Future of work, work-family satisfaction, and employee well-being in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Work is done in an environment that is dynamic and in a continuousstate of change. In 2008, as the world was delightfully traversing a fiscal prosperity, it was suddenly hit with what could be described as one of the most devastating economic recessions a few monthslater. When the national governments, corporate organisations and individuals started to feel that innovative ways of comprehending and outlasting the economic slump in a flourishing manner through the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) had been found, the Coronavirus disease also known as COVID-19 pandemic, struck a more deadly blow on the global economy. The pandemic has changed the way work is done, the way people live, learn, and do business. The cutting-edge and specialised management of human capital central to ensuring that organisations can achieve their strategic objectives, remain competitive, and adapt to the ever-changing world of work, is under severe threat. Unemployment rate is at an all-time high level, and the race to attract and retain the best skills and create digital systems that exploit organisational and workforce potentials is keenly competed among organisations. Furthermore, the issue of employee health and well-being is dominating discussions among governments, organisations, and individual groups. This first edition of Future of Work, Work-Family Satisfaction, and Employee Well-Being in the Fourth Industrial Revolution aims at refining and sharpening the thinking, as well as equipping human resource experts, managers, owners of businesses(both large and small),skills development experts, academics,students and governments with pertinent and updated knowledge,skills and behaviours to approach the 4IR, and the post-COVID-19 era. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Technology in the workplace: Opportunities and challenges

In the current economic environment, organizations are increasingly relying on technology, resulting in higher efficiency, reduced physical human effort, blurring boundaries between working life and private life, and more flexibility for both employers and employees. In this chapter we focus on the impact of three different technology-related changes in the workplace: (1) telework, (2) automation, and (3) algorithmic management. First, we discuss how telework has gained tremendous popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic and how it impacts performance, work-life balance, and social aspects of work. Second, we focus on the positive and negative sides of automation and digitalization: improvements of working and living conditions on the one hand and anxiety and stress among workers on the other. Third, we discuss how AI-based algorithms are used to direct, evaluate, and discipline workers and how workers respond to these forms of algorithm management. All in all, we provide organizations with suggestions and advice as to how they can successfully implement these new technologies in a human-friendly manner. In doing so, we hope that this chapter will stimulate interesting new avenues of research for understanding challenges and opportunities associated with technology in the workplace. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Surviving the digital era: The link between positive coping, workplace friendships and career adaptability

The inception of Industry 4.0 has forced us to rethink the HR function and human capital management. Futurists predict that more than half of the jobs we are doing today will be replaced by smart technology, artificial intelligence and robots. The onset of the Covid-19 epidemic has accelerated the adoption of technology in the workplace. In this changing world of work, the only thing that we can count on is change. Limited research is available on how employees perceive and cope with these technological advancements and changes within the working environment, and specifically how it influences their jobs and careers. Positive coping strengths are essential personal resources which help employees in dealing constructively with the changes in the workplace as well as the complex interaction between the individual and the environment. Advancing research and knowledge in the psychosocial variables that influence the agile coping behaviour of employees has become important to help employees to be able to survive in the digital era. This chapter explores the agile coping dynamics within this future workplace by looking at the relationship between positive coping behaviour, workplace friendships and career adaptability. Based on these findings and recommendations, HR practitioners can utilise the information to assist employees in building agile coping mechanisms to survive and excel in the changes brought by the digital era. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Ostracism in the diverse workplace: Experiences of different racial/ethnic groups and immigrant employees

The U.S. labor force is diverse in terms of employees' racial/ethnic identities and countries of origin. The growing race/ethnicity- and nationality-based diversity in the workplace has had different outcomes. On the one hand, racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants contribute to wide-ranging and diverse workplaces. On the other hand, past and present prejudices sustain an environment that marginalizes minoritized workers. Perceived ostracism produces a negative interpersonal experience for which the consequences and ambiguous motives have been broadly and frequently studied. In this chapter, we provide an overview of perceived ostracism patterns among members of minority groups. First, we describe the demographic profile of the U.S. labor force. Second, we review equal employment laws and company policies that may impact how minority employees experience mistreatment. Third, we describe research on experiences of workplace ostracism, focusing on minority and immigrant workers. In specific, we examine buffers to the harmful effects of workplace ostracism, including cultural identity salience, social support, and individual differences in harmony enhancement. Furthermore, we offer suggestions to organizations to reduce the incidence of ostracism of racial/ethnic minority and foreign-born employees. We conclude by discussing ostracism and COVID-19 and directions for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Introduction

The current globally unfolding emergency caused by Covid-19 has once again highlighted the social relevance of work stress and employee health issues and has put the organization's role in supporting employee health at the forefront. As businesses struggle to survive during the current pandemic, employers are also starting to realize the impact it has had on the mental and physical health of employees. According to CIPD (2020), early research on Covid-19 effects on employee health indicates an increase in fatigue, musculoskeletal conditions, poor work-life balance, reduced exercise, increased alcohol consumption, reduced motivation, loss of purpose and motivation, anxiety, and isolation. Such health implications have the potential to significantly impact the ability of many organizations to survive and cope during and post Covid-19 work and economic scenarios. However, timely and effective organizational policies and interventions to support employees achieve better health and work-life balance can make a real difference under the current circumstances. Recognizing workplace stress as a priority issue, this volume presents chapters representing the work of authors from several countries that offer an understanding of the evolving and changing nature of work stress in contemporary organizations across different countries. All contributors have reviewed country-specific organizational stress literature and drawn comparisons with international literature trends. We believe that issues raised concerning the nature of stress and its management in the following chapters are thought-provoking and can help organizations mitigate the barriers to creating healthy organizations around the world that offer safe, empowering, enterprising, and satisfying work environments for employees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The role of organizational support in effective remote work implementation in the post-COVID era

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many organizations to abruptly introduce remote working, without an accurate analysis of organizational processes and employees' expectations about work flexibility. Thus, remote working has been implemented without a rational plan of interventions based on remote work- enabling technologies, managerial practices, and resources. This chapter aims at understanding the role of "supporting" structures and practices in driving the effective implementation of remote working in the post-COVID era. The authors rely on a case study of a multi-national IT company with a long experience with remote work arrangements, focusing on mobile work and virtual teams and looking at expectations and actions of remote workers in relation to organizational support. Findings revealed the importance to adopt a holistic approach to organizational support to remote working based on formal procedures, adequate evaluation systems, tools for self-management, blended training programs, supportive leadership style, along with a collaborative work environment and a remote culture. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

White-collar career advancement when working from home

Across the world, COVID-19 has driven millions of white-collar employees to work from home (WFH). Anticipated business benefits of WFH will likely compel employers to extend the work practice for several employees post-pandemic. WFH, by affecting job task execution, as well as opportunities to enhance and demonstrate capabilities, will hold implications for employee career advancement. In this context, a new model for career advancement is proposed, the competence career advancement model, comprising three cyclical stages (achieving, improving, and proving competence) based on the self-determination theory's psychological need for competence. The chapter covers job demands and resources that influence each stage of career advancement, as well as how these demands and resources are themselves affected under WFH conditions. Also discussed are the consequences of satisfaction/frustration through the stages of career advancement for worker well-being and work attitudes/outcomes. Human resource and technology practices to enable employee career advancement under WFH are suggested as well. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Psychological impacts of remote working under social distancing restrictions

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a swift and dramatic global shift in the location of work for many employees. Organizations around the world have implemented remote work arrangements to allow continuity of service while conforming with social distancing requirements. As a result of ongoing uncertainty regarding the current and future pandemics, reduced costs associated with housing employees remotely, and survey results suggesting employees are reluctant to return to a primarily office-based work model, many organisations are implementing ongoing remote arrangements for their employees. This chapter provides a review of current research on the psychological effects of remote working. Recommendations are made regarding future research directions across various remote work environments that will enhance understanding of the psychological effects of remote work under social distancing. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Leadership strategies to prevent employee substance abuse relapse and optimize business viability

Employees, who relapse from substance abuse, precipitate unnecessary costs to employers through absenteeism, production loss, turnover, and health care. Addicted employees who relapse are becoming a growing concern as substance abuse relapse and overdose rates have significantly increased during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore strategies leaders use to understand the needs of addicted employees during a crisis, reduce employee substance abuse relapse rates, and ensure business viability. The conceptual framework for this study is Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Goleman's emotional intelligence theory, and emotional sobriety. The population for this study includes 10 leaders located in the United States. The participants were chosen using purposeful snowball sampling and were asked 11 open-ended questions via qualitative interviews to gather rich and detailed data to saturate this study. Through data analysis, the researcher uncovered four themes: (a) meeting employees where they are;(b) building personal connection through vulnerability;(c) diversity and inclusion;(d) strategies formed through education and practical experience. Analysis of the findings revealed that leaders who participated in addiction education and utilized individualized consideration prevented relapse and improved organizational performance by addressing employee needs. The results of this study may be adopted by leaders to effectively retain an engaged and performing workforce by enhancing corporate policy and practices related to addicted employees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The impact of religiosity on political skill: Evidence from Muslim hotel employees in Turkey

Purpose: While former literature has shown that people have a strong tendency to seek religious support during difficult times, knowledge gaps exist in how the mechanism of religiosity works to support employees' mental status and performance. Therefore, based on self-categorization theory, this study aims to examine the effects of employees' intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity on building their mental toughness and mindfulness and the further formation of employees' political skills. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected from 404 full-time hotel employees working in 34 hotels in Turkey during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in spring 2020. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed hypotheses. Findings: Results of this study show that intrinsic religiosity improves employees' mental toughness, while extrinsic religiosity enhances employee mindfulness. Additionally, both mental toughness and mindfulness help employees to develop political skill. Research limitations/implications: This study enriches knowledge to workplace religiosity literature and expands the research scope of religion-related research in hospitality and tourism literature. Future studies are recommended to consider religious heterogeneity and longitudinal design. Practical implications: To foster employee mental well-being, hotel firms should create a religious-friendly workplace and develop religion-friendly policies. Opportunities should be created within hospitality organizations for employees to develop and use their political skills in needed work aspects. Originality/value: The findings of this study contribute to valuable theoretical and practical implications. To the best of the knowledge, this study is one of the first attempts to study hotel employees' religiosity during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)