In our pursuit of a fulfilling and contented life, the study of well-being has emerged as a fundamental field of research. Higher levels of well-being are associated with better mental health outcomes. Individuals with better mental health might possess the personal resources necessary to set and pursue meaningful goals, maintain positive expectations, and overcome adversities. We aim to explore the positive relationship between well-being (hedonic, psychological, and social) and dispositional hope. We suggest that mental health acts as a mediator in this relationship, since improved mental health can create a conducive environment for the development and maintenance of dispositional hope. Data were collected using an e-survey through social media during the last quarter of 2022. The hypothesis of this study was tested using mediation analysis. The sample was composed of 471 participants (85.4% female) with a mean age of 47.72 ± 11.86 years. Participants were mainly workers (88.6%), followed by pensioners (6.8%), university students (2.5%), and unemployed (2.1%). Results revealed that well-being was positively and significantly associated with dispositional hope. Additionally, well-being presented a significant and positive relationship with mental health, which, in turn, also presented a significant and positive relationship with dispositional hope. Finally, using the Hayes process macro for SPSS, we found that mental health mediates the relationship between well-being and dispositional hope. Our findings reinforce the conceptual frameworks that consider well-being and mental health as key contributors to a resilient and optimistic mindset. Interventions that aim to cultivate positive affect, facilitate personal growth, and foster supportive social environments might help improve mental health outcomes.

The global acceleration of the pace of life has led to an increase in working hours, time pressure, and intensification of work tasks in organisations, with consequences for the physical and psychological health of workers. This acceleration and its consequences make it especially relevant to consider the principles of the slow movement and how they can be applied to the work context, focusing on the importance of slowing down the current pace of work and its implications for the sustainability of people and organisations. The key purpose of this study is to define the concept of slow work and understand its relationship with individual and organisational factors in order to extract the structuring dimensions, enabling its empirical study and practical application. Using grounded theory methodology, we conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with leaders of organisations from different sectors. Data analysis was performed using the MAXQDA programme. It was concluded that slow work is a way of working that respects the balance between individual rhythms and the objectives of the organisation, in favour of the sustainability of both parties, and that advocates qualitative goals, thinking time, individual recovery, purpose, and the humanisation of work. The main contribution is the conceptualisation of a construct that may be used in future studies, as well as in the development of organisational policies promoting the slow work culture.

The European Union (EU) has positioned itself as a global leader in digital regulation, with landmark frameworks such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and relevant AI Act. These initiatives reflect the EU’s ambition to balance technological innovation with consumer protection, market fairness, and digital sovereignty. Yet, a growing body of research suggests that the EU may be lagging its global competitors—namely the United States and China—when it comes to scaling high-growth digital enterprises and attracting investment in frontier technologies. This study investigates the paradox of regulation versus innovation in the EU by comparing key performance indicators such as R&D investment, venture capital availability, and digital innovation output with those of the U.S. and China. Drawing on datasets from WIPO, the OECD, IMF, and the World Bank, the paper incorporates both cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis to assess the EU’s digital trajectory. Findings suggest that while the EU excels in institutional frameworks and research output, structural barriers—such as regulatory fragmentation and underdeveloped capital markets—limit its global competitiveness. The article concludes by discussing policy implications and the need for adaptive governance to maintain Europe’s digital leadership.

In the evolving landscape of remote work, the intersection of leadership communication and employee turnover intention has become a major point of interest for organizational studies. This paper presents a quantitative investigation into how leadership communication is perceived by subordinates in terms of their leaders' effectiveness, and how these perceptions statistically relate to the subordinates' intentions to leave the organization. Judy and d'Amico (1997) predicted that remote work would become a reality in the following decades, with more qualified jobs demanding brains over muscles and physical presence in a specific location becoming irrelevant. Neufeld et al. (2010) explored the impact of leadership perception, also associated with perceived effectiveness, on the communication between managers and subordinates in the remote work environment. The objective of this study was to understand how leadership communication is perceived by employees in terms of direct leaders' effectiveness and how these two factors are statistically related to turnover intention. Turnover intention refers to the individual and voluntary decision to leave an organization (Anwar, 2016). Adopting a quantitative methodology, the study sought to contribute to both the scholarly discourse and practical understanding of remote work practices. In Aprial 2022, a diverse sample of 203 valid respondents was surveyed, inclusive of subordinates across 14 countries and leaders hailing from 30 nationalities. Results revealed a very strong positive correlation (Spearman’s rho = 0.812) between leadership communication and its perceived effectiveness, suggesting that subordinates who regard communication highly also perceive higher leadership effectiveness. However, there's a significant yet weak negative correlation between leadership communication and turnover intentions (Spearman’s rho = -0.343), and similarly, between perceived leadership effectiveness and turnover intentions (Spearman’s rho = -0.299). The study did not find significant evidence of perceived leadership effectiveness mediating the relationship between communication and turnover intentions in remote settings, with a minor indirect effect (Spearman’s rho = -0.0271; p-value = 0.64), comprising about 14% of the total communicative effect on turnover intention. These findings contribute to the literature on remote work dynamics, stressing the importance of effective leadership communication for employee retention. Despite certain study limitations, like sample size and context specificity, the insights provided are valuable for organizational leadership and academia, underscoring communication's vital role in remote workforce management.