Generational transition guidance: support for the future of family firms

AbstractFamily businesses are a reality common to many economic systems that provide significant employment and economic value. The transition from generation to generation is a crucial issue with regards to European employment.Values are a fundamental component of culture and the work values of the owner play important roles in the decision-making process and in the success of these types of companies.We have found that certain value orientations characterized the different generations present in the company significantly and that there are different projects for the future of the company and for professional roles in Seniors and Juniors.A promising path for guidance is that where it is possible to elaborate the emotional and professional dimensions of Seniors and Junior

New Insights for the Management of the Job Insecurity-Psychological Wellbeing Relationship

Empirical evidence considers job insecurity as a stressor that leads to poor job-related well-being. With the present study we intend to increase this knowledge by testing how and through what mechanisms job insecurity may give rise to such consequences. In particular, we examined the mediating processes underlying the relationship between job insecurity and emotional exhaustion, as an indicator of psychological well-being and core element of burnout. A total of 322 blue collar workers in Italy are used to test the hypotheses derived from our framework. The results found support for a model in which the effect of job insecurity on exhaustion was mediated by two variables, i.e. breached psychological contract and perceived distributive injustice (three-path mediational model). Employees who were insecure perceived a breach of their psychological contract, which led to distributive injustice perceptions, which in turn increased emotional exhaustion. The tested model provides a theoretical framework that may lead to new insights on the job insecurity-burnout relationship

Training and vocational value of apprenticeships for Italian women graduated in Human Sciences

Poster presentato al 30th International Congress of Psychology (ICP), Cape Town, 22-27 July 201

Retirement and work values. An analysis of work values characterizing postretirement activities.

Purpose Long life expectancy and work continuity after retirement are common phenomena in industrialized countries. Understanding the values and needs of retirees still involved in labour market or volunteer activities could improve knowledge about vocational ageing. The present work investigates the elderly people\u2019s work-related values and their factorial structure. Design/Methodology A sample of 533 active Italian retirees was administered a questionnaire comprehending the Work Values Scale (WIS). Both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to test and investigate the relationship between the work values characterizing individuals in retirement. Results Data analysis revealed that people in retirement do not conform to previously hypothesized models of work values; in particular they show a strong interest in \u201caltruism\u201d and a reduced interest in towards more material values. Nevertheless, a five-factor underlying structure can still be detected that aligns values along dimensions of \u201cindependence\u201d, \u201cindividual social interaction\u201d, \u201ccontextual social interaction\u201d, \u201cprofessional rewards\u201d, and \u201cself-determination\u201d. Limitations This work focuses just on North Italian participants Research/Practical Implications This research could stimulate studies based on work values within the life span paradigm (from full-time job to post-retirement work) Originality/Value Work values are especially studied in the work field yet few studies have applied the WIS questionnaire to active retirees. This contribution could help to understand both activities and choices made by the elderly during retirement

The impact of mindfulness on psychosomatic complaints among firefighters: The mediator role of vicarious traumatisation

Firefighters are at risk to develop post-traumatic and psychosomatic symptoms. But in order to face negative health effects they have psychological resources at their disposal, such as mindfulness. This study aims to test the a model by which intrusion predicts general dysphoria in response to mindfulness. Self-report measures were administered to Italian firefighters. Structural equation modelling shown that mindfulness did not directly influence general dysphoria: mediation analyses revealed its meaningful indirect effect via intrusion. The results suggest that mindfulness can lead to reduced symptoms of general dysphoria through low levels of intrusive thoughts

Entrepreneurial potential for Italian undergraduates

Choosing to be an entrepreneur can be an opportunity for young especially since they have difficulties in finding jobs. To detect the knowledge, the attitude, and the aptitude towards the entrepreneurial job; To understand the variables that are related with the entrepreneurial choice in young male and female. The instrument is a questionnaire (50 multiple-choices items / Cronbachs Alpha .849) that analyses: personal data; entrepreneurial network of acquaintances; image of future job; ideas about male and female entrepreneurs; information about bureaucracy and investments in creating enterprises; entrepreneurial aptitude; attitude toward entrepreneurship. 560 Italian humanities students were involved. The difficulties described in enterprise creation are: economic aspects, bureaucracy, partners/co-workers, and getting credit from banks. The image of the profile of male entrepreneurs is characterized by leadership and perseverance; while females show perseverance and a strong spirit of sacrifice. Students have little knowledge about start-up processes. Attitudes toward entrepreneurship/self-employment are characterized by the choice of the adjectives: wonderful, prestigious, active, energetic, satisfying, interesting, suitable, various and flexible. Networking is an important variable that has a positive and significant effect on the others: people with a family/social network with entrepreneurs have access to a lot of information; they have a more positive image of an entrepreneurial job; and they think about it, try and are able to be self-employed more than others. We consider this research a step that help to identify a model that integrates elements of the entrepreneurial project: gender, attitudes, aptitudes, networking, information, and social support

Proactive personality and training motivation among older workers

Purpose – This paper aims at examining the relationship between proactive personality and training motivation among older workers (aged over 55 years) in a context characterized by the growing ageing of the global population. First, the authors hypothesized that proactive personality predicts the motivation to learn among older workers and that this relationship is mediated by goal orientation. In particular, the authors hypothesized that learning goal orientation may mediate the relationship between proactive personality and learning motivation. Design/methodology/approach – The employees of an Italian bank completed an online questionnaire. AMOS 17 was used to carry out confirmatory factor analysis, and the SPSS macro was used to test the meditational model. Findings – The results confirmed both the hypotheses, demonstrating the influence of proactive personality on training motivation of older workers, as mediated by goal orientation and, in particular, by learning goal orientation. Practical implications – From an applicative point of view, this study may have implications for organizations that aim to increase the employability of older people by encouraging them to undertake more training. In particular, interventions aimed at increasing learning goal orientation could contribute in strengthening proactive personality that, in turn, may affect levels of training motivation. Originality/value – Even if proactive personality has already been found as a predictor of learning motivation, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study demonstrates that the relationship between proactive personality and training motivation is mediated by goal orientation among older workers