Italian Employees Research Articles

Do I just look stressed or am I stressed? Work-related stress in a sample of Italian employees.

Work-related stress is becoming a significant problem in Italy and it is therefore essential to advance the theory and methodology required to detect this phenomenon at work. Thus, the aim of this paper is to propose a new method for evaluating stress at work by measuring the discrepancies between employees’ perceptions of stress and their leaders’ evaluation of the stress of their subordinates. In addition, a positive impression scale was added to determine whether workers might give socially desirable responses in organizational diagnosis. Over 1,100 employees and 200 leaders within several Italian organizations were involved in this study. Structural equation modeling was used to test such new method for evaluating stress in a model of stress at work that incorporates relationships among individual (positive impression), interpersonal (workplace bullying) and organizational factors (working conditions, welfare culture, training). Results showed that the leaders’ capacity to understand subordinates’ stress is associated with subordinates’ psychological well-being since higher disagreement between self and leaders’ ratings was related to lower well-being. We discuss the implications of healthy leadership for the development of healthy organizations.

Influences of Work-Family Interface on Job and Life Satisfaction

Research investigating the relationship between family and work domains, according to a reductionist approach, has traditionally focused on the negative aspects of the work-family relationship. However, over the past 15 years a number of studies have also focused on the positive aspects of family and work relationships and on the interactions between the work-family interface and outcomes such as job and life satisfaction. These research studies have made it possible to capture different facets of the relationship between family and working life, and to clarify the specific nature of these interactions. In the present study, we tested a model that included positive and negative interactions between work and family as predictors of job and life satisfaction. We also examined the role of some of the potential moderators (work engagement, organizational and family support) of these relationships, using a sample of 427 Italian employees working in public administration. In our analysis, we first tested the factorial structure of the work-family interface measure (Kinnunen et al. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47, 149–162 2006). Factor analysis confirmed a four-factor model: negative work-to-family interface, negative family-to-work interface, positive work-to-family interface, and positive family-to-work interface. Secondly, we analyzed the relationship between the work-family interface, job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Path analysis showed that the factors involved in the work-family interface influenced directly and indirectly life satisfaction, job satisfaction and work engagement. This analysis also showed that work engagement had a direct strong effect on job satisfaction and a direct weaker effect on life satisfaction. This pattern of findings is consistent with a causal sequence in which the work-family interface (WIF) and family-work interface (FIW) can increase or reduce a satisfaction-specific domain. Our results highlight the importance of using a theoretical and empirical model that integrates and focuses on both the positive and negative aspects of the work-family relationship. Moreover, this pattern demonstrates the potential consequences of this influence on employees’ working life and general well-being.

Exploring the values in the Italian public sector using the tri-axial model

Purpose– The purpose of the paper is to explore the values in the public sector in Italy using the tri-axial model and explore the reasons why these values are important for the Italian public sector.Design/methodology/approach– An online questionnaire was prepared in Italian and sent to the public sector employees all over Italy.Findings– The findings demonstrate that Italian public sector is 100 percent economic-pragmatic according to the tri-axial model. One of the reasons of this result is the reforms made in the public sector which have stressed the importance of values like efficiency and professionalism.Research limitations/implications– The main limitation of the study is the sample size. Further research should focus on increasing the number of the sample as well as compare the regions in Italy.Practical implications– The conclusions derived from this research suggest that Italian public sector employees perceive themselves as economic-pragmatic.Originality/value– This study is the first study that maps the values in the public sector in Italy using tri-axial model.

How Much Is Really Known About the Meaning of the Term “Conflict of Interest”?

Often codes of ethics require dealing with conflict of interest (CoI) without defining the boundaries of the phenomenon. In this case, CoI recognition is left to the discretion of the individual. The aim of this work is to answer to the following research questions: How much is really known about the meaning of the term CoI? Do individuals share the same CoI definition? In order to address these questions, we use the results of a questionnaire administered to 86 Italian public sector employees during some training courses on conflict of interest and corruption. The choice of this sample is particularly significant in that the Italian regulation provides for all public employees a code of conduct that requests avoiding, or at least disclosing, the CoI without prior definition of the meaning of the term. The results of our analysis show that public employees are uncertain about or come to different considerations of what CoI is and is not; consequently they deal with it in different ways. Thus, codes of conduct and ethics trainers should direct more attention on CoI definition, providing examples to facilitate its identification and resolution.

THE INFLUENCE OF JOB INSECURITY ON TASK AND CONTEXTUAL PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATIONAL ROLE OF OVERALL JOB ATTITUDE

Job insecurity, that is the perceived threat of losing the current job, has become an increasing concern for organizations in the last decade mainly due to uncertain economic conditions and global competition. In this study, we intend to examine in particular the mechanisms through which job insecurity affects work performance, a criterion of central interest to management scholars. Drawing on the compatibility principle in attitude theory, we proposed that overall job attitude (job satisfaction and affective commitment) predicts behavioural criteria in response to job insecurity. In particular, relying on social exchange theory and rational choice theory two predictions were compared: job insecurity can be an harmful stressor with negative strain reactions (behavioural withdrawal, low performance) or a challenge stressor that motivates employees to engage actively in actions coping with the threat (higher performance). A sample of 570 Italian employees were used to test the hypotheses derived from our framework. Results from structural equations provided support for the social exchange model, showing the negative influence of job insecurity (as hindrance stressor) on task and contextual performance, i.e., in-role and extra-role behaviours.

The Need for Recovery scale: Adaptation to the Italian context

IntroductionNeed for Recovery scale is one of the main scales used to assess work-induced fatigue and quality of workers’ recovery time. In fact, need for recovery is considered relevant as a precursor of prolonged fatigue or psychological distress, an indicator of work stress, and a mediating or moderating characteristic in the etiology of work-related health problems, sick leave and work disability. ObjectiveThe purpose of the present study is to translate the Need for Recovery scale into Italian, and to adapt it to Italian culture; until now there has been no comparable valid instrument made for the Italian language that measures the need for recovery of employees. The stability and internal consistency of the scale will be assessed among Italian workers. MethodFor cross-cultural adaptation, a translation/back-translation method integrated with expert committee review and pre-testing was applied. Three hundred and seventy-eight Italian workers filled out the scale. ResultsThe psychometric properties proved to be good, both in terms of scale homogeneity and internal consistency, for the total sample and for subgroups of Italian employees in terms of gender, age and educational level. Exploratory factor analysis suggested a single factor solution with 44% of the variance explained. ConclusionsResults are encouraging for the possibility of using the Need for Recovery scale as a quick and adequate scale to measure early symptoms of work-induced fatigue and quality of Italian workers’ recovery time.

Towards a Comprehensive Procedure for Developing Measurement Scales for Cross-Cultural Management Research

A procedure for developing and testing measurement scales for use in cross-cultural comparative management research is described. The procedure emphasizes the combination of adequate instrument design if a new instrument is used or adequate adaptation procedures if working with an existing instrument and state-of-the-art statistical analyses (notably multigroup confirmatory factor analysis) to test the adequacy of the scales in all groups. The procedure is illustrated in a study of competitive orientation among French, Mexican, US and Italian employees of multinational corporations.

Psychometric Properties of the UK and Italian Versions of the HSE Stress Indicator Tool

The Health and Safety Executive Stress Indicator Tool is a short questionnaire developed in the UK for the screening of common psychosocial risk factors leading to work-related stress. Previous research showed that in both the UK and Italy this test fits the same seven-factor solution. Building upon previous findings and by using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis we investigated the degree of measurement equivalence of the Italian version of the test with its original UK version. Furthermore, we advanced the validation of the tool in Italy by exploring the correlations of its subscales with stress-related outcomes. Two samples of workers were available for analyses: 1,298 Italian employees of private-sector organizations and a sample of 7,589 UK employees from organizations of the same type. Results replicated previous findings: A 7-factor solution of the Indicator Tool was found to be equivalent across the Italian and UK samples. Furthermore, the analyses supported factor variance and factor covariance equivalence in addition to metric equivalence. The Indicator Tool subscales showed significant correlations in the expected direction with stress-related outcomes. The Italian version of the Indicator Tool behaves very consistently with its UK version and may be used for the screening of psychosocial risks in Italian workplaces.

The Contribution of Job Happiness and Job Meaning to the Well-Being of Workers from Thriving and Failing Companies

In a time of global economic crisis, workers’ well-being is of paramount concern for both organizations and society at large. Conceptualizations within positive psychology distinguish between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being components, and call for the need to include them in an integrated perspective. Within this framework, the present study aimed at investigating the impact of situational uncertainty on eudaimonic and hedonic well-being, and the spillover effects of work into individuals’ lives. Data were collected from 85 Italian employees at a thriving insurance company and at a failing one. Participants were administered Job Content Questionnaire, Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness Investigation, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and Psychological Wellbeing Scales. Data were analyzed through hierarchical regression analyses. Concerning well-being at work, employees at the failing company reported higher job insecurity and lower job happiness compared to employees at the thriving company, while job meaning scores did not differ between groups. Concerning general well-being, an unexpected positive association was found between positive relations and situational uncertainty. A spillover effect of job happiness and meaning on life satisfaction, environmental mastery, and autonomy was also detected. In particular, a moderating effect of job meaning was identified, showing that attributing high importance to one’s job had wide affective consequences, spilling over to global life evaluations. Findings bring forward practical suggestions for well-being promotion, in terms of shifting domain importance (Wu Journal of Happiness Studies 10:37–47, 2009), and investing in multiple life areas (Sirgy and Wu Journal of Happiness Studies 10:183–196, 2009) for the promotion of a balanced life.

Workplace Design, Complementarities among Work Practices, and the Formation of Key Competencies: Evidence from Italian Employees

The author analyzes the extent to which High Performance Workplace Practices (HPWP) act as a mediating variable between High Performance Work Organization (HPWO) and the economic outcomes of firms in developing workers' key competencies, which include higher order cognition, problem-solving, and self-reflexivity. Using a large survey of Italian employees drawn from a government-constructed database, the author finds that HPWPs that comprise greater worker discretion, participation in improvement groups, inclusion in workplace improvement schemes, and involvement in performance evaluation help employees develop such competencies, thus enabling firms to thrive and grow. He also shows that these organizational work practices result in more efficient production when simultaneously adopted as a bundle, which confirms the importance of complementarities or synergies among such practices.

Workplace Bullying in Academia Creates a Negative Work Environment. An Italian Study

Workplace bullying is recognized internationally as a serious problem, but few studies have been conducted in Academia to assess the risk of bullying. A survey was taken in a large-sized Italian university to identify possible relationships between working environment, bullying at work and health. The aim of the current study is to show that workplace bullying has an indirect relationship with health through organizational climate. Over 300 Italian employees completed a survey on organizational environment, bullying and health. Structural equation modelling was used in order to test the hypothesis. A model of bullying at work was developed in which bullying influence health both directly and indirectly through the partial mediation of organizational climate. Overall, these findings suggest that bullying can be considered also as a cause, rather than a consequence of organizational climate.

Temporary employment, job insecurity and their extraorganizational outcomes

Research on job insecurity has traditionally focused on organizational consequences. The present study explores potential extraorganizational outcomes (employees’ consumption and life projects) of job insecurity in terms of both subjective perception and objective condition. Results are based on the secondary analysis of two large data sets: a tracking study with representative samples and a survey, both conducted on Italian employees. The findings suggest that job insecurity (especially the subjective perception, rather than the objective condition) may be associated with sacrifices of daily consumption (e.g. buying groceries, apparel, or entertainment) and life projects (e.g. buying a home, marrying, or having children).

A new quantitative approach to measure perceived work-related stress in Italian employees

We propose a method for a reliable quantitative measure of subjectively perceived occupational stress applicable in any company to enhance occupational safety and psychosocial health, to enable precise prevention policies and intervention and to improve work quality and efficiency. A suitable questionnaire was telephonically administered to a stratified sample of the whole Italian population of employees. Combined multivariate statistical methods, including principal component, cluster and discriminant analyses, were used to identify risk factors and to design a causal model for understanding work-related stress. The model explained the causal links of stress through employee perception of imbalance between job demands and resources for responding appropriately, by supplying a reliable U-shaped nonlinear stress index, expressed in terms of values of human systolic arterial pressure. Low, intermediate and high values indicated demotivation (or inefficiency), well-being and distress, respectively. Costs for stress-dependent productivity shortcomings were estimated to about 3.7% of national income from employment. The method identified useful structured information able to supply a simple and precise interpretation of employees' well-being and stress risk. Results could be compared with estimated national benchmarks to enable targeted intervention strategies to protect the health and safety of workers, and to reduce unproductive costs for firms.

Does Literacy Really Foster Pension Fund Participation? Some Evidence from a Survey of Italian Employees

As a result of the 2005 reform, pension fund participation in Italy has increased significantly but less than expected moving from 14 up to 24 per cent of the employed workforce. Among others, the lack of financial skills as well as of the knowledge on how public pension system really works might have played a significant role in discouraging potential members. This paper aims at examining whether financial and Social Security literacy do matter in the decision to adhere to a pension fund. Data from a COVIP survey of private sector employees show that people have low financial and Social Security literacy and on average pension plan members have slightly higher literacy than non members. A multivariate analysis offers evidence of a potentially stronger effect of Social Security literacy vis a vis financial literacy on the decision to adhere to pension funds as well as of the importance of country-specific structural issues. These findings may be useful for designing information and awareness campaigns aimed at increasing pension fund participation.

Leaders' fairness and followers' conflict handling style

PurposeThe present paper aims to identify an important moderator of the effect of leader's fairness on the conflict handling style adopted by followers. Based on the uncertainty management model the authors hypothesize that the motivation to reduce uncertainty, reflected by individual differences in need for cognitive closure, moderates the use of constructive conflict handling style as a response to variation in leader's perceived procedural fairness.Design/methodology/approachA correlational study was conducted on a sample of 175 Italian public employees. Each participant filled out a questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out performing a series of multiple regression analyses.FindingsConsistent with previous research, regression analysis showed that perceived leader's fairness promoted a more constructive approach to manage conflict with leaders. More importantly this relationship was stronger under high rather than low need for cognitive closure.Practical implicationsPresent results suggest that in order to favor a solution‐oriented conflict handling style, leaders should promote perceptions of procedural fairness, especially among those with high need for closure.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies that looks at a moderator of the relationship between leader's fairness and constructive conflict management. It integrates literature on procedural fairness and cooperation. Furthermore, as the current research focuses on need for closure, it has important implications with regard to the uncertainty management model.

Employees’ skills and Organisational Commitment

Based on the survey Organisation, Learning and Competencies, the paper explores the relationship between skills development and organisational commitment. The findings, in general, suggest a low correlation between skills and more involvement in the organisations. Particularly, professionals show more attachment to their jobs than to their organisations, confirming that job commitment does not always imply organisational commitment. This work seeks to broaden our understanding of the distribution of technical ability and know-how of Italian employees among occupations and economic sectors in a period of important economic transformation. In particular, the aims are to present a comprehensive description of work skills in the Italian labour market and whether or not there exists a positive correlation between skills development, greater task discretion and more evolvement in the organisation. The data are from a new national representative survey of Italian employees working in the private sector. The survey, named OLC (Organization, Learning and Competencies) has been designed by ISFOL and conducted in the years 2004-2006. The term more appropriately found in the sociological literature to define the sense of attachment to an organisation is 'organisational commitment', which is considered strategic in periods of turbulence for the management of human resources. Organisational commitment, according some authors, 'implies identification with an organisation and acceptance of its goals and value as one's own' (Lincoln and Kalleberg, 1990, p. 22), or simply, the willingness of the individual to give higher commitment to work. In business management studies, the concept of commitment is also defined as the intensity relative to the psychological identification and employee involvement in the organisation. According to this definition, the consequences of commitment are, for example, the willingness to stay with the organisation, acceptance of the aims of the firm or, generally, the identification of employees with the values of the enterprise. However, 'organisational commitment' does not necessarily mean job or work commitment or attachment of individuals to their work (Gallie et al., 1998; Lincoln and Kalleberg, 1990). Research on the labour market tells us that the skills development of individuals is not always accompanied by an increase in the sense of attachment to an organisation. At times organisational commitment and work commitment can coincide, especially in the case of the taylorist method of management. Most organisational experimentation has tried to look at both aspects of the question: to improve interest in the work as well as to establish an effective cooperative system. Important from this point of view are the pioneering works of the Tavistock Institute summarised by Davis and Taylor (1972), and Federico Butera's 1972 and 1977 essays for Italy. However, we need to remember that whoever feels committed to work looks to the growth of his/her profession independently of the organisation's results while we can also have organisational commitment and strong identity with low-skilled jobs and tight supervisory control. In this case, commitment and identity can depend on other factors such as job security - as used to be the case in private industry in Japan for formal and informal lifelong employment - or a friendly work environment. In many industries the internal climate is considered as one of most important factors for enterprise management. A worker with a strong degree of personal identification with his/her organisation would not consider a close-knit organisation restrictive, while the same cannot be said for a worker who is inclined to self-realisation and individual creativity. However, skills development of individuals and commitment are often identified, especially in case studies, as an integral part of the human resources development process. In fact, according to Walton (1985) there exists a virtuous cycle between development of new technological and organisational systems, high quality processes and products, and quality of work and commitment. We find a similar virtuous cycle in the job re-design theory, where the growth

Underground Economy, Evasion and Inequality

Economic theory is paying increasing attention to a non-observed economy (NOE) and its causes. Recently, a couple of works (Rosser et al., 2000, 2003) have claimed that there is a positive relationship between income inequality and the size of NOE. This supposed relationship is not so clear and deserves in-depth analysis. There is a crucial aspect that has been completely avoided in these studies: income inequality is mainly measured using ‘regular’ incomes and this fact could lead to some bias. The existence of a certain size of NOE implies some income evasion that can affect the inequality indexes used in the study of the relationship between NOE and inequality. Including the regional share of NOE in a wage equation, I find that, in the specific case of the Italian private sector employees, the income evasion attached to NOE tends to reduce inequality measured by regular wages statistics.

Workplace bullying risk assessment in 12 Italian organizations

PurposeThis paper aims to propose an organizing framework of a possible relationship between working environment and bullying at work.Design/methodology/approachA total of 926 Italian employees completed the Majer D'Amato Organizational Questionnaire 10 (MDOQ10) and the Negative Acts Questionnaire Revised (NAQ‐R) in order to test the relationship between climate and bullying.FindingsThe study finds that organizational climate is a critical antecedent of bullying at work. Organizational climate dimensions at a singular level, and interaction among them, impact on bullying at work.Originality/valueThe impact of working environment on bullying at work is supported.

Maximum Likelihood Estimation of an Extended Latent Markov Model for Clustered Binary Panel Data

Computational aspects concerning a model for clustered binary panel data are analysed. The model is based on the representation of the behavior of a subject (individual panel member) in a given cluster by means of a latent process that is decomposed into a cluster-specific component, which follows a first-order Markov chain, and an individual-specific component, which is timeinvariant and is represented by a discrete random variable. In particular, an algorithm for computing the joint distribution of the response variables is introduced. The algorithm may be used even in the presence of a large number of subjects in the same cluster. Also an Expectation-Maximization (EM) scheme for the maximum likelihood estimation of the model is described showing how the Fisher information matrix can be estimated on the basis of the numerical derivative of the score vector. The estimate of this matrix is used to compute standard errors for the parameter estimates and to check the identifiability of the model and the convergence of the EM algorithm. The approach is illustrated by means of an application to a dataset concerning Italian employees' illness benefits.

Maximum likelihood estimation of an extended latent Markov model for clustered binary panel data

Computational aspects concerning a model for clustered binary panel data are analyzed. The model is based on the representation of the behavior of a subject (individual panel member) in a given cluster by means of a latent process. This latent process is decomposed into a cluster-specific component and an individual-specific component. The first component follows a first-order Markov chain, whereas the second is time-invariant and is represented by a discrete random variable. An algorithm for computing the joint distribution of the response variables is introduced. The algorithm may be used even in the presence of a large number of subjects in the same cluster. An Expectation-Maximization (EM) scheme for the maximum likelihood estimation of the model is also described together with the estimation of the Fisher information matrix on the basis of the numerical derivative of the score vector. The estimate of this matrix is used to obtain standard errors for the parameter estimates and to check the identifiability of the model and the convergence of the EM algorithm. The approach is illustrated by means of an application to a data set concerning Italian employees’ illness benefits.