Decent work and work–family enrichment: role of meaning at work and work engagement

Organizational support enhances nurses' work-family enrichment: a person-context interactionist perspective

Introduction

Attaining a favorable work-life balance is a complex and ongoing challenge in the nursing profession. According to a person-context interactionist perspective and the two-factor theory, this study investigated the underlying mechanism by which organizational support impacts work-family enrichment via protective factors (i.e., decent work) and depleting factors (i.e., burnout) among Chinese nurses.

Methods

A descriptive cross-sectional research design was utilized in this study, employing an online questionnaire as the primary method for data collection. The study included 355 nurses who completed a self-reported questionnaire designed to measure variables such as organizational support, decent work, burnout, work-family enrichment, and demographic information. The collected data were analyzed using a chain mediation model in PROCESS macro (Model 6).

Results

The findings of the analysis revealed that nurses reporting higher levels of organizational support also exhibited a greater sense of work-family enrichment. Moreover, the study identified indirect effects of organizational support on work-family enrichment, mediated by decent work and burnout.

Discussion

These findings suggest that targeted interventions aimed at promoting organizational support can contribute to the overall well-being and work-life balance of nurses.

The associations of decent work with wellbeing and career capabilities: a meta-analysis

Introduction

As a global sustainable development goal, the decent work notion has been promoted all over the world at theoretical, practical, and research levels for the purpose of enhancing people's capacity to enjoy freedom, equity, security, and human dignity at work. However, conclusive findings of the impact of decent work on people's wellbeing and longer-term career development are still missing due to a lack of systematic reviews on this topic. This study aims to (a) investigate the associations of decent work with people's wellbeing and their capabilities for sustaining career development and (b) examine the differential associations across different subgroups.

Methods

Databases of literature archived on or before 4 March 2022 were searched. A total of 46 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis for the combined Pearson correlation coefficient (r) to estimate the associations of decent work with wellbeing and career capabilities, among which 30 studies (16,026 participants) were used for calculating the association between decent work and wellbeing whereas 26 studies (12,384 participants) were used for decent work and career capabilities.

Results and discussion

First, decent work demonstrates a medium association with wellbeing (r = .48, 95% CI [.45, .51]), and a medium association with career capabilities (r = .44, 95% CI [.40, .49]). Second, no significant differences with respect to the association of decent work with wellbeing and career capabilities were identified across subgroups categorized by developed/developing countries, population type, social status of participants as employee or student, participants from vulnerable/general groups, aspects of wellbeing/career capabilities, and study design. These results pose important implications for informing future research and practice to measure and promote decent work across the world.

Work as Meaning Inventory: A network analysis in Italian workers and students

The present study examined the Italian version of the Work as Meaning Inventory and Work as Meaning Inventory for University students through a network perspective. Network analysis was applied to 505 Italian workers assessed via the Work as Meaning Inventory and 214 Italian university students assessed via the Work as Meaning Inventory for University students. The comparison between the factor and network model of both Work as Meaning Inventory and Work as Meaning Inventory for University students showed a higher fit for network models. Network analysis revealed that both Work as Meaning Inventory and Work as Meaning Inventory for University students items enclosed in the Positive meaning dimension had the highest centrality; the most connected item with the overall network was the item 2 (work/study that contributes to personal growth) able to link together the three dimensions (positive meaning, meaning-making through work, greater good motivations). Findings suggested that a network approach can provide a promising realm to expand the understanding of meaning at work and meaning at study.

Informal learning, work engagement and their effects on work-family enrichment

Purpose

Drawing from work-family enrichment (WFE) model and path-goal theory of motivation, this paper proposes and tests work engagement (WE) as a mediator between informal learning and WFE.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaires measuring informal learning, WE and WFE were filled out by 290 hotel employees in India. The abovementioned linkages were tested via structural equation modeling.

Findings

The findings suggest that hotel employees' informal learning fosters their WE and WFE. The findings also reveal that WE partly mediates the impact of informal learning on WFE.

Originality/value

Most of employees' learning efforts in the workplace emerge from informal learning. However, there is still limited information whether employees' informal learning activates their WE, which is a timely and significant topic. Importantly, there is a paucity of evidence appertaining to the effect of informal learning on WFE, which is underrepresented in the current literature. Evidence about the mechanism linking informal learning to WFE is also sparse.