The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted global health. Frontline healthcare workers involved in the response to COVID-19 faced physical and psychological challenges that threatened their wellbeing and job satisfaction. The pandemic crisis, alongside pre-existing critical issues, exposed healthcare workers to constant emotional fatigue, creating an increased workload and vulnerability to stress. Maintaining such stress levels increased their levels of anxiety, irritability and loneliness. Evidence shows that the Psychological Capital (PsyCap) was a strong protective factor against these stressors. The aim of this study was to analyze the level of job satisfaction among health workers facing the COVID-19 pandemic. The possible antecedent factors to satisfaction and the role that PsyCap plays in preserving and fostering higher levels of job satisfaction were investigated. A total of 527 healthcare workers from different areas of Italy were recruited for the study. The results revealed that psychological stress factors have a considerable impact on job satisfaction. All four predictors (Stress Vulnerability, Anxiety Symptoms, Loneliness and Irritability) had the potential to decrease job satisfaction. Loneliness had a more significant effect than other factors assessed in this study. Moreover, the results showed how PsyCap could decrease the effects of psychological stressors on job satisfaction. Consistent with previous studies, our findings show that PsyCap could alleviate negative impacts in work-related circumstances.

All work sectors have been affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The perception of risk combined with the lack of safety and fear for their own safety have caused severe psychological discomfort in workers. Of all the work sectors, the most affected was certainly the healthcare sector. In hospitals, medical staff were at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, providing care in close physical proximity to patients and had a direct risk of being exposed to the virus. The main objective of the study was to investigate the perception of a psychosocial safety climate and the effect on engagement and psychological stress in a sample of 606 healthcare workers (physicians 39.6%, nurses 41.3%, healthcare assistant 19.1%), belonging to six organisations and organised into 11 working groups. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate the mediating effect of workaholism at both individual and group level. The results partially confirmed our hypotheses and the mediating effect at the individual level of working compulsively. A psychosocial safety climate in healthcare workers led to a decrease in engagement through the mediation of working compulsively. The mediating effect of working compulsively might be due to a climate that did not guarantee or preserve the psychological health and safety of healthcare workers. In this research, the most important limit concerns the number of organisations and the number of groups.

Individual work performance can be defined as individual behaviour capable of generating value and a competitive advantage for the organization. Furthermore, this construct is linked to other fundamental variables that constitute worker well-being, such as job satisfaction and engagement. Although important, a complete measure of individual work performance is still lacking in the Italian context. The objective of this work is to validate the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire (IWPQ) within the Italian organisational context. The IWPQ is a multi-dimensional construct consisting of task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behavior. To investigate the psychometric properties of the Italian IWPQ, 1053 participants were enrolled, whose ages ranged between 19 and 69 years. EFA, CFA, and MCFA analyses were performed to test the structural factors of the IWPQ. The results supported the validity of the IWPQ in the Italian context; the final structure consisted of 17 items. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor solution was invariant across both gender and occupational categories and found evidence of metric, uniqueness, scalar, and structural invariance. Convergent validity was also tested and demonstrated. Adequate studies on the importance of individual performance can be used to better understand and distinguish the different components affecting performance.

The present study aims to investigate the determinants of luxury hotel choice, while also analyzing hotels’ ability to promote their related destination. The relationship between Destination Brand Love, and the antecedent factors which determine the choices of potential tourists in the Italian territory were studied. Four hundred and seventy-eight potential tourists were recruited via an online questionnaire, which indicated their love for a non-visited destination. Structural equation modeling was used for model estimation. This study contrasts with the previous literature and shows that potential tourists formed a strong bond with a destination brand, demonstrating that Destination Brand Love was not only a post-travel bond. The findings prompted important suggestions relating to symbolic consumption and the emotional aspects of a luxury hotel experience. The predictors (Desire, Attitude Toward Act, Subjective Norms, and CBI) emerged as good antecedents for behavioral intention. Moreover, it emerged that Destination Brand Love mediates the relationship between predictors, behavioral intentions, and loyalty. This study improves the sparse literature on Destination Brand Love, and it offers a new perspective on the luxury hotel sector in the Italian territory. Incorporating potential tourists into Destination Brand Love studies could have both theoretical and practical value, and it also provides advantages for territory marketing.

In contemporary society, following the sudden changes that occur, different forms of addiction are becoming popular. Of note are the new addictions and concepts of poly-dependencies that involve common behaviors and trap people who suffering from them in a vicious circle. The main goal of this study is to investigate the possible mediating role that self-esteem had between trait anxiety and two specific new addictions: compulsive buying behavior and eating disorders. Furthermore, it was verified through a multigroup analysis that trait anxiety had a greater effect on eating disorders in a group of compulsive consumers. Three-hundred and fifty-two participants (67.9% women) were enrolled to participate in this study. The results showed that there was a direct effect of trait anxiety on eating disorders and on compulsive buying behavior; self-esteem mediated the effect of trait anxiety on eating disorders and compulsive buying behavior with specific differences; multi-group analysis showed differences in anxiety’s effect on eating disorders between compulsive and non-compulsive consumers; the group of compulsive consumers revealed a significant and stronger effect of trait anxiety on eating disorders in all domains identified. Further research is recommended to better understand the predictors of these disorders and to contribute to a more effective preventive intervention.

Existing literature reported a shared awareness about the effects of the organisational climate (OC). The promotion of a positive OC, and a supportive and fair diversity climate, affected the workforce’s behaviour, especially performance and satisfaction. Scholars stated that the way employees respond to dissatisfaction could be explained through the EVLN (Exit, Voice, Loyalty, Neglect) model. Two main aims were examined in our study: investigating the role of diversity climate in the mediation between the OC and all the dissatisfaction outcomes; and analysing the moderating effect that cynicism could have in this assumed model. Seven-hundred and twenty-one participants were enrolled to participate in this study. A structural equation model and multigroup analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Results showed that the diversity climate mediated the effect of OC on outcomes variables, both in negative and positive terms. Consistent with the literature, fairness and inclusion emerged as central in the impact that organisational policies could have on employees’ Loyalty and desire of Exit and Neglect. Moderation results indicated that high cynicism facilitated employees’ perception of exclusion and fairness towards their organisation, while low levels promoted Loyalty. Thus, the OC aimed at implementing a tolerance and sustainability culture is a core predictor variable.