Health, Stress and Technologies: Integrating Technology Acceptance and Health Belief Models for Smartphone-Based Stress Intervention.

Work-related stress significantly jeopardizes employees' physical and mental health due to the considerable time they spend at work. Smartphone-based interventions provide a promising solution, eliminating traditional face-to-face interventions' barriers. However, the elements that influence workers' intentions to use this still remain unexplored. This study explores the link between health belief model (HBM) and technology acceptance model (TAM) factors. In this study, 336 Italian workers (64% female) answered an online questionnaire. We employed a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the data. The results unveiled an indirect relationship: individuals perceiving health risks were more inclined to use stress-management apps, mediated by perceived utility (PU). This study underscores the significant potential of integrating the HBM with the TAM in predicting users' preparedness for smartphone-based health interventions. These findings not only hold substantial value but also illuminate a path forward for professionals and organizations, offering insights to tailor and optimize smartphone tools for stress management and the promotion of workplace well-being. Ultimately, this research paves the way for the cultivation of healthier work environments, marking a noteworthy contribution to the field.

Teaching after the pandemic: The role of technostress and organizational support on intentions to adopt remote teaching technologies.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to several changes in academic teaching practices. Although educational digital technologies have been crucial during the initial phases of the pandemic, their forced adoption has led to negative consequences. In the present study, we aimed to integrate the Technology Acceptance Model theoretical framework (Davis, 1989) by exploring the effects of some possible factors that influence the willingness to adopt digital learning tools in the future when the pandemic is over. Among them, technostress was considered one of the external factors that could have adversely affected digital teaching technology adoption in the future. In contrast, the perception of technical support offered by the university was considered a potential protective factor. A total of 463 Italian university faculty completed an online questionnaire at the end of the first semester (a.y. 2020-21). The frequency of distance teaching technologies usage behavior was measured objectively by extracting teachers' activities from the University's e-learning databases. Key findings indicated that distance teaching technologies' frequency of use increased technostress, which in turn negatively impacted the perception of ease of use. The latter influences - both directly and indirectly through perceived usefulness - the intentions to adopt distance learning tools after the pandemic. Organizational support negatively predicted technostress. Implications to help public institutions develop functional strategies to cope with the technological changes brought by the pandemic are discussed.

Building Work Engagement in Organizations: A Longitudinal Study Combining Social Exchange and Social Identity Theories.

Starting from the insights of social identity theory and social exchange theory, the present study aimed to understand how social support and organizational identification relate to work engagement. Moreover, it sought to verify if social support and organizational identification interact with each other to explain work engagement three months later. A longitudinal study was conducted on a sample of 150 employees, in which organizational identification, social support, and work engagement were measured through a questionnaire. The results show that when employees can count on their supervisors' and colleagues' support, they will be more engaged in their work. In addition, when an employee strongly identifies with their organization, the employee's evaluation of the social support received from colleagues and supervisors becomes less critical in determining their work engagement. These results confirm our hypotheses and extend the findings of previous research on withdrawal behaviors. From a practical point of view, it seems important for organizations to invest in increasing identification, as well as in building a high-quality social exchange relationship, especially when levels of organizational identification are low or decreasing.

Introducing mobile apps to promote the well-being of German and Italian university students. A cross-national application of the Technology Acceptance Model.

Stress represents a significant risk factor for several psychophysical diseases among college students, such as depression and anxiety, which may undermine their academic functioning, resulting in high drop rates from college. Nevertheless, university services for mental health promotion are typically underutilized. As a result, professionals and authorities strive to find new ways to address students' mental health needs. In this view, mobile apps seem appropriate for well-being promotion interventions. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which is the most widely used theory on users' intention to use technologies, we assumed that perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) would be positively related to intention to use (INT), and PEOU would be positively related to PU among both Italian and German university students. To test our hypotheses, we replicated the same cross-sectional study in Italy (n = 255) and Germany (n = 228) with university students. Although we found partial scalar invariance of the TAM dimensions across the two nations, our predictions were only partially confirmed: PEOU was positively related to PU in the Italian sample only. Overall, this study is one of the first empirical attempts to compare TAM cross-nationally within the European context and it contributes to the small but increasing body of research investigating students' acceptance of smartphone-based interventions for stress management and well-being promotion. Understanding mobile health acceptance could help universities increase students' chances of adopting the proposed services, considering the factors influencing this choice.

A Cluster Analysis of the Acceptance of a Contact Tracing App-The Identification of Profiles for the Italian Immuni Contact Tracing App.

Digital contact tracing apps have been introduced by governments as a strategy to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital contact tracking is an alternative to traditional contact tracing performed by human tracers who have to reconstruct each contact an infected person had in the recent past by means of interviews. The Italian government proposed the Immuni digital contact tracking app as a solution. Immuni uses Bluetooth technology to anonymously register all close contacts a person had: if she tests positive for COVID-19 then all registered contacts are notified. The main aim of the paper is to propose a cluster analysis of some factors concerning the possible acceptance of the Immuni app to build behaviour profiles that explain and predict the possible behaviours of the respondents. The factors considered referred to three different pillars: the technological pillar, investigated by considering factors from the technology acceptance models family; the health pillar, where variables of the health belief model were used; and the sociopolitical pillar, where some values of the respondents were considered as possible barriers to or facilitators of the acceptance of this technology. As a result of the cluster analysis, three behavioural profiles were built: the ProApp profile, the Hesitant profile, and the AntiApp profile. The first is the profile grouping the respondents who intend to use the contact tracing app; the second is more about people who are favourable of the use of the app, but some issues such as privacy reduce the strength of their intention; the last profile is about people who are less favourable to use the app. We are confident that the behaviour profiles found would be useful to build more tailored communication campaigns to help promote the use of the app by managing factors that could either be facilitators or barriers.

Telework quality and employee well-being: Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forced organisations to implement intensive telework for many of their workers overnight. This scenario was completely new, and the emergency caused by COVID-19 created the possibility of experimenting with new ways of working with an unknown impact on employee well-being. Drawing on previous literature, we defined a model of telework quality consisting of the following four core domains: agile offices within organisations, functional remote workstations, flex-time and engaging management. We identified two high-quality and low-quality telework profiles using latent profile analysis on a data sample of 2295 insurance and financial sector employees. Demographic, occupational and procedural characteristics were associated with the probability of being in the positive or negative profiles. Our results showed that employees' emotional exhaustion and work engagement levels were related to telework quality. This study suggests that organisations need to consider the quality of telework to effectively adopt new ways of working that foster employee well-being.

New Technologies in the Workplace: Can Personal and Organizational Variables Affect the Employees' Intention to Use a Work-Stress Management App?

Organizations are interested in finding new and more effective ways to promote the well-being of their workers, to help their workers manage work-related stress. New technologies (e.g., smartphones) are cheaper, allow more workers to be reached, and guarantee their anonymity. However, not all employees agree on the use of new technological interventions for the promotion of well-being. Consequently, organizations need to investigate technological acceptance before introducing these tools. By considering the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework, we investigate both the influence of workers' perceived usefulness and ease of use on their intentions to use apps that help them managing work stress. Moreover, we contribute to the extension of this model by considering both personal (i.e., self-efficacy, personal innovativeness) and organizational (i.e., organizational support for innovation) variables. Our research involved 251 participants who completed an online self-report questionnaire. The results confirm the central hypothesis of the TAM and the influence of other variables that could influence acceptance of new technologies, such as apps that help manage work stress, and the intentions to use them. These results could help organizations ensure technological acceptance and usage by their workers, increasing the effectiveness of new technologies and interventions to promote well-being.

Work-Life Balance: Weighing the Importance of Work-Family and Work-Health Balance.

To date, research directed at the work-life balance (WLB) has focused mainly on the work and family domains. However, the current labor force is heterogeneous, and workers may also value other nonworking domains besides the family. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of other nonworking domains in the WLB with a particular focus on health. Moreover, the importance of the effects of the work-family balance (WFB) and the work-health balance (WHB) on job satisfaction was investigated. Finally, we explored how the effects of the WFB and the WHB on job satisfaction change according to worker characteristics (age, gender, parental status, and work ability). This study involved 318 workers who completed an online questionnaire. The importance of the nonworking domains was compared with a t-test. The effect of the WFB and the WHB on job satisfaction was investigated with multiple and moderated regression analyses. The results show that workers considered health as important as family in the WLB. The WHB explained more of the variance in job satisfaction than the WFB. Age, gender and parental status moderated the effect of the WFB on job satisfaction, and work ability moderated the effect of the WHB on job satisfaction. This study highlights the importance of the health domain in the WLB and stresses that it is crucial to consider the specificity of different groups of workers when considering the WLB.

"Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda". Workers' Proactivity in the Association between Emotional Demands and Mental Health.

The present study aimed to explore the mediating role of hostile customer relations in the association between emotional dissonance and workers' mental health. Moreover, the moderating role of proactive personality as a buffer against hostile customer relations was assessed. Emotional demands become crucial within professions that involve a direct relationship with clients and, if poorly managed, can negatively affect workers' health and performance. Accordingly, data were collected on a sample of n = 918 mass-retail employees working for one of the leading Italian supermarket companies. Most participants were women (62.7%) with a mean age = 40.38 (SD = 7.68). The results of a moderated mediation analysis revealed that emotional dissonance was related to more hostile customer relations that, in turn, were associated with higher rates of mental health symptoms. Proactive personality emerged as a protecting factor that prevented the onset of conflicts with clients, particularly among workers experiencing high levels of emotional dissonance. The identification of resources enabling management of emotional demands could suggest suitable adaptive strategies for customer-facing roles, thus preventing the occurrence of adverse mental health symptoms.

I am engaged, I feel good, and I go the extra-mile: Reciprocal relationships between work engagement and consequences / Me implico, me siento bien y me esfuerzo al máximo: las relaciones recíprocas entre engagement en el trabajo y consecuencias

The purpose of the present study was to examine longitudinal relationships between work engagement and mental-health problems, job satisfaction, and extra-role performance (traditionally considered as work-engagement “outcomes”) in terms of reciprocal causality. On the basis of the Conservation of Resources theory, the Broaden-and-Build theory, and previous studies, we hypothesized that the relationships between work engagement and such variables are reciprocal over time. The study was conducted among 157 schoolteachers, and the time lag was of five months on average. Results of structural-equation-modelling analysis showed that the model with reciprocal relationships exhibited the best fit with the data. Specifically, work engagement at T1 predicted mental-health problems, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviours at T2. Moreover, T1 mental-health problems were negatively related to T2 work engagement, whereas T1 job satisfaction and T1 organizational-citizenship behaviours were positively related to T2 work engagement. Overall, our findings provide evidence for a reciprocal influence between engagement and these constructs, meaning that none of them can be considered as only a cause or only a consequence (AU)

El objetivo del presente estudio fue examinar las relaciones longitudinales entre el engagement en el trabajo, los problemas de salud mental, la satisfacción laboral y el rendimiento extra-laboral (tradicionalmente considerados como “consecuencias” del engagement) en términos de causalidad recíproca. Partiendo de la teoría de conservación de los recursos, la teoría de ampliación y construcción de las emociones positivas y los estudios anteriores, nuestra hipótesis fue que las relaciones entre el engagement y esos resultados son recíprocas en el tiempo. El estudio se realizó en una muestra de 157 maestros de escuela y el intervalo de tiempo era de cinco meses. Los resultados de análisis de modelos de ecuaciones estructurales muestran que el modelo de las relaciones recíprocas entre el engagement y los resultados mostraba el mejor ajuste a los datos. Específicamente, el engagement en T1 predijo los problemas de salud mental, la satisfacción laboral y las conductas de ciudadanía organizacional en T2. Por otra parte, los problemas de salud mental en T1 se relacionaban negativamente con el engagement en T2, mientras que la satisfacción laboral en T1 y los comportamientos organizacionales de ciudadanía en T1se relacionaron positivamente con el engagement en T2. En general, nuestros resultados proporcionan evidencia de una influencia recíproca entre engagement en el trabajo y estos constructos, lo que significa que ninguno de ellos puede considerarse sólo como causa o sólo como consecuencia (AU)

The push and pull factors related to early retirees’ mental health status: a comparative study between Italy and Spain / Los factores que empujan y atraen a la jubilación anticipada y sus relaciones con la salud mental: un estudio comparativo entre Italia y España

In recent years, early retirement has attracted increasing attention in the literature. Using a larger Italian- Spanish sample, this study examines the push and pull factors related to early retirees’ mental health status, as well as the moderating effects of perceived self-efficacy on the relationships between reasons for early retirement and mental health. Analyses revealed that poor retirees’ mental health is positively correlated to the push factor Pressure from Employer and negatively related to the pull factor Pursue Own Interests. Thus, mental health status is better for Italian retirees than for their Spanish counterparts. The Italian sample shows that Pursue Own Interests was negatively related to poorer mental health particularly under the low self-efficacy condition. Findings suggest that mental health depends on both the motivating reasons that lead people to retire early and the personal resources available to them to manage this psychosocial transition (AU)

El interés por el estudio de la jubilación anticipada se ha incrementado en los últimos años. Utilizando una muestra ítalo-española este estudio examina los factores que empujan y atraen a la jubilación anticipada y sus relaciones con la salud mental, así como los efectos moderadores de la auto-eficacia en dichas relaciones. Los resultados muestran una relación positiva entre los peores niveles de salud mental y el factor de empuje Presión del Empleador y una relación negativa con el factor de atracción Perseguir Intereses Propios. Así, el estado de salud mental es mejor para los jubilados italianos que para sus homólogos españoles. En la muestra italiana Perseguir Intereses Propios se relaciona negativamente con los peores niveles de salud mental en la condición de baja auto-eficacia. Los resultados sugieren que la salud mental depende de las razones que motivan hacia la jubilación anticipada y los recursos personales para afrontar esta transición psicosocial (AU)

Solving a methodological challenge in work stress evaluation with the Stress Assessment and Research Toolkit (StART): a study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Stress evaluation is a field of strong interest and challenging due to several methodological aspects in the evaluation process. The aim of this study is to propose a study protocol to test a new method (i.e., the Stress Assessment and Research Toolkit) to assess psychosocial risk factors at work. DESIGN: This method addresses several methodological issues (e.g., subjective vs. objective, qualitative vs quantitative data) by assessing work-related stressors using different kinds of data: i) organisational archival data (organisational indicators sheet); ii) qualitative data (focus group); iii) worker perception (questionnaire); and iv) observational data (observational checklist) using mixed methods research. In addition, it allows positive and negative aspects of work to be considered conjointly, using an approach that considers at the same time job demands and job resources. DISCUSSION: The integration of these sources of data can reduce the theoretical and methodological bias related to stress research in the work setting, allows researchers and professionals to obtain a reliable description of workers' stress, providing a more articulate vision of psychosocial risks, and allows a large amount of data to be collected. Finally, the implementation of the method ensures in the long term a primary prevention for psychosocial risk management in that it aims to reduce or modify the intensity, frequency or duration of organisational demands.

When the job is boring: the role of boredom in organizational contexts.

OBJECTIVE: The present study investigates the role of boredom within the Job Demands-Resources model. Although empirical evidence suggests that the incidence of boredom at work is widespread, the study of job boredom remains neglected today. PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from 269 mass-retail workers, by means of structured face-to-face interviews. METHODS: Results of multiple mediation analyses partially supported our hypotheses. RESULTS: Boredom mediates the relationship between transformational leadership, low learning opportunities and general dysphoria, while work engagement mediates the relationship between transformational leadership, low learning opportunities and job satisfaction as well as general dysphoria. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our results confirm the suitability of conceptualizing boredom within the JD-R model and contribute to the ongoing conceptualization of both the boredom literature and the JD-R literature.

Daily fluctuations in teachers' well-being: a diary study using the Job Demands-Resources model.

The study tests the dynamic nature of the Job Demands-Resources model with regard to both motivational and health impairment processes. It does so by examining whether daily fluctuations in co-workers' support (i.e., a typical job resource) and daily fluctuations in work/family conflict (i.e., a typical job demand) predict day-levels of job satisfaction and mental health through work engagement and exhaustion, respectively. A total of 61 schoolteachers completed a general questionnaire and a daily survey over a period of five consecutive work days. Multilevel analyses provided evidence for both the above processes. Consistently with the hypotheses, our results showed that day-level work engagement mediated the impact of day-level co-workers' support on day-level job satisfaction and day-level mental health, after general levels of work engagement and outcome variables had been controlled for. Moreover, day-level exhaustion mediated the relationship between day-level work/family conflict and day-level job satisfaction and day-level mental health after general levels of exhaustion and outcome variables had been controlled for. These findings provide new insights into the dynamic psychological processes that determine daily fluctuations in employee well-being. Such insights may be transformed into job redesign strategies and other interventions designed to enhance work-related psychological well-being on a daily level.