The COVID-19 emergency has significantly transformed the working environment and job demands. Providing care was emotionally difficult for healthcare workers. Uncertainty, stigmatisation, and potentially exposing their families to infection were prominent themes for healthcare workers (HCWs) during the crisis, which first broke out in China at the end of 2019, and then in Italy in early 2020. This study examined the effects of stigma, job demands, and self-esteem, and the consequences of working as a “frontline care provider” with patients infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19). A correlational design study involved 260 healthcare workers (HCWs) working in a large hospital in southern Italy. The following questionnaires were administered: (1) the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), for assessing psychological and physical demands; (2) the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL) to measure the quality individuals feel in relation to their work as “frontline care providers”, through three dimensions: compassion fatigue (CF), burnout (BO), and compassion satisfaction (CS); (3) the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, for evaluating individual self-esteem; (4) a self-administered multiple-choice questionnaire developed by See et al. about attitudes of discrimination, acceptance, and fear towards HCWs exposed to COVID-19. The findings suggest that stigma has a high impact on workers’ outcomes. Stigma may influence worker compliance and can guide management communication strategies relating to pandemic risk for HCWs.

Work-related stress can induce a break in homeostasis by placing demands on the body that are met by the activation of two different systems, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Night-shift work alters the body’s exposure to the natural light–dark schedule and disrupts circadian (daily) rhythms. The greatest effect of night-shift work is the disruption of circadian rhythms. The impact that these disruptions may have on the pathogenesis of many diseases, including cancer, is unknown. This study aims to discover the relationship among three different job activities of security guards and their stress-related responses by evaluating salivary cortisol levels and blood pressure. Methods: Ninety security guards, including night-time workers and night-time and daily-shift workers, were recruited for this study. Each security guard provided two saliva samples before and after three scheduled time points: (i) at 22:00, (ii) at 06:30, and (iii) at 14:00. Results: The results of the study showed a significant alteration in cortisol levels. Night-time shift cortisol levels significantly increased before and after the work shifts. A physiological prevalence of the vagal tone on the cardiocirculatory activity was found during night-shift work. Conclusions: This study indicates that cortisol levels and blood pressure are sensitive markers of biological responses to severe work stress. Shift-change consequences may occur at the end of the night shift when there is a significant increase in the cortisol level and a significant variation in cardiovascular parameters.

Research in organizational psychology emphasizes the idea that wellbeing and productivity outcomes are influenced both by individual differences (traits, values) and work environment characteristics (relationships, climate). Evidence on the effectiveness of psychological interventions for stress is currently unclear. To date, research on psychological flexibility in workplaces has not been systematically conducted in Italy. We investigated its relevance in the context of the Italian health care system. In this study, the relationship between sources of stress at work and its outcomes in terms of psychological and physical health are explored. Furthermore, the moderating effect of psychological flexibility and mindfulness on psychological and physical health are investigated. Four hundred and eleven health workers from a Sicilian hospital, with different job positions were recruited, of which 42.7% were males (N = 169) and 57.3% were females (N = 227). Their ages ranged between 25 and 72 years (M = 49.16; SD = 8.65). Participants answered a questionnaire that assessed psychological flexibility, mindfulness, sources of stress at work and health benefits. In a bivariate analysis, managerial factors (MF), relationships, and intrinsic factors are partially negatively related to psychological and physical health; whereas, multivariate analyses show that psychological flexibility does not moderate the relationship between psychological and physical health. Instead, mindfulness is strongly and consistently correlated to psychological and physical health. Employees who show psychological flexibility, are more likely to show greater openness to the acceptance of setbacks in the working environment and to carry on their valued living and working path. This seems to correlate positively on individual wellbeing. Data show that a flexible and mindful attitude toward difficult psychological events aids responsiveness to changes and the ability to work more effectively.

As the literature highlights, many health behavior theories try to explain both social and psychological variables influencing an individual’s health behavior. This study integrates insights relative to the antecedents of getting vaccinated from health behavior theories, particularly including the health belief model (HBM), the theory of planned behavior (TPB), and the different socio-demographic factors. Furthermore, we considered the possible mechanism of impact of distrust in science on individuals’ hesitance and resistance to taking up SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in subjects living in Italy. A correlational study of 1095 subjects enrolled when the national vaccination campaign for the third dose was launched. A questionnaire was used to measure: Italian Risk Perception; subjective norm; trust in science, trust in the vaccine; fear of COVID-19; fear of the vaccine; perceived knowledge about SARS-CoV-2; booster vaccination intention. Principal results show that: (i) the positive relationship provided by HBM theory between perceptions of SARS-CoV-2 risk (vulnerability and severity) and intention to have the vaccine, through fear of COVID-19; (ii) the positive relationship between subjective norms and both trust in science and vaccination intention; (iii) that trust in science plays a crucial role in predicting vaccination intention. Finally, the results provided indications about a positive relationship between subjective norms and fear of COVID-19, and a full mediation role of trust in science in the relationships between determinants of both TPA and HBM, fear of COVID-19, and vaccination intention. In conclusion, an individual’s intention (not) to get vaccinated requires the consideration of a plethora of socio-psychological factors. However, overall, trust in science appears to be a key determinant of vaccination intention. Additional strategies promoting healthy behavior are needed.

Background: Gender beliefs represent cultural schemas for interpreting or making sense of the social and employment world, as they can influence attitudes, career aspirations, and the vocational decision process of young people, especially the adolescence. Materials and methods: This study examined the influence of gender stereotypes on the choice of career in adolescents. A group of 120 students were recruited to complete an ad hoc questionnaire, Scale of Perceived Occupational Self-Efficacy, and Semantic Differentials. The objectives of the study were to analyze the relationship between occupational self-efficacy and professional preference; to measure the influence of independent variables, such as age and gender, on the representation that students have of themselves and of the profession; and to identify the predictor variables of self-efficacy in the vocational decision. Results: Data showed that the distance between professional identity and social identity increases with age. Results underline that males seem to perceive themselves more self-efficient in military, scientific–technological, and agrarian professions than females. Furthermore, the type of job performed by parents appears to be a self-efficacy predictor variable in the choice of professions in the services area. Conclusion: Individuals’ perceived occupational self-efficacy, gender, age, and parents’ profession have implications for exploratory behavior. The conditions that make gender differences salient are more likely to favor self-representations of the career and consistent assessments with these representations.

Background: The phases of career building today bring out a more complex process than in previous decades. Starting from the literature review, the university-to-work transition is considered a very important step in the future career of the graduates, and it involves some psychological resources and requires specific abilities. Methods: Research has examined the psychological resources that students at the end of a degree course can use in the university-to-work transition. The aim of the study is to verify the relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity, and the mediational role of readiness and confidence on this relationship. A group of 438 students were assigned to complete a questionnaire in order to examine the relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity and the role of core components of psychological resources: readiness and confidence as mediator. Results: The results indicated both a direct relationship between academic satisfaction and career identity and a mediated relationship with the influence of readiness and confidence for a transition. Adding to our results, we assert that academic satisfaction has a directed effect on confidence during the transition and is a predictor of career identity, both directly and by the mediation of readiness in career transitions. Conclusion: Career identity has implication for exploratory behavior, thus increasing the motivation and mindfulness that create a virtuous circle, influencing the development of knowledge and skills, which are the base of proactivity and confidence in construction of one’s future career.