The modes of action and crisis responses of these emergency services, regularly confronted with crises and particularly impacted during the pandemic, are worthy of attention. To this end, we synthesized the OR factors that are frequently identified in both theoretical and empirical review articles and identified four theoretical conceptualizations: (a) resilience engineering, (b) ecological resilience (these two are the most widely used), (c) a third way situating resilience at an intermediate stage in a metamodel representing the evolution of organizations from a fragile to antifragile state, and (d) a conceptualization focusing on the temporal dimension of OR. Based on the results of 25 semi-structured interviews with executives from cantonal police forces and prisons, we present what we consider to be the key levers in a three-phase resilience process (upstream, during, and after the shock): anticipatory and proactive organizational culture, information management and communication, liminal leadership practices, social and environmental practices, agility-enhancing governance practices, and learning capabilities. Our results largely confirm that these parameters significantly contributed to the OR of the institutions in question. They also enable us to propose winning configurations of factors that can increase the potential for OR.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4010003

Authors: Roslyn Cameron Christine Edwards Gregory Harper

Effective workplace leadership development programs are considered critical to organizational adaptive capacity and sustainability. The purpose of this exploratory study is to conduct an environmental scan of contemporary practices and approaches to leadership and management development programs in Australian workplaces. An online survey was distributed to a sample of Australian human resource professionals given the field’s strong practitioner orientation. The survey sample includes members of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), the professional body for human resource professionals and practitioners in Australia. The findings indicate a substantial majority of the current practice is not informed by evidence-based theory or practice. The most commonly used model is 70:20:10, which lacks a coherent evidence base and has been widely criticized for that reason. The findings point to the frequent application of bespoke leadership frameworks and significant theory–practice gaps. While organizations cite “ensuring delivery of business results”, as the main driver for instigating leadership development programs, with support from top management being crucial to the effectiveness and success of leadership development programs/interventions, evaluation and measurement of impact and return on investment remains problematic. Based on these insights, we present a future research agenda for monitoring and evaluating leadership development programs that will build a stronger theoretical foundation to inform evidence-based practice.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4010002

Authors: Annick Parent-Lamarche Alain Marchand Sabine Saade

In pursuing this study, we were interested in the effect of changes in psychological demands over time on burnout. We were also interested in examining the moderating role resources could play between changes in job demands over time and employee burnout. Multilevel regression analyses of repeated measures were conducted to capture the hierarchical structure of the data (time (Level 1, n = 537 (12-month period between T1 and T2)); employees (Level 2, n = 289)) nested in firms (Level 3, n = 34). To measure change in psychological demands, the distribution of psychological demands at T1 and T2 were dichotomized at the T1 median. Following this dichotomization, four groups were created: low T1 and low T2; high T1 and low T2; low T1 and high T2, high T1 and high T2. In terms of direct associations, an increase in psychological demands over time was associated with emotional exhaustion and cynicism but not professional efficacy. Locus of control, self-esteem, and social support from supervisors were also directly associated with burnout. As for interaction effects, social support from coworkers attenuated the effect of changes in psychological demands over time (i.e., increasing psychological demands) on cynicism. In other words, employees facing greater psychological demands over time (increasing psychological demands) and benefitting from social support from their coworkers had less cynicism. Our findings offer meaningful insights into possible ways of lowering burnout levels. Based on the results obtained, psychological demands, social support, locus of control, and self-esteem should be considered valuable intervention targets.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits4010001

Authors: Rudi A. Marciniak David J. Cornell Barbara B. Meyer Razia Azen Michael D. Laiosa Kyle T. Ebersole

Firefighting is an occupation with high injury risks, particularly when conducting fireground operations. The fire service generally quantifies the job demands of firefighting through tracking emergency call volume across 24 h shifts; however, volume alone does not account for the specific work completed in response to different call types. Utilization of external (i.e., objective work) and internal (i.e., intrinsic responses to work) training load measures have the potential to quantify the multifaceted workload demands of responses to medical and fire emergencies and inform injury prevention strategies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to utilize training load measures to quantify the workloads across emergency call types. For medical emergencies and fire emergencies, the external load and the physiological, perceived, and cumulative internal loads were quantified. The results indicate that the magnitude of objective work required for fire emergency responses that include fire suppression and/or auto-extrication is approximately three times greater than that of medical and other fire emergency (i.e., no suppression or extrication) responses. Further, in response to the objective work for fire suppression and/or auto-extrication calls, the intrinsic workloads are six times more physiologically and perceptually demanding than—as well as double, cumulatively—those of medical and other fire emergency responses.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3040042

Authors: Darrell Norman Burrell

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in an unprecedented adoption and integration of telehealth and artificial intelligence (AI) driven by telemedicine technologies into healthcare systems worldwide. These innovations promise to revolutionize healthcare delivery by offering greater accessibility, efficiency, and responsiveness to patient needs. However, the rapid deployment of these technologies in response to the crisis has illuminated the imperative need for systematic evaluation processes that comprehensively assess their operations and outcomes. This article underscores the critical importance of developing rigorous evaluation frameworks tailored to the evolving landscape of telehealth and AI-driven telemedicine technologies. The absence of standardized evaluation processes presents multifaceted challenges including uncertainties regarding long-term efficacy, patient safety, data security, and ethical considerations. Ensuring the responsible and effective integration of telehealth and AI into healthcare systems requires adaptable, multidimensional evaluation mechanisms that align with clinical objectives and regulatory standards. Through an examination of documents, procedures, policies, and best practices by regional hospitals, this article advocates for developing evaluation processes that enable stakeholders to optimize the deployment of telehealth and AI technologies fostering patient-centered care while addressing emerging challenges. In an era marked by healthcare transformation, establishing robust evaluation frameworks emerges as a paramount endeavor essential for realizing the full potential of telehealth and AI-driven telemedicine in the post-COVID-19 healthcare ecosystem.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3040041

Authors: Kamal Lamichhane Takayuki Watanabe

Utilizing a dataset from Metro Manila in the Philippines, we estimate the impact of gender on the return of education for individuals with disabilities, specifically focusing on visual, hearing, and walking difficulties. Controlling sample selection to address endogenous labor participation and accounting for the endogeneity of schooling decisions, our estimations reveal a significant rate of return to education, ranging from 25.7% to 38.1%. Importantly, examining the potential for nonlinear-schooling return, we observe a more pronounced effect of disability for females compared to their male counterparts, suggesting the presence of dual discrimination and signaling effects for females. Our research emphasizes the urgency for the Philippine government to not only improve educational opportunities but also to enhance employment prospects, particularly for females with disabilities. Some of the policy recommendations would include the implementation of equal-opportunity measures, including antidiscrimination policies; an expanded quota system to boost employment opportunities; efforts to address accessibility issues; and subsidies for private-sector employment are also necessary for the economic empowerment of females with disabilities.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3040040

Authors: Natan Klein Carlos Costa João P. Marôco Cicero Roberto Pereira Maria José Chambel

Relationally enriched jobs can foster psychological states, which, with respect to the beneficiaries of one’s work, drive one’s motivation. These states can be measured with the psychological effects of relational job characteristics scale, an instrument for which the validity is, at present, only supported by preliminary evidence. Accordingly, the present study’s objective was to test a set of psychometric properties reflecting the validity and reliability of the interpretations proposed for this scale. Findings drawn from a sample of 2011 K-12 Brazilian teachers suggested that a tridimensional structure with some residual covariances afforded the best fit. Given the existence of high inter-factor correlations, a second-order factor was proposed as a complementary, if not necessary, feature. Internal consistency omega and alpha coefficients attested to the scores’ reliability, and the factor structure achieved indicates invariance across public state, public municipal, and private Brazilian schools. Different relationships with prosocial motivation and work engagement were identified, suggesting validity of the scale based on relationships with other variables.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3040039

Authors: Simon Perry

This research paper explores how non-native English-speaking teachers can consider using their multilingualism and transnationalism as assets in creating competitive portfolios fit for the 21st century linguistic marketplace. This enhancement in the portfolio to attract credit as ‘investors of the self’ is an aspect of human capital that can be utilized by non-native English-speaking teachers to enhance their self-esteem. This, in turn, can encourage potential investors to view non-native English-speaking teachers as relevant players in a global landscape that appreciates linguistic diversity and pluralism, as well as transnational experience. This research was conducted by performing interviews with non-native English-speaking teachers and an analysis of website 2.0 sources, aiming to gain insights into the opinions of non-native English-speaking teachers regarding their human capital and how new approaches can aid their equity within the field of English language teaching. The results demonstrated a desire in teachers to utilize their inherent skillsets comprising multilingual and transnational capabilities.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3040038

Authors: Alfredo Salomão Filho Tanja Tillmanns Trudy Corrigan

In an ageing society, organizations must consider the inclusion and effective management of older professionals if they wish to remain competitive. Besides having harmful and far-reaching effects on people’s health, age discrimination in the workplace leads to absenteeism, lower levels of productivity, and early retirement. Within such a context, this problematic organizational feature of most Western, now ageing, organizations and labour markets starts gaining more relevance. However, to date there has been little discussion, research, or policy development to ensure that older employees’ skills and capabilities are optimally put to use by organizations without the occurrence of ageism. We present the results of a systematic literature review based on 30 studies in the context of ageing organizations to make recommendations for human resource management. We suggest an approach to effectively manage intergenerational organizations, reducing the occurrence of age discrimination and its related consequences, as well as to achieve high employee engagement. Our review indicates that a strong ethics framework that is continuously followed, disseminated, and updated by management, together with a combination of efforts from all stakeholders, may accomplish the best results towards a culture that respects and values people of all ages at work, positively impacting on productivity.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3040037

Authors: Runa Maj Fasthoff Lea Nolte Timo Kortsch

Stress increases among the working population in Germany. Workplace stress management interventions are therefore becoming increasingly important, especially in the public sector, which has a higher structural risk for work-related stress than other organizations. Currently, face-to-face formats dominate, but promising digital offerings are being developed. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a stress management intervention as a face-to-face and self-guided digital format, referring to the Job Demands-Resources Model. The preregistered study applied a randomized control group design in which N = 65 public service employees were assigned to face-to-face training, an online course, or waitlist control group. Participants completed online questionnaires before the intervention, shortly after the intervention, and six weeks later. Although trends for reductions in emotional exhaustion and perceived stress were evident among the intervention groups, mixed analyses of variance showed no interaction effects between the time and group on the outcomes. The main effects showed a significant decrease in stress levels regardless of the group and significant differences between intervention groups, with the online course reporting the lowest stress level. The results indicate that digital and analog stress management interventions can have desired effects within occupational health management. However, many unpredictable events (e.g., illness, vacation during the intervention) seem to influence the effectiveness in the workplace setting, and so further research is needed.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030036

Authors: Dimitrios Adamis Georgia Maria Krompa Abdul Rauf Owen Mulligan Edmond O’Mahony

Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) have been introduced as an alternative to hospital-based treatment. Their effectiveness and the factors that may influence it have not yet been fully investigated. According to Belbin’s theory, a team is more effective if its members have diverse roles. The aim of this study was to investigate if there is an association between CMHTs’ effectiveness and Belbin’s team role balance. Participants were members of eight CMHTs. The data collected were demographics (age, gender), discipline, years of experience, and team tenure. Also, the following scales were administered: the Belbin Team Role Self-Perception Inventory (SPI) and team effectiveness scale (TES). One hundred and six members participated. A significant correlation between team role diversity and effectiveness was found. Multilevel analysis showed that role diversity and being a doctor were the only two significant independent predictors of team effectiveness. Belbin’s theory is therefore applicable to CMHTs. The more diverse roles the members of a team have, the better the effectiveness of the team. Given that roles can be modified, team leaders need to be aware of the members’ roles and be able to modify them. Thus, they can increase the effectiveness of their teams.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030035

Authors: Chris T. Cartwright Maura Harrington Sarah Smith Orr Tessa Sutton

International and national crises often highlight behavioral patterns in the labor market that illustrate women’s courage and adaptability in challenging times. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting changes in the workplace due to social distancing, remote work, and tele-communications protocols showcased women’s power of authenticity and accessibility (interpersonal and personalized experiences) to engage with their constituents effectively. The catalyzed this research was our desire to underscore the importance of studying the impact of COVID-19 on women leaders. The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light specific challenges and disparities women faced in the workplace. It has been asserted that women leaders substantially benefit businesses and organizations and we wanted to test this out through the practices of our research participants. Decades of research reveal that women leaders enhance productivity, foster collaboration, inspire dedication, and promote fairness in the workplace. This article introduces the feminist Connective Leadership Model (CL) an integrative leadership model and one informed by early feminist theory for understanding women’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-method study of select US women leaders before and during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the CL model and its efficacy for adaptive, inclusive leadership in various contexts. First, this article highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women’s leadership and behavioral response to the crisis through the lens of the CL model. Second, this article delves into challenges the women leaders faced, including adaptive challenges, isolation, team management, increased caregiving responsibilities, and gender-related disparities. Third, this article reframes women’s voices articulated through a crisis management leadership framework coupled with an understanding and application of the behaviors defined through complexity theory which are aligned with the CL model. Finally, the article discusses the four ‘As’ of crisis leadership: authenticity, alignment, awareness, and adaptability. The application of the CL model provides an effective framework for determining the most appropriate leadership behaviors within the complex challenges of a crisis; it enables the leader to focus on personal, employee, and organizational well-being.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030034

Authors: Annika Martin Julia Mori Dominik Emanuel Froehlich

This paper explores the challenges early career researchers (ECRs) face in academia and the benefits of being part of a distributed peer mentoring network. The study highlights the importance of social capital and emotional and motivational support in promoting wellbeing and career development, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the paper examines the impact of a collaborative environment on individual productivity and the development of clear goals. The study reveals that the supportive network of like-minded, ambitious people across borders and hierarchies offers the opportunity to identify with others and create a sense of belonging. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for qualitative methods of social network analysis to investigate the meaning of social structures in the career development of ECRs.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030033

Authors: Lena Göbel Steffen Burkert

In this study, we examine the relationship between supervisor gender, the adoption of HR practices, and employee commitment. Based on leadership theories arguing that female supervisors are more focused on employee needs than male supervisors, we suggest that female supervisors are more likely to adopt HR practices that address employee needs. Using social exchange arguments, we predict that this in turn leads to higher affective commitment among employees. We test our theoretical predictions using three waves of the German Linked Personnel Panel (LPP). Our results indicate that female supervisors promote personnel development practices (DP) more than male supervisors, which has a positive impact on employees’ affective commitment to the organization. We find no statistically significant effect of a female supervisor on the provision of family-friendly work practices (FFWP). We discuss the implications of these findings and suggest avenues for future research.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030032

Authors: Salustia Teresa Cano Ibarra Maria Teresa De La Garza Carranza Patricia Galvan Morales Jose Porfirio Gonzalez Farias

The objective of this research was to identify the relationships between the variables of job satisfaction, professional satisfaction, distributed leadership, and the perception of insecurity in academics at five universities located in the state of Guanajuato. The research was of a non-experimental type and, according to its temporality, cross-sectional, because it was developed at a specific moment. The study is also descriptive and correlational, because it analyzes the degree of association between the variables. Finally, an exploratory factor analysis study was carried out (AFE). The results revealed that the relationship between the variables of job satisfaction and professional satisfaction was positive and significant, the relationship between the variables of distributed leadership and the perception of insecurity was positive but not significant, and the relationship between the variables of the perception of insecurity and the distribution of leadership was positive and significant. The relationship between the perception of insecurity and job satisfaction was positive but not significant. In the analysis of the control variables of sex, marital status, type of university, and level of studies with the dependent variable of job satisfaction, statistical tests were carried out to verify the existence of the significant differences between the groups. Furthermore, this analysis was conducted in relation to the variables of sex, marital status, and type of university.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030031

Authors: Silvia Sacchetti Andrea Salustri

The aim of this study is to analyze the well-being of young music teachers working in Trentino Music Schools (TMS). Specifically, we assess (i) the extent to which the interaction between teaching and playing affects the well-being of young musicians using a satisfaction measure for their overall professional path as teachers and musicians, and (ii) what extrinsic and intrinsic drivers may guide their involvement in teaching activities in the early stages of their careers. To this end, we analyze original survey data on young musicians teaching in TMS to estimate their relative satisfaction and identify their motivational drivers. Specifically, we estimate from elementary items six constructs concerning material work conditions, immaterial welfare (i.e., the capabilities activated by the schools), and initial monetary and non-monetary motivations to become a music teacher, then we run two ordered logit regressions to test whether a set of variables of interest and the estimated constructs contribute to explaining junior teachers’ satisfaction. Our findings highlight that junior teachers are satisfied if they can preserve the desired proportion of artistic activity and can teach a consistent number of hours so as to leave the desired space and time for making music independently of school activities. They consider teaching to be one of the components of their professional activities and can be expected to try to maintain sufficient space to be able to also develop the independent artistic sphere of their career as musicians.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030030

Authors: Michelle Chin Chin Lee Alyssa Yen Lyn Ding

Positive leadership such as transformational leadership is pertinent to employee positive work outcomes, yet not many studies have looked at how it functions under specific work environment (i.e., organizational culture). The present study investigates the process and extent to which transformational leadership relates to employee job performance through performance feedback under hierarchical culture within the Asian setting. Using a cross-sectional design with multilevel modelling, 60 private organizations were approached where 44 teams totaling to 256 participants were included in this study. Results reveal that performance feedback mediated transformational leadership and job performance. In the context of transformational leadership under hierarchical culture, a low hierarchical culture and a high transformational leadership showed the highest level of performance feedback while a low level hierarchical culture and a low transformational leadership showed the lowest level of performance feedback. A high hierarchical culture and a low transformational leadership showed the highest job performance while a low hierarchical culture and a low transformational leadership showed the lowest job performance. Organizations in Eastern countries may depend on the positive effects of transformational leadership for higher performance feedback among employees which positively relate to employee job performance.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030029

Authors: Jennifer Altman Casey Mace Firebaugh Stephanie M. Morgan Michael Epstein

Workplace wellness programs have the potential to help improve employee well-being and manage the growing costs associated with poor employee health. Low participation rates stunt the benefits to employee health and limit organizations from maximizing their return on investment. Understanding what influences participation is key to developing effective programs. This research explores the complexity of influencers by blending key concepts of the social–ecologic model and the Fogg Behavioral Model. Ninety-one full-time U.S. employees participated and completed a brief online survey. Key measures included participation in workplace wellness programs, perceived workplace support for health, employee motivation to participate, and employee ability to participate. Perceived support for health was positively correlated with all variables examined. These study findings expand on the current literature to help researchers and practitioners better understand the pathways in which culture of health relates to participation in workplace wellness programs by including the potential moderating effects of motivation, ability, and total number of workplace wellness programs.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030028

Authors: Efrosini Chryssouli Theodore Koutroukis

The aim of this paper was to assess secondary education teachers’ burnout in the Thessaloniki area. More specifically, the teachers of humanities (THs) and the teachers of sciences (TSs) were examined. In these groups, a comparative approach to burnout was performed. The sample consisted of 142 THs and 108 TSs. The Maslach and Jackson burnout measurement scale and the burnout sources questionnaire, as adapted by Mouzoura, were used to collect data. Based on the results of the survey, moderate burnout level was found in the teachers as a whole. It was also proved that between the two groups, there was no difference in the degree of burnout. In addition, THs record lower rates of depersonalization than TSs. Thus, it seems that demographic characteristics, level of education, and type of school differentiate burnout levels. Moreover, both groups of teachers’ specialties identified issues related to educational organization and administration as the most important cause of burnout. Individually, however, THs appear to be more exhausted emotionally due to professional obligations that magnify the workload and time pressure compared to TSs, who are particularly “affected” by the lack of material teaching resources. Moreover, this paper explores and records several dimensions of burnout faced by the participants in the survey and reports certain recommendations that can practically influence their workplace.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030027

Authors: Joseph A. Allen Emilee Eden Katherine C. Castro McKaylee Smith Joseph E. Mroz

People often offer an excuse or an apology after they do something wrong in an attempt to mitigate any potential negative consequences. In this paper, we examine how individuals employ social accounts when explaining their interpersonal transgression of meeting lateness to others in actual work settings. We examined the different combinations of social accounts and the social outcomes (forgiveness, helping behaviors, and intentions to continue interaction) of being late to a meeting. Across two studies using complementary experimental and survey methods, we found that a majority of late arrivers’ explanations included remorse and that including remorse significantly influences helping behaviors. Furthermore, we found no interaction between excuses and offering remorse. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030026

Authors: Donald G. Gardner Vathsala Wickramasinghe

Organizations are increasingly concerned about their social and environmental responsibilities and are interested in developing strategies to improve their performance and accountability in these areas. One such strategy focuses on leadership styles, by which leaders are selected or trained to address the needs of people and entities outside themselves (i.e., stakeholders), and subsequently inspire their followers to do the same. Implicit in this strategy is an assumption that a new type of leadership is required to achieve social and environmental responsibility goals. In this study, we offer a different perspective by proposing that leaders may only need to be encouraged or trained to emphasize some aspects of their existing leadership styles, while minimizing the use of others. We focus our study in Asia, where a paternal leadership style is prevalent, and often expected by followers. This leadership style consists of behaviors that may be organized into three dimensions: authoritarian, benevolent, and moral. We propose that the benevolent and moral dimensions reflect leadership styles that promote followers’ social motivation and examine their interaction with the self-transcendent values of their followers in predicting followers’ prosocial motivation to help others through their work. We found that only the benevolent dimension was significant and appeared to compensate for low self-transcendent values in followers. Implications for using leadership to promote social responsibility are discussed.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3030025

Authors: Pipiet Larasatie Chorirotun Nur Ulifah

The masculine image and the notions of manual work and physical strength have resulted in more men workers in forestry. This gender imbalance has influenced the sector’s leadership environment, a critical element in the workplace setting for meeting organizational goals. This study aims to investigate women’s leadership dynamics in Perhutani, the only state-owned enterprise responsible for managing forest resources in Indonesia. Utilizing in-depth interviews with 11 women leaders from middle to top management levels, we found that there is a perceived physical limitation barrier to being a woman leader in Perhutani. To climb the career ladder, a support system from family, colleagues, and supervisors is important. However, family can be two sides of a coin, as it is also acknowledged as an internal constraint to being a woman leader. Our respondents acknowledge leadership labyrinth theory in being able to reach top leadership positions and tokenism theory, pointing out that the benefits of women leadership for Perhutani include the realization of gender equality, referring to the key performance index from the Government of Indonesia. For our respondents, being in a men-dominated sector is considered one of the attractive aspects of being a woman leader. They felt constantly challenged, but in a positive way. With these circumstances, our respondents showcase leadership styles in line with the theories of heart leadership and mother leadership. Heart-led leaders draw on the qualities of empathy, love, and vulnerability, while mother leadership means not only leading with the heart of a mother, but also with the mission, vision, and actions of a mother.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020024

Authors: Sophie Kathrin Schaffernicht Elisabeth Quendler

The target group of this study—people with disabilities who work and who are cared for in institutions that offer occupational therapy—is largely absent from the discussions about urban agriculture. When implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, education and work are essential aspects, especially for the self-determination of people with disabilities. However, people with disabilities are currently often prevented from truly participating in society. The main research objective of this study lies on the identification on systemic barriers to inclusion into horticultural working life as well as possible solutions. The aim of this study was to find out how inclusion processes could be facilitated in the field of urban agriculture in Vienna. A pilot project was carried out for this purpose during May and October 2019. A university, three social institutions with seven employees, two horticultural farms with two farm managers and fifteen people with disabilities took part in this pilot project. During the tomato harvest, action research was applied, evaluated and modified. At the same time, the authors tried to contribute to Grounded Theory. One of the results of this study is the suggestion that offers in the field of urban agriculture should go beyond pure cooperation between social institutions and horticultural farms. A social-ecological scenario with agro-ecological inclusion farms is elaborated. It is concluded that the establishment of such farms in terms of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in Vienna could bring the city closer to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. This is exemplified in a new framework on social-ecological inclusion processes in the world of work.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020023

Authors: Merike Kolga

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the attributes of nurturing, empathy, and relating rather than directing moved into the spotlight as important skills for leadership. These skills are representative of the concept of “care” that is often associated with women’s or feminine leadership. The importance of care as a component of leadership had not received significant attention in the leadership literature until the pandemic brought the need for care onto center stage. This article argues that care will continue to be an important attribute of leadership and an essential attribute of an androgynous leadership style—that includes behaviors typically classified as male and those behaviors typically classed as female—that is needed to navigate the increasing complexity of the world most effectively. The article further argues that complexity leadership theory provides the most appropriate leadership approach through which complex adaptive organizations can initiate and foster the development of “care” behaviors as part of an androgynous approach to leadership which produces system-wide benefits in complex systems more capable of addressing the global challenges of the climate crisis and increased environmental disasters, future pandemics, local wars, terrorist attacks, and other phenomena.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020022

Authors: Giorgia Casalone Eliana Baici

Education and training are primary sources of individual human capital. We explored the relationship between education and off-the-job vocational training and the impact of training programmes on youth employment in Italy. We focused on three outcomes: employment probability, use of formal/informal job search channels, and skill matching. We identified programme effects by comparing the outcomes of treatment and control groups using propensity score matching with a robustness check to assess the potential bias due to unobservable characteristics. Individuals with vocational high school degrees are more likely to participate in vocational training programmes, but in southern regions, individuals with technical or generalist high school degrees also attend vocational training programmes. Vocational training programmes have positive effects on youth employment outcomes, reduce the use of informal job search channels, and improve skill matching, especially in the centre-northern regions.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020021

Authors: Enkhzul Galsanjigmed Tomoki Sekiguchi

A part of diversity management is working to achieve gender equality and create a comfortable working environment for women. However, in many organizations, gender biases and stereotypes frequently occur, consciously or unconsciously, regardless of whether women take on leadership roles. In addition, women must overcome a variety of challenges when taking on leadership roles or aspiring to become leaders. Based on the above background, we review and integrate the literature on management and career studies related to the challenges that women face in the process of advancing to leadership positions in organizations. Specifically, we examine the external and internal factors that create the various obstacles that women who aspire to leadership positions in structured organizations face from a gender perspective. Based on the integrative review, we discuss the implications for practices to increase the number of female leaders.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020020

Authors: Cherie Chu-Fuluifaga Martyn Reynolds

In Aotearoa New Zealand, teachers have signaled that they would like to further their development as classroom practitioners, as a way of improving their capabilities as professionals. They want to foster strengths-based authentic partnerships between themselves and their diasporic migrant communities. This article attends to Pacific education, the education in Aotearoa New Zealand of students with migratory links to one or more Pacific Island Nations through a strength-based lens. We report on a Professional Learning Development (PLD) research endeavor, Learning From Each Other, that focused on supporting partnerships between Pacific communities and teachers. We provide a window on the sense making of teachers as they listen to, and are challenged by, diasporic Pacific community voice. Particular emphasis is placed on how teachers explore and transform their approach to partnership by negotiating with habitual practice. The examples given, selected for their apparent ordinariness, relate to new understandings of space and time. The study provides lessons applicable to other situations where access to quality education is problematic for diasporic, migrant communities and where teachers need support for the re-thinking that is required for enhanced partnership arrangements of benefit to all.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020019

Authors: Annamaria Lumiala Kaija Marjukka Collin

Workplace learning (WPL) is a complex phenomenon involving the intertwined processes of working and learning. Recent studies have shown the importance of sustainable perspectives in WPL situations. In the literature, sustainable development is still predominantly referred to environmental, economic and social sustainability. In this study, sustainable perspectives denote the widespread use of previous knowledge, the rapid application of new knowledge and the effects of this knowledge on well-being, thus leaning on human sustainability. The purpose of this study is to examine conceptions of WPL among Finnish police supervisors and to reveal whether sustainable learning perspectives manifest. Eight thematic interviews were analysed using phenomenographic and theory-driven content analyses. The analysis produced six main categories of WPL, and sustainable learning perspectives manifested in all categories. This study confirms previous findings regarding WPL and presents similarities in sustainable learning perspectives to those found in previous research. Learning outcomes can be improved by understanding WPL conceptions and sustainable learning perspectives; thus, the findings of this study can help organisations, supervisors and human resources better plan and implement sustainable WPL possibilities for employees and their careers.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020018

Authors: Charles Touma Anita D. Bhappu

We extend prior research by empirically demonstrating employees’ attitude–behavior gap when sharing goods and services with coworkers using platform technology. We also integrate theories on psychological ownership and territoriality in organizations with the theory of planned behavior and the technology acceptance model to develop an individual-level framework for understanding employees’ adoption of organization-sponsored sharing platforms, or lack thereof. Specifically, our abductive analysis of interview data from a field study illustrates how psychological ownership attitudes, sustainable consumption norms, and technology usability perceptions influence employees’ sharing motivations and intentions. Our findings and framework provide organizations with a roadmap for increasing employee engagement and corporate social responsibility through coworker collaborative consumption. Managers should promote sustainable consumption in their organization and strengthen related employee norms to facilitate the sharing of goods and services among coworkers, which helps build community at work. Managers should also ensure that the chosen organizational-sponsored sharing platforms are easy to use so that employees perceive this technology as useful and feel confident using it. The implementation of these strategies should enable organizations to successfully extend the sharing economy to the workplace. Future research could also leverage our contextualized construct definitions to develop survey measures for quantitatively testing and refining our framework.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020017

Authors: Vanessa Begemann Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock Maie Stein

Workplace gossip, a ubiquitous organizational behavior broadly defined as talking about an absent target in an evaluative way, has received increasing scientific attention over the past few years. The complexity and dynamism of the workplace gossip phenomenon create challenging research conditions such that studies focusing on the allegedly same type of workplace gossip can produce differential findings. To address this problem and better align theory and methodology, our manuscript first proposes a framework of workplace gossip that accounts for the interdependencies of the context-embeddedness and dynamism of workplace gossip. Guided by this framework, we systematically evaluate extant workplace gossip research, spanning a total of N = 104 empirical research articles. Highlighting current methodological challenges that indicate a neglect of the dynamic nuances and contexts of workplace gossip, we argue that previous organizational research painted an overly simplistic picture of workplace gossip. By looking beyond traditional organizational research designs, we derive recommendations to advance research on workplace gossip and, ultimately, to establish it as a complex and dynamic social interaction behavior.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020016

Authors: Sinéad Clarkson Lucy Hind Sambo Zulu

The surveying profession in the UK construction industry continues to be blighted by a skills shortage, and this continues to constrict growth. Therefore, it is suggested that this should make it easier for women and other underrepresented groups to be employed in the construction industry. While this is the case, barriers to entry have been well researched. This study aimed to identify what methods have been previously successful at increasing female engagement within the surveying profession in the UK. This study followed a mixed-method, complementary approach, combining quantitative and qualitative questions in an online questionnaire, which was distributed via social media (LinkedIn) and the researchers’ contacts, and achieved 44 responses over a period of six weeks. The target population was female UK residents employed in surveying roles. Quantitative data on both awareness and opinion of the methods used during previous initiatives to engage women with surveying underwent reliability analysis, descriptive statistical analysis, and a Spearman’s rank order correlation to assess the relationship between time in industry and opinion on the efficacy of the methods used in each initiative; however, no statistically significant relationship was found. To better understand the opinions of women already in the industry, the qualitative data underwent thematic analysis via inductive coding, the results of which then underwent descriptive statistical analysis. The study found a broad lack of awareness of previous initiatives, with most respondents having little or no awareness of the five initiatives examined. However, evidence suggested there was general support for the methods used in those initiatives, such as intervention at school age, increasing the visibility of women in surveying roles, and changes to workplace culture. There was no statistically significant link between time in industry and opinion on the efficacy of each initiative. Key themes included concerns regarding the implementation of current initiatives, and enthusiasm for intervention at school age as the best method to engage more women with the surveying profession. The findings have implications for both practice and future research. First, professional institutions, such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, should be aware of the limitations of the initiatives they put in place to encourage women into their profession. Second, the results have an impact on other professions. However, a cross-comparative study that examines initiatives by other professional institutions would be useful.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3020015

Authors: Igor Tkalec

The article explores the extent to which working conditions and health factors shape Millennials’ preferences to retire early in the European context. On the one hand, Millennials’ approach to life and work potentially implies a preference to retire early. Yet, on the other hand, the ongoing trend of tightening conditions and penalizing early retirement, as well as the expected decrease in living standards in old age for Millennial cohorts, restricts options and discourages early retirement. The results indicate that Millennials across Europe do not explicitly express a wish to retire early. This holds true most prominently for Millennials who are healthy and satisfied with their job. The analysis employs a classification decision tree model as the main method.

Merits doi: 10.3390/merits3010014

Authors: Carla Curado Tiago Gonçalves Cláudia Ribeiro

The literature on careers is rapidly evolving, presenting relevant academic developments. Considering the volatility of the environment and the workforce and the search for sustainability, a new research avenue concerning sustainable careers is emerging. Sustainable careers are regarded as a complex mental schema represented by experiences and continuity patterns grounded on individual subjective evaluations, such as happiness, health and productivity. According to conceptual models, these are fundamental individual indicators that allow the attainment of a sustainable career. By following this theoretical proposal, the work tests the conceptual model using proxies for its indicators (job satisfaction, well-being and organizational citizenship behavior). We validate the use of these proxies by performing association, variance, and cluster analysis on data coming from a survey conducted on employees of a European energy company. The results corroborate our hypotheses and support the choice of the selected proxies as adequate operationalization of the indicators. This study contributes to theory and practice alike by validating measures to represent each indicator and their association with sustainable careers. The study contributes to the development of research on sustainable careers by providing a set of measures that can be used to profit from an existing theoretical model and operationalize it in future studies exploring its contribution to several other variables. There are managerial implications that arise from our results and may help human resources managers contribute to the sustainable careers of their employees. We acknowledge the study’s limitations at the end of the paper and offer future directions for research.