Closing the academy-Business gap by building intellectual capital in professional formation.

Introduction: The rapid advances in technology, market pressures, globalization, and, recently, the COVID-19 pandemic show the need to find educational models that respond to these realities while improving the employability levels of young people and promoting economic growth. This research analyzes how the professional formation model, where two learning spaces, the academy, and the company, are combined, promotes the closing of gaps and economic growth, through the development of intellectual capital that arises from this relationship, in an emerging economy such as Colombia. Methods: The methodology used corresponds to a qualitative approach, where the vision of the actors involved in the training process at the undergraduate level in Colombia is analyzed through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and documentary analysis. Results and discussion: The results show five major elements to consider for the formation of the intellectual capital required for the success of the relationship and the reduction in the gaps between academia and business: decision-making mechanisms, inter-organizational coordination, knowledge.

Decent work: Between hybrid professionalism and adhocratic organisations

The concept of decent work highlights important aspects related to the tangible and intangible aspects that render work sustainable and adequate in different organisational contexts. This paper, starting with an introduction about the etymology of the term decent, outlines its distinctive aspects connected to canonical themes of work and organisational psychology, from well-being and safety to tangible and intangible, personal and collective, and managerial and organisational conditions. The value of the paradigm of meaning for decent work is underlined. Furthermore, in the current complex scenario and with the Covid-19 pandemic, we raise awareness of the fact that in order to manage the unexpected, adhocratic organisations (which are flexible, adaptive and agile) are needed, and these in turn require hybrid professionalism, generated by well-developed organisational learning processes. The dialogue between the Psychology of Working Theory and other, consolidated conceptual frameworks (practice-based studies, social constructivist perspectives etc.) is opened in order to spark generative and productive debates on additional issues, points of focus and research questions, and create tangible, authentic decent work experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Italian) Il tema del decent work sottolinea importanti aspetti relativi alle condizioni materiali e immateriali che rendono sostenibile e adeguato il lavoro nei differenti contesti organizzativi. Il presente contributo partendo dall'etimologia del termine decent, ne delinea aspetti distintivi connessi con temi canonici della Psicologia del lavoro e delle organizzazioni, dal benessere, alla sicurezza, alle condizioni materiali e immateriali, personali e collettive, manageriali e organizzative. Viene ribadito il valore del paradigma del significato per il decent work. Inoltre nella complessita dello scenario attuale e della pandemia Covid-19 si evidenzia la consapevolezza che per governare l'inatteso servono organizzazioni adhocratiche (flessibili, adattive, agili) che richiedono a loro volta professionalita Ibride, generate da processi di apprendimento organizzativo opportunamente sviluppati. Viene aperto il dialogo tra la Psychology of Working Theory e altri e consolidati framework concettuali (practice based studies, prospettive socio-costruzioniste, ...) per alimentare dibattiti generativi e produttivi di ulteriori interessi, centrature e domande di ricerca e costruire in concreto autentiche esperienze di decent work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Platform Work and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Platform business models emerged with the growth of the Internet in the 1990s and are conceptualized as two- or multi-sided markets, as they facilitate exchange between service providers, clients (business) and workers. This article focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on digital labour platforms, such as freelance online web-based platforms and location-based platforms (transportation and delivery platforms), which have grown exponentially over the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed immediately some of the vulnerabilities that the workers in the platform economy were facing as they were declared as part of the 'emergency services', and this note explores their conditions during the pandemic.

Relationships between Self-Efficacy, Job Instability, Decent Work, and Life Satisfaction in A Sample of Italian, Swiss, and Spanish Students.

Recent research has shown that self-efficacy has a positive relationship with life satisfaction and with the perception of access to decent work. On the other hand, a perception of instability regarding the profession is negatively correlated with these dimensions. Few authors have studied these constructs within the same research. Therefore, the aim of the study was to fill this gap in the literature by testing a structural equation model in which the perception of access to decent work could mediate between perceived self-efficacy in one's training and life satisfaction, and between perceived instability of the profession and life satisfaction. Data was collected through an online research survey. Five hundred and seventeen university students (104 males and 413 females) aged between 18 and 30 years (M = 22.50; ds = 2.61) from three different countries participated: 181 were Italian, 173 were Swiss, and 163 were Spanish. The results only partially confirmed our model. The idea of finding a decent work mediates the relationship between perceived job instability and life satisfaction, but not between self-efficacy and life satisfaction. Perceived self-efficacy together with the idea of finding a decent work have a direct effect on life satisfaction. In career development, counselors must take into account what the perception of job instability entails for students, which may be demotivating and not allow future workers to imagine a decent job.

Chief Remote Officer Role in COVID-19 for Work Sustainability and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The working environment has evolved after the COVID-19 pandemic from office work to working from home because of changing industry needs with the pandemic effect. Globally, organizations continue to identify the right way to balance employee satisfaction by giving them the hybrid working option, but it lacks standardization. In this research paper, the author discusses the emerging need for the Chief Remote Officer in post-pandemic working conditions. The study also reflects the use of Artificial Intelligence and how it can support human resources in the remote setup. The pandemic virus of 2020 has evolved with several variants, and the continued uncontrollable global situation has arisen. In such unpredictable conditions, the need to bring work sustainability shall be the focus among the organizations for remote working conditions. This study discusses the literature and analyzes the industry's Chief Remote Officer role requirement in detail as people continue to work in the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The author elaborates on the Chief Remote Officer and discusses the roles, responsibilities, Knowledge skills, and purpose behind this role. This research paper offers a broader aspect along with Artificial Intelligence usage. Since it is a early stage, the proposed approach would require to be tested by the organizations during the pandemic. © 2023 IEEE.

Bracing for turmoil: temporalities of livelihood adaptation among informal workers in Facatativá, Colombia

This study considers temporal aspects of livelihood adaptation in times of turmoil by drawing on interviews with informal street vendors in Facatativá, Colombia. By engaging a ‘time stories' perspective, this article aims to provide a better understanding of how livelihood responses to shocks emerge from (and are constrained by) individuals' initial and changing assumptions about the continued onset of a crisis. We found that livelihood adaptation to shock, in some cases, involves adopting a new livelihood that appears more durable. In other cases, adaptation is temporary with individuals returning to prior livelihoods when conditions allow. Many individuals had limited livelihood options. In such cases adaptation was more precarious generally, implying drastic consumption cuts or relying on neighborly networks. Also, changing one's livelihood is a high-risk decision for people who are often already struggling to survive in a context of declining overall demand and falling incomes as a crisis hits. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

COVID-19 pandemic, a war to win: assessing its impact on the domestic work sector in Nigeria

This article examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work conditions of domestic workers in Nigeria. We use four indicators–earnings, access to social protection, working conditions and labour protections to provide a nuanced assessment on the impact of the pandemic on domestic workers. Domestic work is an important aspect of productive labour and an indispensable factor that contributes to the well-being of households and the economy. Indeed, the enormous contribution of this sector to societies has been further exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, while domestic workers are lauded as essential workers, their work remains extremely vulnerable to exploitation and human rights violations, and the pandemic has aggravated this situation. In the results, we find that while many domestic workers did not lose their jobs, their earning power dropped because of low wages in the sector. Furthermore, only 6% of survey respondents reported having access to the government's social protection measures. The findings of this study emphasises the need for the development of a regulatory model which considers the realities of the domestic work sector. Data used in this article draws from questionnaires administered on 220 domestic workers across four geo-political zones of Nigeria. © 2023 AIRAANZ.

Implementation of sustainable development goal 8 in European Union countries–A measurement concept and a multivariate comparative analysis

The study attempts to determine a synthetic measure of the level of implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 8 related to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all and conducts a multivariate comparative analysis of EU countries in terms of its implementation. The statistical database contained all 9 variables characterising this goal, collected for 27 EU countries in the period from 2015 to 2020. The research method used was the method of unitarisation zeroed in the dynamic version. The results of the conducted research confirm that there have been positive changes in the implementation of SDG 8 sustainable development in most EU countries in the examined years. This is indicated by the increasing values of the calculated synthetic measure for individual EU27 countries in the examined years. However, in the last examined year, i.e. 2020, the impact of the crisis caused by the COVID 19 pandemic on the achievement of the examined Sustainable Development Goal was observed. In 2020, compared to 2015, 12 EU countries advanced their positions in the EU27 ranking, 3 countries did not change their positions, while 12 countries dropped down in the ranking. The study also assesses two selected EU countries, namely the Czech Republic and Poland (The Czech Republic and Poland are the countries of origin of the authors of this article, with a similar history, located in Central and Eastern Europe and with similar problems of socio-economic development. These countries also joined the European Union in the same year, 2004) in terms of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8. © 2023 ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

COVID-19 and the labor market in Brazil: analysis of the brazilian emergency legislation in light of the ILO's precepts

OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes the compatibility of the emergency legislative measures adopted between March 2020 and October 2021 by the Brazilian federal government and the precepts of the ILO to address the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the labor market. METHODOLOGY: Based on a deductive approach, a comparative bibliographic and documentary analysis was carried out between the main changes imposed by the Brazilian legislation adopted in connection with the sanitary crisis and the precepts of the ILO in the official reports called "ILO Observatory: Covid-19 and the World of Work". RESULTS: As for facing the impacts of the pandemic in the labor market, it is argued that the Brazilian emergency legislation took the opposite direction of what was precepted by the ILO, revealing an option for deepening neoliberal policies of reduction or flexibilization of labor rights and social protection. © 2021 Centro Universitario FG (UNIFG). All right reserved.

Job Crafting: A Challenge to Promote Decent Work for Vulnerable Workers.

In recent years, the decent work agenda has called upon vocational psychologists to advance psychological research and intervention to promote work as a human right. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic is having disproportionate consequences on vulnerable workers, such as unemployment and underemployment, highlighting the need to enhance access to decent work for these workers. As a response, the present perspective article advances job crafting as a promising way to shape decent work for marginalized workers. To this end, the article deals with decent work and job crafting, starting with the definition of decent work according to the psychology of working theory (PWT) and examining the evolution of the construct of job crafting. Subsequently, the literature on job crafting is discussed, focusing on variables related to the PWT model of decent work and their effect on vulnerable workers. Finally, possibilities for further research and intervention aimed at promoting decent work through job crafting are discussed.

Decent work in care homes: lessons and implications of the pandemic experience from Scotland

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify lessons and implications on the theme of decent work in social care. This has long been highlighted as integral to improving social care for the elderly. The COVID-19 pandemic experience reveals lessons and implications about the systemic absence of decent work in one place, Scotland, in care homes. The main lesson and implication is a need for change beyond the focus on levels of pay and systemic advocacy of decent work as it is conventionally understood. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected using qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 20 care workers in care homes.[AQ4] A range of care system institutional stakeholders was also interviewed. A range of care system institutional stakeholders was also interviewed. Findings: Decent work in social care may only be progressed to the extent that a culture change is achieved, transcending the institutional stasis about who owns and engages with progressing decent work. Research limitations/implications: This is a study in one place, Scotland, with a small sample of frontline care workers in care homes and representatives from a range of institutions. Practical implications: Effective culture change for decent work in care homes needs to be a higher research priority. More explicit culture policies can be a mechanism by which overall decent work and system change may be catalysed and sustainably secured together. Explicit culture change is here set out with respect to operational, institutional and national domains. Social implications: There needs to be social policy and political support for situating decent work to be part of a broader culture change around care work with the elderly. A culture-oriented change plan as well as new resourcing and structures can together ensure that the nadir of the pandemic experience was a historical turning point towards transformation rather than being just another low point in a recurring cycle. Originality/value: The situating of systemic decent work progress within a broader culture change, and modelling that culture change, are original contributions. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The role of decent work in the Zimbabwean retail sector: Testing a job engagement and turnover intention model

Orientation: There is a continued call to understand those factors that not only affect work engagement but also reduce turnover. A broad umbrella of work emerges arguing for ascertaining how decent work conditions affect these outcomes of work. Research purpose: To offer insight into the relationship between decent work, job engagement and turnover intention in the retail sector in Zimbabwe. Motivations for the study: Rapid changes in the business environment have undoubtedly led to a deterioration of work standards across all sectors although the retail sector seems to have been more vulnerable and suffered the most. This calls for the need to investigate on decent work, a key mechanism in maximising labour force potential such as job engagement and turnover intentions are not ignored. Research approach/design and method: The study adopted a descriptive survey design using a quantitative approach. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for the purpose of analysis with the Structural Equation Model (SEM) utilised. Main findings: The study found a positive significant relationship between decent work and job engagement. A positive significant relationship was also established between job engagement and turnover intention whereas, a very weak and statistically insignificant relationship existed between decent work and turnover intention. Practical/managerial implications: Retail sector managers ought to prioritise decent work and pay closer attention to its impact on job engagement and turnover intention. A focus on these constructs will breed a highly engaged and committed workforce that will give the sector competitive advantage. Contribution: Very few studies have shed light on the construct of decent work in developing economies, and specifically in Zimbabwe. Decent work is critical in the realisation of the sustainable development goal (SDG) 8. Its correlation with job engagement and turnover intention brings to light quite invaluable insights to the management of human capital in the retail sector.

Living with liminality: Reconceptualising music careers education and research

One of the many lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the nature of it: it has been, and still is, an evolving situation in which there are many questions, but not always immediate or easy answers. Some of the pandemic experience has been shared, as almost 1.6 billion learners' educations have been disrupted and teachers have reported increased work-related stress, anxiety, and burnout. Billions of dollars in music industry income have been lost and patterns of music engagement and consumer spending appear to be significantly altered. Other aspects of the pandemic have highlighted deep inequalities. The vulnerability of creative workers at a policy level, for example, reflects the precarity of a specific group of people, and the enormous complexity and uncertainty that shapes their personal and professional circumstances. Although some musicians have reveled in the opportunity to reinvent themselves through new sites for their work, for many, work in music has gone from challenging to untenable resulting in altered priorities. In this paper, I explore the pandemic experience through the concept of liminality and offer three approaches for framing a paradigm shift in music careers education and research: things to think about, things to leave behind, and things to do differently. © The Author(s) 2023.

Decent work housebound: Recovery experiences of parents during the pandemic

The International Labor Organization considers that gender equality and hours for free time and adequate rest are part of the essential dimensions of decent work. This work aims to analyze parents' recovery experiences in the situation of mandatory telework, controlled by job satisfaction. The research has been developed in Brazil, one of the countries most affected by the extension of the confinement entailing from political and economic decisions that have worsened the health crisis. The survey was responded to by 535 respondents, of which 286 were parents. Results show higher means between parents in experiences of relaxation, mastery, control, and psychological detachment. Although considered a high-protective strategy, the latter is little used by both parents. Another tendency found in the results is that children's presence at home negatively affects mothers more than fathers regarding job satisfaction with mandatory telework entailing from the pandemic. Balancing work and family is not an easy equation. It is even worse in a society where women, mainly mothers, blame themselves when they want to relax or decide to take on challenging activities. In the social light, it seems unsustainable to have more responsibility for family care, and this responsibility is not followed by recovery. © 2022 Hipatia Editorial. All rights reserved.

Guaranteeing dignity and decent work for migrant nurses and health care workers beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIM(S): The main aim of this article is to outline the devastating aftereffects of COVID-19 in terms of ethical recruitment and the respect of dignity of nurses and health care professionals. BACKGROUND: Nations experience the ominous impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of an exacerbated shortage of nurses worldwide. In this situation, migration flows of nurses are skyrocketing and the respect of the migrant nurses' dignity as human beings should be guaranteed. EVALUATION: Data from reports elaborated by the International Centre on Nurse Migration (ICNM) were examined and outlined the central role of the respect of dignity of every nurse to prevent unethical exploitation of them. KEY ISSUE(S): The respect of human dignity is a complex concept. Human dignity denotes the inner nature of human beings but also their rights at work. CONCLUSION(S): In a post-COVID-19 world with increased flows of nurse migration, it is crucial to guarantee dignity at work for migrant nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse leaders should prioritize the ethical recruitment of health care workers and give a prominent role to the WHO 'Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel' which recognizes the ethical bedrocks of employment.

Implementation of the European Youth Guarantee and the Right to Work: A Comparative Analysis of Traineeship Programmes Under the EU Active Labour Market Policy

This article analyses the consistency between the implementation of the EU Youth Guarantee and the fundamental right to work. Focusing on the use of traineeships as an implementation instrument, it explores various types of national Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP) for young unemployed people in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland. The case studies show that it remains to be seen whether the traineeships considered in this research comply with the right to work. The authors argue for the need to strengthen the Youth Guarantee to accord with the right to work, so that in addition to the right to a first job, it ensures that work-related instruments include the provision of effective training, as well as the right to equal pay for work of equal value, and decent working conditions. This is particularly important in view of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, that has had an unprecedented economic impact in the EU and is likely to result in another dramatic upsurge in the number of young unemployed. © 2022 Kluwer Law International BV, The Netherlands

Revitalising career counseling for sustainable decent work and decent lives: From personality traits to life project reflexivity for well-being

The context of contemporary work scenarios features constant change and innovation in the field of information and communication technologies, which result in frequent work transitions and job insecurity. Such circumstances are highly threatening to the well-being of workers. Moreover, the instability and precariousness of the labour market are aggravated by the current crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals are facing increased critical life and professional challenges and are being asked to take personal responsibility for the direction of their personal and work lives. In this complex context, career counseling needs to be revitalised in strength-based prevention perspectives. Life Project Reflexivity (LPR) addresses future professional and life plans and represents a critical construct for career counseling. The present study among Italian university students in transition to the labour market analysed the relationships between LPR and well-being while controlling for the 'Big Five' personality traits. The Big Five Questionnaire, the Life Project Reflexivity Scale and measures of both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being were administered to 278 university students of the University of Florence. LPR and its dimensions of authenticity, no acquiescence and clarity/projectuality explained the incremental variance beyond personality traits with respect to both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, with specific reference to meaning in life. Among the three dimensions of LPR, authenticity was the most promising in this study. These results offered new perspectives for career counseling by supporting a strength-based prevention process for constructing sustainable decent work and life. ©2022 Birlesik Dunya Yenilik Arastirma ve Yayincilik Merkezi. All rights reserved.

Promoting decent work in organisations: a sustainable HRD perspective

Today's uncertain times have led to paradigm shifts in the world of work. The disruptive nature of unforeseen events (e.g. Covid-1 9) has a harsh impact on organizations' stakeholders, including employees, society and the environment. However, these events pose tougher challenges for vulnerable and weaker workers, particularly in getting access to decent and productive employment. While catering to the changing needs of business, organizations also find it difficult to provide decent work for all and achieve their social bottom lines. This paper aims to understand what role HRD plays, especially Sustainable HRD (S-HRD), in facilitating access to decent work. Conceptual analysis of the literature revealed that S-HRD practices have the potential to promote all the dimensions of DW: employment creation, social protection, employees' fundamental rights and social dialogue. This paper is an important stepping stone in the articulation of how S-HRD can help organizations to promote decent work. The perspectives presented in this study have potential implications for HRD practitioners in understanding the application and implementation of S-HRD practices. Furthermore, managers can also take note of specific S-HRD interventions from this paper to enable decent work in their organizations.

Public procurement – price-taker or market-shaper?

Purpose>This paper examines the role of government procurement as a social policy mechanism within a multilateral open trading system. Government regulations globally are being transformed to foster more responsible business conduct in multinational enterprises (MNEs). Yet, concern that sustainability may present a discriminatory barrier to trade has stalled the progress of sustainable public procurement (SPP) at the international level, raising questions regarding the role and scope of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) to align taxpayer-funded contracts with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals.Design/methodology/approach>With a focus on social sustainability, this paper reviews the grey and academic literature to assess the changing landscape of public procurement policy and supply chain legislation in high-income countries.Findings>Frontrunner nations are adopting a mandatory approach to sustainable public procurement and due diligence legislation is elevating supply chain risk from reputational damage to legal liability. While technological innovation and the clean, green production of manufactured goods dominates the sustainable public procurement literature, the social aspects of sustainability poverty, inequality and human rights remain underrepresented.Research limitations/implications>The scope of this paper is limited to the examination of government procurement covered by the WTO-GPA (2012). Smaller value contracts, under the WTO-GPA thresholds and the category of defence are beyond the scope of the paper.Social implications>The paper focusses on the underserved topic of social sustainability in business-to-government (B2G) – business to government – supply chains arguing that for responsible business conduct to become a competitive advantage, it must be more meaningfully rewarded on the demand-side of all taxpayer-funded contracts in organisation for economic co-operation and development countries. The paper introduces the idea of priceless procurement as a mechanism to build system capacity in the evaluation of non-financial sustainability objectives.Originality/value>To build the capacity to stimulate competition based on social and environmental policy objectives, the paper introduces the concept of priceless procurement in B2G contracts.

Musicians’ Work: Creativity, Community and Insecurity

This chapter examines the evolving nature of work patterns and income streams for contemporary Musicians in the United Kingdom. It explores the experiences of independent, portfolio career Musicians working in the Rock/Pop/Indie/Jazz Live Music scene. The Music industry is reported to contribute £5.2bn in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the economy, of which according to UK Music (2019) £2.5bn is generated by ‘Creative Sector’ workers, which includes performing Musicians. Despite these high revenues, UK Music (2019) consistently reports that many Musicians earn below the average working wage of other professions. Challenges to Musicians’ work and income streams have been compounded by changes in consumption of Music due to digitization, a lack of systematic support from government for grassroots venues and unequal revenue distribution. In this context, we reveal findings from research interviews with Musicians, which were conducted just before and during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic (mainly in the North of England and Wales). Our research discovers how these Musicians utilize informal community mechanisms to navigate poor working conditions, value ‘dignity’ and ‘meaningfulness’ above remuneration and often default to individualist assumptions regarding career success. © 2021 by Emerald Publishing Limited.