Search Results (148)

People are considered the most valuable resources in the workplace. They bring their unique knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to contribute to the organization’s success. A sustainable workplace puts people first by prioritizing policies and practices to support employees’ physical, mental, and emotional health and promote work–life balance, which ultimately lead to increased job satisfaction and overall wellbeing. Wellbeing and positive functioning are considered essential elements for developing sustainable work performance. Organizations ought to develop sustainable management processes and practices as well as sustainable leadership to minimize the negative effects of the workplace on employee wellbeing and to foster a sustainable culture. This study aims to explore how a sustainable HRM would promote and enhance employee wellbeing in the workplace by investigating and developing a theoretical framework to connect the conceptual list of sustainable HR policies and practices with the five elements of the PERMA model of employee wellbeing. Full article

Background: Digital connectivity is essential in modern work environments, enhancing productivity and communication. However, its rapid expansion post-COVID-19 raises concerns about burnout, digital fatigue, and work-related stress. Objective: This PRISMA-based systematic review examines the benefits and challenges of digital work, assessing its impact on occupational health and proposing mitigation strategies. Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Cochrane Library identified 40 peer-reviewed studies published since 2020, focusing on digital connectivity, remote work, and employee well-being. Studies on purely technological aspects were excluded. Results: While digital tools improve efficiency and flexibility, they also increase workload, cognitive overload, and stress. Prolonged screen exposure contributes to mental exhaustion and sleep disturbances. Limited digital infrastructure further exacerbates productivity barriers. Conclusions: Digital connectivity offers both opportunities and risks. Organizations should implement structured policies such as offline hours, digital detox initiatives, and mental health support to sustain productivity and well-being. Future research should explore sector-specific interventions and long-term impacts of digital work practices. Full article

The construction industry plays a key role in economic development but continues to face challenges in promoting employee well-being, particularly mental health and social sustainability. While existing decision-making tools emphasize environmental and economic factors, the social dimension remains largely overlooked, creating a significant gap in both research and practice. To address this, the study develops a decision support tool (DST) to help construction organizations prioritize strategic investments that enhance employee social sustainability. The tool is based on a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making framework, combining the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with Fuzzy MOORA to integrate both quantitative and qualitative assessments. A literature review, along with findings from a previous empirical study, identified 27 validated criteria, grouped into seven core sustainability alternatives. Additionally, five decision criteria (cost, risk, compatibility, return on investment, and difficulty) were refined through expert interviews. The DST was implemented as a modular Excel-based tool allowing users to input data, conduct pairwise comparisons, evaluate alternatives using linguistic scales, and generate a final ranking through defuzzification. A case study in a private construction company showed Training and Development and Work Environment as top priorities. An online expert focus group confirmed the DST’s clarity, usability, and strategic relevance. By addressing the often-neglected social pillar of sustainability, this tool offers a practical and transparent framework to support decision-making, ultimately enhancing employee well-being and organizational performance in the construction sector. Full article

Background and Objectives: Anxiety is widely recognized as a common mental health issue. Extensive research highlights the benefits of adopting healthier lifestyle habits in improving both physical and mental wellbeing. This study aims to assess the levels of anxiety and physical activity, and if associations exist, among the population of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The study included a sample of 244 participants, who responded to an online survey containing demographic information, the Arabic versions of the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) as assessment tools. Results: The study participants had a median age of 31 years and most of them were females (64.7%). Almost three quarters of the participants had received a higher education (73.5%) and were nonsmokers (94.1%). Assessing their physical activity levels, moderate or low-intensity physical activities, particularly walking and cycling, were common. Participants’ anxiety levels, measured by the GAD-7, were higher in females, students, and employees. Physical activity, especially walking or cycling, was linked to lower anxiety, while sedentary behavior, characterized by less than three hours of daily activity, was also associated with reduced anxiety. Interestingly, the duration of physical activity had no significant impact on anxiety levels. Conclusions: This study examined how lifestyle factors, including physical activity and sedentary behavior, influence anxiety levels among a cohort in Saudi Arabia. It emphasizes the need to encourage moderate-intensity activities and limit sedentary time, especially among high-risk groups, like students and women, to help alleviate anxiety. Full article

Background: This study examined the effects of psychosocial and ergonomic risk perceptions in the hospital environment on employee health, job performance, and absenteeism. In fast-paced hospital settings, the cumulative physical and psychological demands of patient care, exacerbated by poor ergonomic conditions, can jeopardize employee well-being and compromise service quality. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare professionals in Istanbul using a multimethod approach with a quantitative emphasis. To analyze the interrelationships among these variables while controlling for demographic factors, including age and sex, structural equation modeling was employed. Results: The findings indicated that both psychological safety and favorable ergonomic conditions significantly enhanced job satisfaction, which in turn positively influenced mental health and overall job performance. Moreover, better physical health was associated with reduced absenteeism, further contributing to improved job performance. These results highlight the significance of developing supportive and ergonomically sound work environments for enhancing employee well-being, reducing absenteeism, and optimizing performance in hospital settings. Conclusions: This study offers valuable insights for hospital administrators and policymakers seeking to implement effective interventions that address psychosocial and ergonomic challenges, thereby ensuring higher quality healthcare services. Full article

Previous research has found that emotional demands in the workplace can be taxing and contribute to an increased risk of mental health challenges, including burnout and depression. This study examines how supervisory support can assist employees in managing these demands. Against this background, we investigated the ways in which supervisors facilitate employees’ ability to manage emotional demands while fostering trust in the workplace. Drawing on interviews with supervisors and 32 workgroups from 14 different workplaces, we identified both formal and informal practices that support employees. Supervisor-supported practices include the opportunity for supervision; discussions of emotionally demanding patients, citizens, or students; prompt feedback; “venting”; rotating tasks; and discussing strategies for managing high emotional demands. The findings suggest that supervisors and employees largely align their descriptions of the practice, indicating a shared understanding of supportive practices in the workplace. However, some supervisors were unsure whether to take a proactive or reactive approach to supporting their employees. Additionally, some structural constraints were identified, particularly in the form of budget cuts. Supervisors emphasise the significance of trust-building through accessibility, framing mistakes as learning opportunities, and demonstrating employee confidence. This dual approach, which combines practical support with trust-building, underscores the critical role of supervisors in promoting well-being and engagement in emotionally demanding work environments. While there is a risk that supervisors may exaggerate their efforts toward researchers, employee feedback corroborates their claims. Based on these findings, we recommend that organisations operating in emotionally demanding environments allocate sufficient resources to supervisors, enabling them to implement these practices effectively and foster both emotional support and trust in the workplace. Full article

Background: Health is a critical factor influencing key workplace outcomes, including job attitudes, behaviors, and performance. This study investigated the role of daily micro-breaks, specifically morning meditation practices, and positive affective experiences (i.e., positive affect) at work in predicting health-related outcomes, namely vitality and mental health. Using a non-experimental design, this study tested a moderated mediation model in which sleep quality moderates the relationship between morning meditation and positive affect, which, in turn, predicts end-of-the-day health-related outcomes. Methodology: Data were collected twice a day from 44 healthcare employees over five consecutive workdays using a daily survey approach. Key Results: Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that morning meditation was significantly associated with increased positive affect and improved health indicators at the end of the workday. Moreover, sleep quality moderated the relationship between morning meditation and positive affect, such that the conditional indirect effect of meditation on end-of-day mental health and vitality via positive affect was significant when sleep quality from the preceding night was poor. Conclusions: These findings underscore the interactive effect of prior-night sleep quality and morning meditation on affective and health-related outcomes by the end of the day. By identifying sleep quality as a key boundary condition, we contribute to a more nuanced understanding of when meditation is most beneficial. Our findings have significant implications for both research and practice, particularly in high-stress environments such as healthcare, where optimizing employee well-being is crucial for both individual and organizational performance. Full article

There is an increasing evidence base that demonstrates the psychological toll of content moderation on the employees that perform this crucial task. Nevertheless, content moderators (CMs) can be based worldwide and have varying working conditions. Therefore, there is a need for studies to be replicated to ensure that the results are robust. The current study used a large sample of commercial CMs employed by an international company to replicate the results from two previous studies that relied on an anonymous online survey. The results pertaining to mental health, wellbeing, and the effectiveness of wellbeing services for this population were mostly replicated. Over a quarter of CMs demonstrated moderate to severe psychological distress, and a quarter were experiencing low wellbeing. Further, the results suggest the potential utility for interventions that increase problem-focussed problem solving, as well as a need for the efficacy of wellbeing services to be evaluated more broadly. Full article

The main aim of this article is to evaluate how well sustainable HRM practices support organizational sustainability and staff resilience during crises. This paper examines how responses to COVID-19 and geopolitical concerns have affected the HRM practices of Lithuanian logistics enterprises. This study employed a qualitative research approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with twelve HR managers from prominent logistics companies in Lithuania. The participants selected guaranteed industry-relevant insights due to their experience with HRM crisis management. Using Braun and Clarke’s approach, data were thematically analyzed to find notable HRM projects supporting workforce sustainability under crisis conditions. The findings identify three key HRM methods required for crisis resilience: strategic workforce flexibility, employee well-being and resource conservation, and long-term organizational resilience. The findings show that organizations that implemented flexible work rules, mental health support programs, and digital HRM solutions had higher employee retention and operational continuity. This study also incorporates the resource-based view (RBV) and conservation of resources (COR) theories, underlining the need for sustainable human resource management techniques as both a competitive economic resource and a psychological buffer for employees in crisis situations. This study makes actionable HRM recommendations to help firms establish organized crisis response HRM frameworks, with a focus on flexible workforce management, mental health interventions, and proactive digitization tactics. These results can be used by policymakers and business leaders to institutionalize HRM crisis-ready strategies, thus enhancing labor market stability in challenging environments. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on HRM crisis management by suggesting a disciplined HRM crisis response model combining actual data from the logistics industry with theoretical points of view. This paper provides a useful road map for HR managers wishing to create strong staff management strategies in difficult times. Full article

While the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on mortality and morbidity is becoming more understood, the severity of the long-term effects remains unknown: this includes medical sequelae of long COVID but also the impact of the social and economic upheaval on population health. Working parents faced many challenges during the pandemic, and the impact of these on the mental health and well-being of parents has been demonstrated. However, the extent of trauma-related symptoms among working parents who have faced unique challenges related to the virus itself and the social and structural consequences of containment efforts remains underexamined. Using data from a national panel survey of fworking parents (n = 1941), we explored the relationship between workplace policies and practices and COVID-19-related PTSD and psychological distress. Results demonstrate that nearly 50% of working parents experienced COVID-19-related PTSD as measured by the Impact of Events Scale-6, and over 60% had moderate to high levels of psychological distress. We examined mechanisms to understand the impact of job support on employees’ levels of PTSD and distress and found that both socio-demographic factors and workplace support related to levels of PTSD and distress among working parents. Our study highlights the distress and PTSD levels experienced by working parents in the early stages of the pandemic, underscoring the impact of workplace support on mental health outcomes. Full article

Background/Objectives: The present study assessed the impact of a year-long community-engaged lifestyle intervention to improve healthy food access, anthropometric measures, and quality of life among factory workers. Methods: A total of 80 workers aged 20–65 participated in this quasi-experimental pre–post intervention with nine dietitian-led sessions, weekly physical activity classes, and adjustments to the factory food menu. Volunteer health leaders from the workforce played a pivotal role as project stakeholders, promoting the initiative, liaising with the food supplier, advocating for physical activity hours with management, and supporting activity dissemination. Data were collected at baseline, four months, and one year, including weight, waist circumference, dietary intake, physical activity, and quality of life (SF-36 questionnaire). Results: Waist circumference significantly decreased after 4 and 12 months. Regression models showed that each additional year of age correlated with a 0.72 cm reduction, while over 150 min of weekly physical activity was associated with a 6.58 cm decrease. The mental health component of the quality of life scores improved from 73.1 ± 18.5 to 78.7 ± 17.6 (p = 0.017), alongside reductions in sugar and sodium intake. The intervention cost ILS 4875 (EUR 1314 or USD 1369) per employee annually. Conclusions: This community-engaged, dietitian-led intervention significantly improved factory workers’ health and well-being, providing a cost-effective solution. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic scenario has witnessed a rise in remote working arrangements, moving away from traditional office settings, which increasingly calls into question employees’ sense of belongingness as a top human capital issue in order to favor both workers’ productivity and well-being. Organizational belongingness refers to employees’ sense of personal connectedness with the organization, which makes them feel they are an integral part of the organizational system. This study examines the effects of organizational belongingness on workplace stressors (i.e., organizational constraints, interpersonal conflict, work–family conflict) and subsequent employee productivity (i.e., cognitive failures, performance) and well-being (i.e., mental health, exhaustion). Using a multilevel multigroup design with anonymous survey data collected from a sample of 1449 in-person and 514 flexible (i.e., remote and hybrid) workers from 205 organizations, the structural invariance analyses performed in this study suggested a similar pattern of results for in-person and flexible workers. Specifically, belongingness negatively predicted employees’ perception of organizational constraints, interpersonal conflict, and work–family conflict. Moreover, while belongingness positively predicted performance and mental health, it negatively predicted cognitive failures and exhaustion, both directly and indirectly through work stressors. Finally, organizational constraints, interpersonal conflict, and work–family conflict positively predicted cognitive failures and exhaustion, whereas organizational constraints and work–family conflict did not predict performance. Additionally, work–family conflict and interpersonal conflict negatively predicted mental health, whereas organizational constraints negatively predicted mental health. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in light of the globally widespread use of flexible work options and costs related to workers’ productivity and well-being. Full article

This study aimed to predict employee sickness absence, vital for sustainable workforce management and organizational productivity. Despite its importance, gaps exist in using advanced machine learning for this purpose. This research developed and validated models—Gradient Boosting, CatBoost, and Random Forest—focused on predictors like health conditions, mental well-being, and work stress. Using a factory worker dataset, this study conducted feature engineering, causal inference, and model performance evaluation. Random Forest proved especially effective in predicting absence, with key factors including recent performance and health. The findings support targeted interventions and efficient resource allocation, promoting sustainable business practices. Full article

Burnout is a factor that affects organizational performance. Researchers have not determined whether an ethical climate and adequate work autonomy provide sufficient emotional stability to dampen burnout or, conversely, increase it. In addition, the abundant literature analyzing the relationship between work autonomy and burnout does not sufficiently establish whether it acts as a stress-reducing resource or a stress-increasing demand. It is also unknown to what extent work autonomy contributes to explaining the relationship between ethical climate and burnout. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to examine the relationship between an ethical climate based on principles and norms and burnout using the moderating effect of work autonomy. We approached this question using a multivariate moderation analysis. The sample consists of 448 employees in the Colombian electric sector. The results show that an ethical climate of principles and work autonomy are positively related to burnout, measured by the dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. However, the relationship between an ethical climate of principles and burnout shifts from positive to negative when a rule-demanding work environment is associated with a high perception of work autonomy. In conclusion, when employees have considerable control over their usual tasks, they develop a pattern of behavior that incorporates both the organization’s internal standards and the principles that shape individual morality. In this case, employees are able to balance the workload with the high psychological demands of an ethical climate of principles, without it being a disturbance to their emotional well-being. The results of this research are particularly relevant because they show for the first time that an ethical climate of principles can have opposite effects on employee burnout, both positive and negative, depending on the degree of work autonomy. This opens the door to new strategies for organizations to prevent certain psychosocial occupational risks, such as burnout, which often have a serious impact on employees’ mental health. Moreover, the model of moderation proposed in this article can be replicated in other Latin American countries with similar characteristics to those of Colombia or even transferred to rich countries. Full article

Forestry is a profession in which employees have daily contact with a variety of natural environments, mainly the forest. Many studies indicate that contact with the forest has a positive effect on mental and physical health, helping to combat depression and stress, which are symptoms of occupational burnout. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of job burnout among foresters, conducted anonymously in one of Poland’s forest districts. Forty-two people participated in the survey, using the Oldenburg Occupational Burnout Questionnaire (OLBI). The average number of overtime hours was 10.13 h per month. The average lack of commitment was 2.24, below the reference value of 2.25, while the average level of exhaustion was 2.33, exceeding the reference level of 2.1. Lack of commitment correlated with the number of overtime hours, while exhaustion and age correlated with seniority. The average forester showed no signs of lack of commitment, although minor signs of exhaustion were observed. The results suggest that forestry work may reduce the risk of burnout. However, excessive responsibilities and overtime can lead to exhaustion and reduced commitment, which threatens employee wellbeing. Full article