WORK ENGAGEMENT AS A MEDIATOR BETWEEN AUTONOMY SUPPORT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone's health and well-being and has resulted in the shift of conventional face-to-face classes to online instruction. This has had major negative effects on students who are facing the difficulty of online classes in terms of their physical and mental health. 
 Objectives: The study determined the relationship between stress and anxiety on emotional social and psychological well-being among nursing students. 
 Methods: The study utilized descriptive cross-sectional research and a purposive sample of 210 nursing students was included in the study. The data were collected from November 2020 to December 2020. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), General Anxiety Disorders Scale (GAD-7), and Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) (which measures emotional, psychological, and social well-being) were used to collect the necessary data. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Pearson's r correlation were utilized to analyze the gathered data. 
 Results: The participants were shown to have a moderate level of stress (M=19.53; SD=±3.29), moderate level of anxiety (M=14.43; SD=±7.62), and moderate mental health. Further, stress was shown to have a significant negative correlation with emotional well-being (r= -0.218; p=0.000), social well-being (r= -0.175; p=0.000), psychological well-being (r= -0.219; 0.000), and the over-all mental well-being (r= -0.222, p=0.000). Also, it was noted that anxiety has a significant negative relationship with emotional well-being (r= -0.418; p=0.000), social well-being (r= -0.280; p=0.000), psychological well-being (r= -0.331; p=0.000) and over-all mental well-being (r= -0.362; p=0.000). 
 Conclusion: In light of mental health concerns among nursing students, faculty and administrators have a professional responsibility to address foreseeable psychological stressors and promote the mental well-being of students in their institution. The protection and development of mental well-being will allow students to maintain academic excellence and facilitate future success.

This study used the axiomatic approach to develop a comprehensive theoretical framework to understand the job engagement of early childhood education teachers. Following Padua’s (2012) axiomatic methodology, the study was conducted in five stages. The first stage was the selection of phenomena of interest, which focused on resolving the issues of terminology and data utilization used by researchers. The second stage was a literature review to organize existing theories and secure basic data for developing new theories. The third stage, brainstorming, was to generate ideas using creative problem-solving techniques, and the fourth stage was to form axioms on the interaction of basic psychological needs, autonomy support, job demands, and resources. The final stage explained various factors affecting the job engagement of early childhood education teachers through theory building. The results of the study revealed that the socioeconomic status, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, intrinsic motivation, job demands, and resources of early childhood education teachers had a significant effect on job engagement. This provides a theoretical basis that can contribute to educational institutions and policy makers developing strategies to increase teachers’ job engagement. Keywords: Childcare Teachers, Work Environment, Work Engagement, Axiomatic approach DOI : 10.7176/JEP/15-10-07 Publication date : September 30th 2024

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness education on emotional, psychological, and social well-being of 12th grade students in Tehran. The research method was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design and control group. The statistical population of the study included all 12th grade students of the 12th district of Tehran in the academic year of 2018 to 2019. 60 students who gained low scores in three dimensions of Subjective Well-Being Questionnaire of Keyes and Magyar-Moe (2003) were selected through random sampling method. The participants were assigned into 2 experimental and control groups. The experimental groups received a Mindfulness protocol in 8 sessions during 2 hours. After completion of the sessions, all the participants were re-evaluated. Data were analyzed through multivariate analysis of covariance. The findings showed that in the emotional well-being aspect, with the components of positive emotional affection (P < 0.025, F = 17/80) and negative emotions (P <0.025, F = 5/41), in the psychological well-being, with the components self-esteem (P < 0.008, F = 25.26), life goal (P < 0.008, F = 38.19), environmental domination (P <0.008, F=82.82), relationships with others (P < 0.008, F = 19.12), as well as personal development (P < 0.008, F = 87.38), and in the social well-being aspect, admission and acceptability (P <0.01, F =18.09) and realism (P <0.01, F = 11.30), there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups and it can be concluded that the mindfulness education affects the improvement of psychological, social and emotional well-being components in the students.

<h3>Background</h3> Gastrointestinal manifestations of the COVID-19 pandemic may mimic Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and social distancing measures may affect IBS patients negatively. We aimed to study the impact of COVID-19...

Motivating Gen Z employees, the main labor force in the hospitality industry, with job resources and demands is challenging. This study explores the influences of Gen Z hotel employees’ perceived job resources, demands, and work engagement on service behavior based on the Job Demands- Resources (JD-R) model. A total of 212 valid online questionnaires were collected from Gen Z hotel employees in Taiwan. The results confirmed that job resources positively influenced perceived job demands and engagement, but job demands did not significantly affect work engagement. Further, work engagement positively influenced service behavior and mediated job resources and service behavior.

Purpose The existing literature suggests that employee well-being is an important concern for organizations. The purpose of this paper is to carry out an empirical examination to assess whether employee experience of workplace spirituality has positive relationships with multiple forms of employee well-being. Design/methodology/approach This paper focussed on four forms of employee well-being, namely: emotional well-being, psychological well-being, social well-being, and spiritual well-being. It specified and empirically tested, using a survey design, four hypotheses, each proposing a positive relationship between workplace spirituality and one of the four forms of employee well-being. Findings All four hypotheses were supported indicating that workplace spirituality has a positive relationship with emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being. Research limitations/implications This paper may encourage future research to assess whether various forms of employee well-being result from specific dimensions of workplace spirituality. Practical implications Organizations may implement workplace spirituality for simultaneously enhancing multiple forms of employee well-being. Social implications As employee well-being is a matter of social concern, the findings of this study indicating a positive association between workplace spirituality and employee well-being have a social relevance. Originality/value To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between workplace spirituality and four forms of employee well-being, namely; emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being. As employee well-being is an important concern for organizations, the contribution of the study findings is that workplace spirituality implementation can simultaneously enhance multiple forms of employee well-being.

Introduction: The growth of gig work has transformed the contemporary labor market, provided flexibility and independence but also subjected workers to high stressors like job insecurity, economic uncertainty, and irregular workloads. Gig workers work in various sectors, such as ridesharing, food delivery, freelancing, and on-demand services, and usually encounter distinctive occupational hazards. Gig Workers' Well-being (GWW) Model, based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and Psychological Capital (PsyCap) theory, presents a systematic approach to understanding job demands and resources and their effect on stress resilience, mental well-being, and job performance among gig workers. This research explores how resilience interventions can reduce stress and improve work engagement and productivity among gig workers. Objectives: The main aim of this research is to create and test a multi-dimensional stress resilience framework that explains the dynamic interaction of multiple influences on wellbeing among gig workers. More specifically, the research intends to explore how job demands can intensify burnout while job resources promote work engagement, and to investigate the dual nature of gig-related factors that can benefit or detract from job performance. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the contribution of technostress in exacerbating burnout, evaluate the effectiveness of boundary management in enhancing work engagement, and identify the degree to which resilience is responsible for enhanced job performance. Through this holistic examination, the study aims to offer detailed insights into the stress and coping processes in the gig economy, ultimately guiding strategies to enhance the wellbeing and performance of gig workers. Methods: A qualitative research design was used to obtain rich insights into the well-being of gig workers. A stratified random sampling strategy provided representative diversity across work categories, demographics, and geographic regions. Data were collected through structured online questionnaires distributed through LinkedIn, social media groups, and gig work platforms. The questionnaire contained validated scales assessing stress levels, financial security, work-life balance, resilience, and well-being. 400 questionnaires were distributed and 338 returned (84.5% response rate). After excluding incomplete or invalid responses, the final sample of 323 gig workers was analyzed. Statistical analysis using IBM SPSS 25.0, including correlation and regression analysis, was conducted to examine the relationships between job demands, burnout, resilience, and work engagement. Results: Correlation analysis indicated significant relationships between the most important variables. Job demands were positively correlated with job resources (r =.900, p &lt;.01), indicating that as stressors, resource needs also increased. Burnout had significant correlations with job demands (r =.489, p &lt;.01) and technostress (r =.804, p &lt;.01), supporting the negative effect of workload unpredictability. Regression analysis showed that job demands strongly predicted burnout (β = 0.489, R² = 0.239, p &lt;.000), whereas job resources positively affected work engagement (β = 0.415, R² = 0.172, p &lt;.000). Gig-specific factors also significantly contributed to the formation of job performance (β = 0.368, R² = 0.135, p &lt;.000). In addition, technostress strongly raised levels of burnout (β = 0.476, R² = 0.227, p &lt;.000), whereas resilience helped job performance to the extent of β = 0.499, R² = 0.289, p &lt;.000, highlighting its significance when managing stress. Conclusions: The results highlight the intricate interaction between job demands, resilience, and performance in the gig economy. Digital stressors and high job demands are sources of burnout, which is detrimental to well-being. Nevertheless, job resources such as autonomy, skill development, and social support improve work engagement and reduce stress. The GWW Model highlights the importance of resilience in mediating stress outcomes and proposes that interventions like boundary management, adaptive coping, and financial security programs can enhance mental health and performance. Policy measures should aim to augment gig workers' access to social security, training, and mental health care. By building resilience, gig platforms can establish a more sustainable and supportive work culture, guaranteeing long-term well-being and productivity.

The purpose of this study was to predict academic procrastination based on psychological capital through the mediation of psychological, emotional and social well-being in University students. The research method was descriptive-correlational and the statistical population included all students of Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University in the academic year of 1995-96. Four hundred and twenty participants were randomly selected by the cluster multistage method and completed the scales of academic procrastination (Savari, 2011) resilience (Connor and Davidson, 2003), life orientation (Scheier and Carver, 1992)) for measuring optimism, hope (Snyder, et al., 1991), and comprehensive well-being (Joushanloo, Roustami & Nosratabadi, 2001), with emotional, psychological and social components. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling. The results show that all fitness indices fit with the collected data. The total effect of psychological capital on academic procrastination is negative and significant, and the effect of psychological capital on emotional, psychological and social well-being is positive and significant. The effect of psychosocial well-being on the academic procrastination is significant, as well as the indirect effect of psychological capital on academic procrastination with mediating of psychological, emotional and social well-being is significant. It is recommended that educational psychologists and consultants develop a suitable educational program to reduce the academic procrastination in the students of University and educate them about ways to promote resilience, optimism hope, and social, psychological and emotional well-being.

In recent years, the development of tobacco control actions in China and the changes in people's health concepts have slowed the development of the tobacco industry. As an important strategic partner of tobacco sales companies, tobacco retailers are the key link between tobacco commercial enterprises and consumers. How to improve the work engagement level of tobacco retailers is an urgent issue for tobacco business enterprises. On the basis of job demands–resources (JD–R) theory, the mechanisms of the effects of job resources and demands on tobacco retailers' work engagement were explored. Results showed that (1) The negative path of job demands influencing tobacco retailers' work engagement was supported, and job crafting played a mediating role in it. (2) The positive path of job resources influencing tobacco retailers' work engagement was supported, and job crafting played a mediating role in it. (3) Servant leadership moderated the influence of job resources and demands on job crafting. Higher level of servant leadership brings the stronger effect of job resources on job crafting and the weaker effect of job demands on job crafting. (4) The mediating effect of job crafting between JD–R and work engagement was moderated by servant leadership. The higher level of servant leadership strengthened the mediating role of job crafting between job demands and work engagement, whereas it weakened the mediating role of job crafting between job demands and work engagement. This study enriches the research on application fields and boundary conditions of JD–R theory and provides practical guidance for improving the work engagement level of tobacco retailers.

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship that emotional, psychological, and social well-being has with self-reported illness-related absenteeism. This study examines the relationship between three dimensions of well-being (emotional, psychological, and social) and self-report illness-related absenteeism among 133 workers spanning multiple industries across 16 different companies. This secondary, cross-sectional data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. As hypothesized, emotional well-being and psychological well-being were found to be negatively associated with absenteeism, with emotional well-being being the stronger predictor. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that social well-being was not associated with absenteeism among workers. Employee emotional well-being and psychological well-being are associated with self-reported illness-related absenteeism. Future work should explore causal relationships between these constructs.

PurposeThis study aims to test the hypothesized moderated mediation process combining job resources, job demands, work engagement, job satisfaction and organizational engagement, which proposes that work engagement can be considered as a mediator between the relationship of job resources with job satisfaction and organizational engagement, and such mediation effect is moderated by level of job demand.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from Junior Management Grade–Scale I officers of 442 branches of 27 public sector banks situated across four States in North India. The final responses stood at 704. Regression analyses was performed through the SPSS macro (developed by Preacher and Hayes, 2004) for testing of H1 and H2 on the mediation effects. H3 was tested by moderated hierarchical regression analysis. The last two H4 and H5 proposing the moderated mediation mechanism were examined in lines with the four conditions suggested by Muller et al. (2005) and Preacher et al. (2007).FindingsIt is suggested that job demands should ideally be adequate and job resources ample to deal with the former, because a suitable fit between these two aspects is related to work engagement, which would further contribute positively to job satisfaction and organizational engagement.Originality/valueThere is dearth of research hypothesizing the moderated mediation process proposing job demands as a moderator in job resources, work and organizational engagement and other work-related outcome relationships. Resting on various propositions and of job demands–resources (JD-R) model, and empirical outcomes of the studies of JD-R perspective, and research gaps identified, this study attempts to propose a unique model of engagement hypothesizing a moderated mediation process, where work engagement might be a mediator between the relationship of job resources with job satisfaction and organizational engagement; such mediation effect is moderated by the level of job demands.

This study seeks to investigate how employees' ability to modify their job roles and their level of work engagement influence their overall well-being. The job crafting framework incorporates the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, highlighting employees' proactive efforts to enhance their work environment and engagement levels. Additionally, work engagement theory provides insight into the psychological states that foster positive outcomes for employees. Employing a quantitative approach, the study utilizes Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). A sample of 170 staff members from private plantation companies in North Sumatra was selected using proportional random sampling. To obtain empirical data, the researchers employed a structured survey instrument featuring Likert-scale questions designed to measure the primary variables: job crafting competence, work engagement intensity, and aspects of employee well-being. The subsequent analysis involved evaluating both the measurement (outer) model and the structural (inner) model, emphasizing the assessment of construct reliability, validity, and the interrelationships within the structural framework. The results demonstrated that job crafting exerts a statistically significant and favorable influence on employees' well-being. Conversely, while work engagement showed a positive correlation with well-being, this relationship was not statistically significant. These results suggest that employees’ proactive efforts to adapt their jobs—such as increasing resources and introducing challenges aligned with their capabilities—enhance their psychological and social well-being. However, while work engagement, encompassing vigor, dedication, and absorption, contributes to well-being, its impact within the plantation industry context is not statistically significant.

Summary Social workers’ occupational health has become a central theme in the psychosocial literature. This study aimed at exploring how specific job demands and psychological well-being are related to work engagement. A sample of 140 Italian social workers was analyzed in accordance with the job demands–resources model. Participants were asked to complete a written questionnaire containing several measurement scales. Findings Multiple regression analyses showed that social workers’ psychological well-being was positively related to work engagement. Moderation analyses also indicated that, when psychological well-being was high (vs. low), job demands were associated to higher levels of work engagement, thus highlighting the buffering role of psychological well-being as a specific personal resource. When job demands were high (vs. low), the psychological well-being appeared to be strongly related to lowest levels of work engagement, showing that high job demands could reduce the fostering role of psychological well-being on social workers’ work engagement. Applications While administration of job demands may often be difficult in social work contexts, managers should be encouraged, as part of a systemic approach to training, to promote specific measures for improving social workers’ psychological well-being as a personal resource for promoting work engagement.

The study was conducted using the descriptive-correlational method. Employing random sampling and Slovin's formula, a total of 365 undergraduate students of SPAMAST were the subjects of the study. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socio-demographic profile, level of mental health, and academic performance of the students. Spearman correlation was utilized to investigate the relationship between the variables. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) generated the structural model that best fits mental health and academic performance. Results revealed that the respondents have positive mental health and satisfactory academic performance. Through correlational analysis, results showed that emotional, social, and psychological well-being have no significant relationship to academic performance. Further, a structural equation model that best fits mental health and academic performance revealed that social and psychological well-being positively influences academic performance. In contrast, emotional well-being has a negative influence. Moreover, it was revealed that emotional well-being was highly correlated with social and psychological well-being. At the same time, social well-being is highly correlated with psychological well-being. Hence, cultivating any of these factors will significantly enhance the other factors. The obtained best-fit model can explain 28% of the data being considered for the study.

PurposeDrawing on job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, this study aims to develop a model of how work engagement mediates the relationship between supervisor support and affective commitment, with religiosity moderating the relationship between supervisor support and work engagement. This study further tests a moderated-mediation model exploring the relationships between supervisor support, religiosity, work engagement and affective commitment within a unique institutional context where religious values and beliefs significantly influence and shape people management practices.Design/methodology/approachUsing a survey-based approach, data were collected from 367 employees from the telecommunication sector in the context of Jordan.FindingsSupervisor support was positively related to work engagement, which positively impacts affective commitment. Work engagement mediated the relationship between supervisor support and affective commitment. In addition, religiosity amplified the relationship between supervisor support and work engagement, and the mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between supervisor support and affective commitment.Originality/valueThis study contributes to JD-R theory and pertinent literature by examining the moderating role of religiosity, an important yet neglected personal resource. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the interaction effect between religiosity and supervisor support in predicting work engagement. It is also the first to examine a moderated mediation model exploring the relationships between supervisor support, religiosity, work engagement and affective commitment.