RESUMO
Job insecurity is now one of the major stressors affecting well-being at work. In academia, researchers appear to be in the most precarious position. To explore the relationship between job insecurity and well-being at work, we analyzed a sample of research fellows belonging to STEM disciplines in Italy. Using a latent profile approach, we identified three "hidden" subgroups: "Safe & Sound"; "Safe not so Sound" and "Neither Safe or Sound." Compared to previous studies, our results show that even within a population of STEM researchers that tends to have good levels of employability and mobility, there are subgroups of people characterized by greater job insecurity and low work commitment, who suffer from emotional exhaustion and cynicism at work level, i.e., more exposed to the risk of burnout.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: In Italy, the work-related stress and organizational well-being evaluation is subject to specific norms and regulations. The Italian National Anti-Corruption Authority (Autorità Nazionale Anticorruzione - ANAC) has developed a questionnaire to assess the organizational well-being of the employees in Public Administration Institutions. OBJECTIVES: The study aims to analyse, according to the Job Demands-Resources Theory, the relationship between some job demands (workload, discrimination) and job resources (supervisors and colleagues support, job autonomy, fairness, career opportunities, membership), and some outcomes (work-related stress, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction). METHODS: The research involved a public administration and was conducted through a self-report questionnaire (N=414, 60% of the employees). The ANAC questionnaire was integrated with measures from national and international literature on the topic of well-being and stress at work. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses highlighted the relationship between outcomes, job demands and resources. Work-related stress showed a positive relation with demands (work load ß coefficient=0.22; perceived discrimination ß=0.14) and a negative one with some resources (supervisors' support ß=-0.21 and membership ß=-0.11). Emotional exhaustion had a negative relationship with some job resources, specifically career opportunities (ß=-0.14), autonomy (ß=-0.21) and membership (ß=-0.25). Job satisfaction showed a positive relationship with all job resources considered. CONCLUSIONS: The study seeks to integrate the assessment of well-being and work-related stress thus highlighting the importance of linking the different outcomes with job demands and resources. The results identify possible practices to promote well-being in the organization.
