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The purpose of this study is to explore the human resource development (HRD) implications of perceived higher education (HEd) leadership effectiveness on academics’ quality of worklife (QWL) in the context of COVID-19. Drawing on conservation of resource theory, this study explains the mediating role of resource adequacy (RA); then this study investigates the moderating role of COVID-19-related risk perception (CRP) on the relationship between university leadership (UL) and both academics’ turnover intention (TI) and academics’ QWL.

This study used a quantitative research exploiting the pandemic experiences and perceptions survey, PEPS, to collect data from 300 academic staff in private and public HEd institutions in Lebanon. The analyses include the test of the mediating effect of RA as well as the moderated mediation effect of CRP through regressions, PROCESS and bootstrapping.

The findings suggest that by enhancing RA, effective UL positively influences the QWL and mitigate the TI in Lebanese HEd. Furthermore, this study found that CRP weakens the direct relationship of UL on RA and the indirect effect of UL on the QWL and TI via RA such that the relationships are weakened when COVID-19 risk perception was high rather than low.

The results imply that HEd HRD professionals could think of effective human resource interventions of how to maintain good working environment where academics are facilitated to acquire high level of resources which lead to improving their QWL and mitigating the negative outcome (TIs).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research has been made to investigate the moderated mediation model of the “pandemic experience and leadership perceptions” (PEPS) in the HEd sector in Lebanon, addressing academics’ experiences in business schools. This study is unique because it was conducted during the utmost pandemic outbreak (mid academic year 2021) collecting data in real time. This research contributes to the HRD literature by showing empirical evidence of the relationships in the context of Lebanese HEd institutions.

Using conservation of resources (CoR) theory, this study investigates the role of emotional energy as a mediating mechanism in the relationship between workplace ostracism and employees' service-oriented behaviour, as well as the moderating result of workload on the relationship between emotional energy and service-oriented behaviour.

The opinions of 554 customer-contact employees working in Bangladesh are collected via convenience sampling. Partial least squares structural equation modelling is performed to test the model.

Workplace ostracism and emotional energy are negatively related. Emotional energy is positively associated with service-oriented behaviour and mediates the link between ostracism and service-oriented behaviour. Workload significantly and negatively moderates the association between emotional energy and service-oriented behaviour.

Hoteliers need to improve employees' emotional energy, distribute workload appropriately and fairly and implement effective strategies to minimise workplace ostracism.

The findings contribute to the CoR theory by explaining the mediating role of emotional energy and moderating role of workload in the Bangladeshi hospitality industry.

The cultural norm of compelling employees to work beyond the standard measure as a result of internal pressure from organisations is gaining popularity in the business environment today. This research is a pointer to a nuanced and dynamic understanding of workaholism, and this study aims to investigate factors that constitute an individual as a workaholic in the banking industry in Nigeria. This study aims to examine the influence of workaholism on the quality of work-life (QWL) of the workforce and how it led pockets of the workforce to migrate to an international workspace.

To capture a good understanding of what describes an individual as a workaholic, and what influences the QWL among the workforce in the banking environment, this study utilised a longitudinal research design to survey bankers in corporate organisations in Nigeria. The study administered a battery of adapted scales to measure latent constructs of dimensions of workaholism and QWL on a random simple probability technique. The study surveyed 425 professional bankers in Nigeria's banking workspace. A structural equation model was used to analyse the data obtained from the banking workforce to establish the relationship that exists between the dimensions of workaholism and QWL.

The outcome of this study indicated an insightful one. The results of the study illustrated that long hours of work, workload, work pressure, financial challenges as well and the pursuit of career growth are determinants of workaholism in banking corporate business. The study illustrated that all the predictors of workaholism equally affect the QWL of the employees in Nigeria's banking industry.

The originality of this study is captured in the dynamics of the concept of workaholism which portends negative outcomes in the Nigerian business environment given the nature of banking business in Nigeria. The study elucidates that workaholism is not work engagement in Nigeria but the attitude of compulsion from the management of the organisations.

The purpose of this study is to explore the determinants of needle stick injuries (NSIs) suffering in terms of occupational health and safety (OHS) coverage critically for health-care workers’ rights in Pakistan.

This is a qualitative study involving the designing of a questionnaire followed by the World Health Organization’s NSI prevention assessment tool and nationally published reports covering health-care workers’ OHS rights protection. A total of 17 public and private hospitals were surveyed with a two-stage sampling method. Descriptive and inferential statistics (one-way analysis of variance with multiple comparison tests) were applied and significant results were discussed (p = 0.05 & p = 0.01). The results were discussed critically in the context of the OHS rights of health-care workers.

Analysis revealed the following significant relationships: job type and safety behavior; age group of health-care workers and safety management; injection usage per day and safety behavior; past year’s needle sticks injuries cases with safety behavior and occupational exposure; work shift and work experience with safety knowledge, safety awareness and work experience with safety management. It was also found there is no specific OHS law in the country for health-care workers.

This study is limited in terms of sampling size and quantification of NSI burden among health-care workers.

Improved OHS management practices among health-care workers can control NSIs that ultimately ensure their workplace OHS rights. Health-care workers need OHS coverage in terms of awareness about potential workplace hazards and job training accordingly. Findings from extensive studies of a similar kind can give useful policy directions for workplace health management in health-care setup at the national level.

This study highlights the importance of OHS coverage for health-care workers in hospitals. It reports different determinants of NSIs suffering causing health-care worker’s rights violations at the workplace in Pakistan.

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of the collaborative research supervision approach (CRSA) to learning projects in higher education, using socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation (SECI) dimensions. The study, therefore, examined how these dimensions assisted learners in Botswana's higher education to generate research knowledge.

The study used a mixed-method research approach and exploratory research design. Purposive sampling was used to examine how the CRSA dimensions were employed in a classroom of 111 higher education learners who were carrying out research projects. Out of this population, 97 responded to a questionnaire, and 14 learners participated in a face-to-face interview. One hundred and eleven research documents produced by learners were analysed, and 42 observations were conducted.

The study found that the four dimensions of CRSA assist greatly in the development of knowledge of the research processes. This study confirms that the CRSA in higher education institutions has the potential to enhance research knowledge and skills, build learners' confidence in research, engage in learning, reduce workload, reduce the frustration of doing research and help learners complete their work in time. Learners with weak research skills easily catch up with their average-performing peers.

It is important to recognise the methodological limitations of this study. The study used a mixed method and a single case. As a result, the results' significance cannot be justified. Additionally, the context and methodology restrict the findings' generalisability. There is obviously potential for additional cases since this article only offers a preliminary analysis of the single case issue. Consequently, the study recommends that yet another study could be conducted to check if the approach could be used for graduate learners. Another study could also be conducted to check if the approach could be used as a supervisory approach that can provide prospects for knowledge sharing and creating learning in an organisation.

The study discovered that when properly implemented, CRSA arrangement enhances research knowledge development and reduces the workload for both the supervisor and the student. When choosing this desired research supervision approach, either in terms of policy or in actual practice, it is important to take the potential for information exchange into account. This might result in improved research supervision efficacy in higher education and hence the production of better quality graduate learning projects.

This study recommends the use of the CRSA in higher education, so as to help learners with weak research skills, to collaboratively work with learners with high and average research skills. It also improves the quality of supervisor–learner learning relationship.

The research results were given to participants and respondents for approval to find out if what was written was what they said. The research results were also given to colleagues to check whether the analysis is balanced and fair and to check biases and exaggerations.

Healthcare systems receive criticism from both providers and recipients. The diversity in these systems throughout the world makes innovation and change difficult. However, a structured analysis of healthcare systems is crucial to identify areas for improvement and to share best practices for the betterment of healthcare throughout the world.

The paper uses organizational theory as an unbiased tool for evaluating healthcare systems. This theory analyses healthcare systems across five dimensions: environment, culture, social structure, physical structure and technology. This analysis provides an in-depth understanding of the organization's surroundings, formation and function. It offers a lens through which healthcare systems can be envisioned and establishes a vocabulary for communication.

Organizational theory presents a multifaceted approach to initiate assessments aiming to enhance existing healthcare systems and customize them to serve all stakeholders within the focused ecosystem. It alters the dynamics of criticism and presents an opportunity to sustainably address unforeseen healthcare challenges in the future. As the author proceeds to understand healthcare organizations through the perspective of organizational theory, the author also uncovers subtle yet crucial issues such as resource dependence, cultural clashes, organizational silence, bureaucracy, hierarchy, ethics, values, engagement and burnout.

This paper was crafted from a collaborative paper for the final of a master's degree. A collaboration was conceptualized using organisation theory as the tool to align processes and achieve successful outcome. The narrative of the collaboration has been edited and paper presented highlighting the importance of the tool of organisation theory in healthcare systems.

This study aims to analyse the influence of digitalisation on the management control function of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In particular, it aims to illuminate how digitalisation influences management control elements, organisation and roles/competencies and to identify obstacles to digitalisation of management control in SMEs and measures taken to overcome them.

The study is based on guideline-supported expert interviews conducted with 14 financial managers from SMEs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

This study reveals the influence of digitalisation on management control elements, organisation, and roles/competencies. The automation and standardisation of management control processes result in new elements for management control, such as strategic support for management. In addition, the increased availability and transparency of data enable the use of instruments within a company that allow for quick analyses of the company's development. Digitalisation leads to the integration of management control into the corporate network and, thus, a change in the organisation of management control. It also triggers the expansion of management control competencies, especially IT competencies. A shortage of internal digitalisation resources, unclear corporate roadmaps, and a lack of managerial experience loom as central challenges for digitalising the management control function. Measures derived from the interviews can help SMEs overcome the obstacles to the digitalisation of management control.

This research is the first interview-based study of the impact of digitalisation on management control in SMEs, potential obstacles to that digitalisation, and measures to overcome those obstacles. Thus, it contributes to the emerging debate on factors that may explain why SMEs lag in terms of the digitalisation of their internal processes.

This study explored the challenges academics faced with work structures during the COVID-19 pandemic and their implications for their work–life balance (WLB).

Relying on the interpretative paradigm and the qualitative research method, the dataset consists of semi-structured interviews with 43 academics in the United Kingdom.

This study’s findings indicate that academics in the UK experience issues around increased boundary permeability between work and nonwork domains and role overlap, which engender the transfer of negative rather than positive spillover experiences and exacerbate negative consequences to the well-being of academics. ICTs also reinforced gendered work-family boundaries and generated more negative work–life/family spillover for women than for men.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) need to address ICT-related health issues through better work designs and HR initiatives that respond to the health requirements of academics. Policymakers should be futuristic and ensure comprehensive work–life policies for academics, which are necessary for humanising overall organisational well-being.

Although COVID-19 challenges are common to all workers, the experiences and effects on specific workers (in this case, UK academics) within specific national jurisdictions play out differentially, and they are often experienced with different levels of depth and intensity.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the usage of digital technologies (DTs) in improving the mental health of workers on construction sites.

A mixed research approach was used in the study, which comprised a questionnaire survey and two phases of semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling was used to determine the interviewees and respondents of the questionnaire survey. Weighted mean rating (WMR) and manual content analysis were used to rank and evaluate the collected data.

The findings of this study revealed bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, work-related stress and depression as the six most significant mental disorders (MDs) among the construction workforce and 30 causes for them. Moreover, 27 symptoms were related to the six most significant MDs, and sweating was the most significant symptom among them. Despite that, 16 DTs were found to be suitable in mitigating the causes for the most significant MDs.

There are numerous studies conducted on the application of DTs to construction operations. However, insufficient studies have been conducted focusing on the application of DTs in improving the mental health of workers at construction sites. This study can thus influence the use of DTs for tackling the common causes for MDs by bringing a new paradigm to the construction industry.

Public safety (communicators; e.g. 9-1-1, police, fire and ambulance call-takers and dispatchers), like many other public safety personnel (e.g. police, paramedics), (re)suffer operational stress injuries (OSIs) that are too often hidden and at a prevalence higher than the general population. Unfortunately, there are very little data for OSI rates in Canadian communicators. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the only pan-Canadian study focusing on organizational culture, and its potential influence on OSIs, within the communicator context.

The authors conducted a 179-item online survey of Canadian communicators comprising 17 validated screenings for occupational stress injuries and symptoms and four open-ended questions relating to their agency's organizational culture. The authors thematically analysed participants' open-ended responses and their screening scores.

A semi-grounded thematic approach revealed that managers and supervisors were significant contributors to negative perceptions (n = 165) of organizational culture, potentially resulting in or worsening existing OSIs. Specifically, leadership was viewed as ineffective, inconsistent, unsupportive, abusive and toxic, with limited understanding of communicator roles. Communicators described feeling devalued, particularly when leaders fail to recognize communicator OSIs, which can perpetuate stigma. Conversely, positive leaders (n = 24) were described as supportive, communicative and encouraging.

The findings suggest that while leadership behaviours are a key factor in employee well-being, it varies considerably across agencies, impacting treatment-seeking behaviours. The authors’ new understandings of leaders' roles in OSIs may help reduce the frequency and severity of communicator OSIs, helping ensure that emergency services are delivered to Canadians.