Permanent Employment Contracts Research Articles

Work Engagement and Burnout in a Private Healthcare Unit in Greece.

Work engagement represents a positive work-related state of mind characterized by three dimensions: Vigor (high levels of energy and mental resilience during work), Dedication (strong involvement in one's work), and Absorption (complete-joyous immersion in one's tasks). This study aimed to investigate work engagement and burnout in health professionals in a private healthcare unit in Greece. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 151 professionals, including doctors, nurses, administrative staff, and other health professionals involved in this setting. The study duration was four months (January-April 2022). The questionnaire covered sociodemographic and work-related information, along with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Regarding the subdimensions of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, participants demonstrated a moderate score in Absorption and medium to high scores in Vigor and Dedication. In terms of burnout, they showed a low score in Depersonalization, a medium score in Emotional Exhaustion, and a high score in Personal Accomplishment. Those with nonpermanent employment contracts scored higher in all dimensions of burnout compared to those with permanent employment contracts. Vigor, Dedication, and Absorption correlated negatively with Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization and positively with Personal Accomplishment. Vigor negatively predicted Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment. In conclusion, healthcare professionals in the private healthcare sector in Greece demonstrate moderate work engagement and experience moderate burnout. There are differences in work engagement and burnout based on sociodemographic and work-related characteristics. Promoting work engagement (especially the dimension of Vigor) is essential to preventing and addressing burnout among healthcare professionals.

Local Recruits in Development Finance Institutions: Relocating Global North-South Divides in the International Aid Industry

This text explores locally recruited staff within a growing category of organisations in the international aid industry: Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). DFIs are banks that offer risk capital to development projects in the global South, increasingly using tax-funded aid money. Based on interviews with 13 DFI investment managers, I show how Kenyan DFI staff challenge three of the signature attributes commonly assigned to local development professionals: their ‘local’ expertise does not contrast with or preclude international expertise, but rather overlaps with it; their formal authority and career ladders are not restricted to technical or support positions – many field offices are headed by local employees; and they rarely face job insecurity given their competitive qualifications and permanent employment contracts. Meanwhile, decisions on investments are rarely taken by these field office staff but by their colleagues at headquarters, and unlike the latter, even those local recruits who head their field offices usually lack a secure place in the global organisation of their DFIs. This suggests that structural inequalities between donor and recipient country staff – integral to the development industry – have not disappeared in DFIs but rather relocated: from within the walls of field offices to the relationship between these offices and headquarters.

The effect of language training on immigrants’ integration: Does the duration of training matter?

Language training programs have become a crucial part of immigrant integration policies in many developed countries. We examine whether the intensity of training, in terms of duration, increases the likelihood of integration, particularly labor market integration. We investigate a government-sponsored language training program for immigrants in France. Using both difference-in-differences (DiD) and matching-DiD, we find that, for employed immigrants, longer duration of training significantly increases their chances of having a formal-sector job and a permanent employment contract. We also find suggestive evidence that more effective conveyance of knowledge on labor market institutions, and greater opportunities to expand one’s social network during the program, underlie the benefits of longer training hours. These effects are more pronounced among more educated immigrants, but disappear for refugees.

Perceived employability in a situation of crisis: the influence of the external context and perceived financial threat

PurposeThis study aims to analyse how people's perceived employability was affected during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study explores individuals' perceived financial threat, age and work situation as factors that shape perceived employability.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via a survey at three different times between October 2020 and May 2021, which were chosen to reflect the evolution of the pandemic. The participants (n = 124) reported participants' perceived employability and financial threat during the pandemic in Portugal. Perceived employability is a multidimensional concept, as this includes the following scales: employment protective behaviour, employment risk, job-seeking behaviour, self-control and self-learning.FindingsParticipants' overall perceived employability failed to record significant variance over the period under analysis. Nevertheless, perceived employment protective behaviour decreased the most, especially in the case of young adults (aged 18 to 24). Individuals' perceived financial threat varied according to the external context, being lower during the last moment of data collection, which corresponded to the less-socially and economically restrictive period. Employees with the most stable work condition, i.e. with a permanent employment contract, were those who felt less financially threatened when compared to other respondents. A negative relationship between perceived employability and perceived financial threat was identified during the third moment of data collection.Originality/valueThe research informs about how individuals perceive themselves in a highly unpredictable and unstable context. The longitudinal approach shows how the external context affected people's perceived employability and financial threat throughout the pandemic.

Estimating a time series of temporary employment using a combination of survey and register data

In this paper we investigate the application of macro-integration methods to combine two sources of labor force statistics: a survey and an administrative source. In particular, we aim to arrive at a single estimate of the time series of temporary employment that efficiently combines the information from both sources. By varying the specifications of the objective function and constraints, four different macro-integration models were defined. The most plausible results were of a model that treats neither of the sources as fixed and uses multiplicative adjustments. The results were compared with the previous research where a latent Markov model was used to estimate the same time series. This Markov model approach does not lead to very different estimates of the time-series of temporary (or permanent) employment contracts but results in smaller estimates of the proportion of “movers”, persons that change contract status from temporary to permanent or the other way around. The model-based approach also provides estimates of the measurement errors in each of the sources. On the other hand, the macro-integration approach is less restrictive in the sense that it does not impose a Markov property of the integrated times series of proportions and it is more easy to implement.

How do Effort, Reward, and Their Combined Effects Predict Burnout, Self-rated Health, and Work-family Conflict Among Permanent and Fixed-term Faculty?

Employment conditions and psychosocial factors have been linked to various health-related outcomes in different occupational groups, but few studies focus on the conditions in academia. This study explores the effects of effort, reward, and their interaction to explain health-related outcomes, namely burnout, self-rated health, and work-family conflict among academic faculty in Sweden. We also explore these effects among those with permanent and fixed-term employment contracts. Questionnaire data, collected online in 2016, came from 2335 employees (57% women) with a doctoral degree, working at a Swedish higher education institution. Latent moderation analysis combined with multi-group analysis was conducted. Main effects of effort were found for all health-related outcomes revealing that effort was associated with higher burnout, poorer self-rated health, and greater work-family conflict. Reward was negatively associated with burnout and self-rated health revealing that reward reduced burnout and improved self-rated health. The interaction between effort and reward was significantly associated with all outcomes among permanent contract employees, but was non-significant among those with fixed-term contracts. This may suggest that fixed-term faculty are less affected by the presence or lack of reward. Overall, the findings emphasize the importance of the psychosocial work environment to understand health-related consequences for permanent and fixed-term faculty with a doctoral degree.

Current professional standing of young medical oncologists in Spain: a nationwide survey by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology + MIR section

BackgroundThere is a lack of knowledge about the career paths and employment situation of young medical oncologists. The aim of our study was to evaluate the current professional standing of these professionals in Spain.MethodsThe Spanish Society of Medical Oncology + MIR section conducted a national online survey in May 2021 of young medical oncology consultants (< 6 years of expertise) and final year medical oncology residents.ResultsA total of 162 responses were eligible for analysis and included participants from 16 autonomous communities; 64% were women, 80% were consultants, and 20% were residents. More than half of the participants performed routine healthcare activity and only 7% research activity. Almost three quarters (73%) were subspecialized in a main area of interest and almost half of these chose this area because it was the only option available after residency. Half of the respondents (51%) considered working abroad and 81% believed the professional standing in Spain was worse than in other countries. After finishing their residency, only 22 were offered a job at their training hospital. Just 16% of participants had a permanent employment contract and 87% were concerned (score of ≥ 5 on a scale of 1–10) about their job stability. In addition, one quarter of the participants in our study showed an interest in increasing their research activity.ConclusionsThe choice of subspecialty in medical oncology may depend on job opportunities after residency rather than personal interest. The abundance of temporary contracts may have influenced the job stability concerns observed. Future mentoring strategies should engage in building a long-term career path for young medical oncologists.

Mental illness rates among employees with fixed-term versus permanent employment contracts: a Danish cohort study

PurposeIt has been hypothesized that employment in a fixed-term instead of permanent contract position is associated with an increased risk of development of mental health problems. The present study aimed at estimating rate ratios between fixed-term and permanent employees in the Danish labor force, for use of psychotropic drugs and psychiatric hospital treatment due to mood, anxiety or stress-related disorders, respectively.MethodsEmployment data were drawn from the Danish Labor Force Survey of 2001–2013, which is a part of the European Labor Force Survey. Full-time employed survey participants without mental illness at the baseline interview (N = 106,501) were followed in national health registers for up to 5 years. Poisson regressions were used to estimate rate ratios for redeemed prescriptions of psychotropic drugs and psychiatric hospital treatments due to mood, anxiety or stress-related disease. The analyses were controlled for age, gender, industrial sector, nighttime work, level of education, calendar year, disposable family income and social transfer payments within 1 year prior to the baseline interview.ResultsThe rate ratio for hospital diagnosed mood, anxiety or stress-related disorders among employees with fixed-term vs. permanent employment contracts was estimated at 1.39 (99.5% CI 1.04–1.86), while the corresponding rate ratio for redeemed prescriptions of psychotropic drugs was estimated at 1.12 (99.5% CI 1.01–1.24).ConclusionThe present study supports the hypothesis that employment in a fixed-term rather than permanent contract position is associated with an increased risk of developing mental health problems.International registered report identifier (IRRID)DERR2-10.2196/24392.

How does obtaining a permanent employment contract affect the job satisfaction of doctoral graduates inside and outside academia?

Previous research has shown that temporary employment is negatively associated with many psychological and job-related outcomes, such as well-being, health, wages, organisational commitment, and job satisfaction. Among recent doctoral graduates, the proportion of temporary contracts is particularly high. However, research on the association between contract type and job satisfaction specifically among doctoral graduates is scarce. Therefore, whether and how obtaining permanent employment affects doctoral graduates’ job satisfaction remains a notable research gap that we intend to narrow by using panel data from a recent doctoral graduation cohort and by adopting a panel research design. We examine what effect obtaining permanent employment has on doctoral graduates’ job satisfaction and whether this effect differs by labour market sector. We use panel data that are representative of the 2014 doctoral graduation cohort in Germany and their career trajectories up to five years after graduation. We apply fixed-effects regression to approximate the within-effect of obtaining a permanent employment contract on job satisfaction. The analyses indicate that obtaining permanent employment increases doctoral graduates’ job satisfaction and that this increase is not driven by time-varying confounders. We also find that doctoral graduates’ labour market sector moderates the effect: the increase in job satisfaction is highest in the academic sector and statistically significantly different from that in the private sector. Overall, this paper offers new insights into the effect of obtaining a permanent contract on the job satisfaction of recent doctoral graduates throughout their first years after graduation, when they are often employed on temporary contracts.

Descriptive Analysis of Sports Tourists in Spain

Sports tourism is a decisive factor in geographical mobility for leisure purposes. These activities entail certain acts and consequences inherent in their execution, which are worthy of study from the perspective of sustainable and reasonable tourism. Previous studies tried to show the characteristics of this type of tourist but did not provide relevant information to offer the necessary services to provide, to understand their patterns of habits, and to be able to act correctly. This paper aims to study the profile of the sports tourism consumer. Data provided by the National Institute of Statistics for the year 2019 was analyzed, taking a sample of 1496 people for statistical analysis. From these statistical analyses, key information on consumer profiles can be gleaned. Findings showed that people with Spanish nationality predominate, being mainly men. Both sexes show that they are over 40 years of age, with higher education, mostly married, cohabitation with a partner with children at home, with permanent employment contracts and certain patterns of behavior such as the use of their private car, and staying mainly in hotels or aparthotels. Therefore, from the point of view of sustainable tourism, it is vital to draw up profiles and patterns of consumers of this tourism, to evaluate and study its ecological, environmental, and social impact, as well as taking the appropriate measures to balance the balance between sports tourism and sustainability.

The importance of relational work design characteristics: A person-centred approach

Adopting a person-centred approach, we integrate the job demands-control-support model with relational work design theory to investigate employee work design profiles involving autonomy, workload, social support and prosocial characteristics (representing the combined influence of task significance and beneficiary contact). For a sample of Australian not-for-profit employees ( N = 2421), we identified four work design profiles: ‘active connected’, ‘passive disconnected’, ‘high strain disconnected’ and ‘controlled disconnected’. The most favourable profile, active connected, demonstrated the highest vigour and social worth, and was predicted by people being in higher managerial positions and having permanent employment contracts. The high strain disconnected and controlled disconnected profiles were associated with greater psychological exhaustion. Longer working hours predicted membership of the high strain disconnected profile. JEL Classification: L31, L30, L20, L29

A randomised feasibility trial of an employer-based intervention for enhancing successful return to work of cancer survivors (MiLES intervention)

BackgroundEmployers express a need for support during sickness absence and return to work (RTW) of cancer survivors. Therefore, a web-based intervention (MiLES) targeted at employers with the objective of enhancing cancer survivors’ successful RTW has been developed. This study aimed to assess feasibility of a future definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT) on the effectiveness of the MiLES intervention. Also preliminary results on the effectiveness of the MiLES intervention were obtained.MethodsA randomised feasibility trial of 6 months was undertaken with cancer survivors aged 18–63 years, diagnosed with cancer < 2 years earlier, currently in paid employment, and sick-listed < 1 year. Participants were randomised to an intervention group, with their employer receiving the MiLES intervention, or to a waiting-list control group (2:1). Feasibility of a future definitive RCT was determined on the basis of predefined criteria related to method and protocol-related uncertainties (e.g. reach, retention, appropriateness). The primary effect measure (i.e. successful RTW) and secondary effect measures (e.g. quality of working life) were assessed at baseline and 3 and 6 months thereafter.ResultsThirty-five cancer survivors were included via medical specialists (4% of the initially invited group) and open invitations, and thereafter randomised to the intervention (n = 24) or control group (n = 11). Most participants were female (97%) with breast cancer (80%) and a permanent employment contract (94%). All predefined criteria for feasibility of a future definitive RCT were achieved, except that concerning the study’s reach (90 participants). After 6 months, 92% of the intervention group and 100% of the control group returned to work (RR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.81–1.03); no difference were found with regard to secondary effect measures.ConclusionsWith the current design a future definitive RCT on the effectiveness of the MiLES intervention on successful RTW of cancer survivors is not feasible, since recruitment of survivors fell short of the predefined minimum for feasibility. There was selection bias towards survivors at low risk of adverse work outcomes, which reduced generalisability of the outcomes. An alternative study design is needed to study effectiveness of the MiLES intervention.Trial registrationThe study has been registered in the Dutch Trial Register (NL6758/NTR7627).

Die Assoziation von beruflicher Zufriedenheit mit selbstberichtetem Burnout bei Urologen und Urologinnen mit Migrationshintergrund tätig an deutschen Kliniken

Urologists with amigration background currently provide patient care in German hospitals. Study results on job satisfaction and burnout of this important professional group have not been available so far. Between August and October 2020, aquestionnaire (SurveyMonkey® with 101items) was conducted among urologists with migration background working in German hospitals regarding professional satisfaction and avalidated survey of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory), among others. The subject of this work was the association of job satisfaction with the critical thresholds of burnout in the domains of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and low personal accomplishment (PA). For this work, 68 questionnaires could be completely analyzed. Study participants were dominantly male (90%), between 30and 39years of age (69%), married (72%), and working full-time (94%). Above critical thresholds of high burnout in the EE, DP, and PA domains were 27.9% (n = 19), 35.3% (n = 24), and 73.5% (n = 50) of study participants. Asum score was formed from five of atotal of 39satisfaction items, which independently predicted the EE and DP endpoints and acombined EE and DP endpoint in well-adjusted regression models. For each individual score of the sum score (range 5-25points), the probability of acritical burnout is reduced by arelative 57% (EE), 25% (DP), and 34% (combined endpoint). In contrast, permanent employment contract, the clinic position as senior physician or chief physician, working full-time, and amarried marital status significantly reduced the critical PA domain. Several dimensions of professional satisfaction were identified, the improvement of which could contribute to adecrease in burnout among urologists with a migrant background. Future intervention studies aimed at improving job satisfaction must follow.

Benefits of employment in people with mental illness: Differential mediating effects of internalized stigma on self‐esteem

AbstractPrevious research shows a negative relationship between the stigmatization of people with mental illness and self‐esteem. Through path analysis, the present study examines the extent to which both perceived individual discrimination and perceived group discrimination predict self‐esteem and the extent to which internalized stigma and concealment mediate these relationships. We also test whether this mediation is moderated by the amount of time worked. The participants were 110 Spanish people with mental illness (67 men and 43 women) recruited from Spanish nongovernmental organizations. The sample was divided into two groups according to whether they had a permanent employment contract (which occurs when a person has worked for over 5 months). The results confirmed the mediating role of internalized stigma between individual perceived discrimination and self‐esteem in the group with permanent employment contracts. Group discrimination had an indirect positive association with self‐esteem through reduced internalized stigma in the whole sample. In sum, our results show that being employed for longer may strengthen the relationship between perceived individual discrimination and self‐esteem via internalized stigma and that perceived group discrimination may buffer the negative relationship between internalized stigma and self‐esteem in people with mental illness.

Collective resources for individual recovery: The moderating role of social climate on the relationship between job stressors and work-related rumination – A multilevel approach

In this study, we link cognitive processes of recovery to the social context in which employees experience job stressors. The aim was to examine how the social context in which employees experience work stressors is associated with individuals’ work-related thoughts in nonwork time and thus may prolong work-related mental efforts beyond working hours. We used aggregated individual ratings on social relations with colleagues and supervisors as a primer for social climate within workgroups, calculated the rate of permanent employment contracts per workgroup as a proxy for the stability of social relations within workgroups and used organizational affiliations to specify job settings in terms of routine versus creative tasks. Drawing on cross-sectional data from a psychosocial risk assessment and occupational health promotion survey of N = 1836 employees in 118 workgroups with different occupations at a German university, we tested multilevel random-coefficient models for affective rumination and problem-solving pondering. Results indicated a negative association of collegial climate with affective rumination but no association with problem-solving pondering. Supervisory climate was unrelated to both types of ruminative thinking. The stability of social relations within workgroups was negatively associated with affective rumination as well as with problem-solving pondering, whereas the job setting was only associated with problem-solving pondering. A cross-level interaction indicated a positive moderation effect of collegial climate on the relationship between job stressors and affective rumination. The findings indicate that a positive collegial climate can buffer the negative impact of low to average levels of job stressors on work-related thoughts and lead to the conclusion that the social context in which job stressors are experienced may alter individuals’ ability to mentally unwind from work.

The promise of flexicurity: Can employment and income security mitigate the negative effects of job insecurity?

Flexicurity is an integral part of the EU Employment Strategy. Flexicurity promises that it is possible to simultaneously provide organisations with greater flexibility and offer workers the necessary level of security. This is achieved by replacing job security, which stems from a permanent employment contract, with employment and income security. The aim of this article is to present an individual-level investigation of the relationships between various elements of flexicurity, examining how they affect psychological well-being and job satisfaction. A heterogeneous sample of 432 adults employed under various types of employment arrangements participated in the study. The results showed that the type of employment arrangement was the main predictor of perceived job insecurity. Moreover, perceived job insecurity mediated the relationship between employment arrangement and psychological outcomes. Finally, employment and income security failed to mitigate the negative effect of job insecurity. The promise of flexicurity is therefore called into question.

Teachers on temporary employment contracts reveal more frequent consumption of pre-prepared food

The scope of this article is to analyze the eating behavior of schoolteachers according to the type of employment contract. Interviews were conducted at 20 public state schools in Londrina, State of Paraná, between 2012 and 2013. Of the 978 teachers interviewed, 672 (68.7%) had permanent employment contracts and 306 (31.3%) were on temporary employment contracts. High frequencies of recommended eating behaviors - consumption of fruit, vegetables and/or vegetables and removing visible fat from red meat - were observed in teachers with a permanent employment contract. On the other hand, teachers with temporary employment contracts revealed a high frequency of non-recommended eating behaviors with consumption of pre-prepared foods and packaged drinks or sodas. It was highlighted that a high frequency of consumption of pre-prepared foods was statistically associated with the type of employment contract irrespective of sociodemographic, lifestyle and health status factors.

New Work Forms: How to Integrate Them in Our Social Insurances

The increase in the group of atypical workers means that their social security protection needs reviewing. How far should we go in approaching social security for self-employed workers, flex workers, crowd workers and all new employment relationships differently? This will depend on the number of elements in respect to which the atypical employment relationship differs from the established standard: the full-time employee with a permanent employment contract. What we propose is a social security system that is sufficiently flexible in its implementation to give the different groups of workers an equal place and at the same time maintain a financially sustainable social security system providing sufficient social security protection for typical and atypical workers.

The Concept and Trajectory of Active Inclusion: Lithuanian Case

The article analyses the two dimensions of Active Inclusion Strategy (the provision of adequate income and inclusive labour market) in the country (due to limitation of the scope of the article, the empirical part does not reflect the social services dimension). The analysis revealed that during the period of 2009–2017, the adequacy of the guaranteed minimum income in Lithuania was constantly decreasing, while the differences between persons with different family status were widening. The minimum needs of some population groups remain unmet: in 2018, both the average social benefit and unemployment benefit in Lithuania were below the absolute poverty line, and the at-riskof-poverty rate of the unemployed in Lithuania was as high as 62.3%. The analysis also showed that the labour market in Lithuania is not sufficiently inclusive due to relatively low and non-motivating wages. The unemployment trap rate in Lithuania remained high throughout 2009–2018; in 2017, the indicator was by 15 percentage points higher than the EU-28 average. The high unemployment trap rate in the country indicates that there is a strong incentive to remain unemployed as income from employment will only be slightly higher than the unemployment benefits. The high incidence of involuntary part-time work in Lithuania (30.6% in 2017) and the decline in the transition from temporary to permanent employment contracts since 2011 also indicate that the Lithuanian labour market is not sufficiently inclusive.

Requirements vs. Autonomy: What Works in Social Assistance?

Compliance requirements, such as active job search, in combination with monitoring and sanctions are a commonly used tool to induce effort among social assistance claimants and achieve reemployment as quickly as possible. We conduct a randomized field experiment in the Netherlands to test two alternative regulatory approaches, which both build on providing claimants with more autonomy. For our first treatment we fully exempt claimants from requirements, monitoring and sanctions. For our second treatment claimants follow a one-on-one counselling programme shaped according to their needs and wishes. We find that compared to control, exempted claimants are twice as likely to have a job with earnings above the benefit level roughly two years later. Also, we observe a shift from temporary to permanent employment contracts under exemption. For counselling we find largely temporary labor market effects. Using surveys, we find no evidence of effects on outcomes related to health and well-being, social participation and job search behavior for both treatments. We also analyze effects on subgroup level.