This special issue provides new perspectives into the future of work and it focuses on how
innovation, entrepreneurship, and the evolution of digital robotics could influence health and
productivity of individuals and enterprises. The world of work is changing rapidly, especially
in terms of increasing digitalization and robotic innovation. Such a scenario may represent
an opportunity for workers who adapt themselves, but also a potential source of stress and
poor well-being for those subjects less inclined to change

Ariza Montes, José Antonio

Di Fabio, Annamaria

Giorgi, Gabriele

Mucci, Nicola

English

Brújula - Repositorio Institucional

EDITORIALpublished: 24 September 2019doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02193Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 1 September 2019 | Volume 10 | Article 2193Edited and reviewed by:Richard Eleftherios Boyatzis,Case Western Reserve University,United States*Correspondence:Nicola Muccinicola.mucci@unifi.itSpecialty section:This article was submitted toOrganizational Psychology,a section of the journalFrontiers in PsychologyReceived: 02 September 2019Accepted: 12 September 2019Published: 24 September 2019Citation:Giorgi G, Mucci N, Di Fabio A andAriza-Montes A (2019) Editorial: NewProfessionalism and the Future ofWork: Interdisciplinary Perspectiveson Transformations inBusiness-Health Relationships.Front. Psychol. 10:2193.doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02193Editorial: New Professionalism andthe Future of Work: InterdisciplinaryPerspectives on Transformations inBusiness-Health RelationshipsGabriele Giorgi 1, Nicola Mucci 2*, Annamaria Di Fabio 3 and Antonio Ariza-Montes 41Department of Human Science, European University, Rome, Italy, 2Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine,University of Florence, Florence, Italy, 3Department of Education, Languages, Intercultures, Literatures and Psychology -Psychology Section, University of Florence, Florence, Italy, 4Department of Business Management, Universidad LoyolaAndalucía, Seville, SpainKeywords: future work skills, intrapreneurship, innovation, occupational health, businessEditorial on the Research TopicNew Professionalism and the Future of Work: Interdisciplinary Perspectives onTransformations in Business-Health RelationshipsINTRODUCTIONThis special issue provides new perspectives into the future of work and it focuses on howinnovation, entrepreneurship, and the evolution of digital robotics could influence health andproductivity of individuals and enterprises. The world of work is changing rapidly, especiallyin terms of increasing digitalization and robotic innovation. Such a scenario may representan opportunity for workers who adapt themselves, but also a potential source of stress andpoor well-being for those subjects less inclined to change (e.g., Salanova and Llorens, 2013;Berg-Beckhoff et al., 2017; Richardson, 2017; Leso et al., 2018).The concept of the classic workplace is also deeply changing, due to the possibility of workinganytime and everywhere using portable devices connected to the Internet. All these aspects have ledto the development of new skills and the growth of opportunities for digital workers However, notall of the workforce is ready to face these changes. For these reasons, the complex relationshipsbetween a changing way of working and the consequent reactions of workers and companies,are worthy to be investigated with an empirical approach. Several scientific reports are aimed atdeepening the understanding of these issues and suggesting proactive strategies to manage thecomplex and newsworthy challenges of the “future of work.”The majority of the 11 manuscripts published in this special issue are empirical contributions,coming from different geographical regions, such as Eastern-Europe, South Europe, Africa, andIndia, and involving multiple research areas (organizational psychology, occupational medicine,management, technology, social sciences). These research areas offer a variety of perspectives onthe consequences of an imbalance between the new job demands related to the future work and thecoping strategies devised by workers. Moreover, these research areas contribute to the promotionof an interdisciplinary approach aimed at improving workers’ general well-being, self-efficacy,satisfaction, and productivity.The manuscripts, when considered together, bring out three relevant aspects. First,new technologies and digitalization have a significant impact on workers’ performanceand well-being. By virtue of the fact that both new skills and a great adaptability arerequired, not everyone is able to follow this epochal progress. Second, academic educationand vocational trainings seem to be crucial to provide workers with high self-perceivedGiorgi et al. Transformations in Business-Health Relationshipsemployability, self-efficacy, and satisfaction. These trainingprograms should be provided to both new generation andelderly workers, who are often less prone to change. Third,the existence of a good work climate, the promotion of asupportive work environment and the development of strongsocial relationships, can moderate the side effects of the futurework on the overall workforce.OVERVIEW OF ARTICLES IN THISRESEARCH TOPICThe 11 manuscripts published in the special issue investigatedand discussed several crucial aspects of the future world of work.Following the setting of this Research Topic, threemanuscripts treat the consequences of new ways of organizingwork, such as time-spatial flexibility, work-related smartphoneuse, and technological changes.The use of portable devices constantly connected to theInternet is deeply changing the way work is performed, withputative effects on psychological well-being, work organizationand performance. The article of Van Laethem et al., througha diary study conducted in a sample of 115 employees,investigated daily smartphone use after and during workand its association with psychological detachment and workengagement. Results suggest that an intensive smartphoneuse after work hampers employees’ psychological detachment.Conversely, intensive smartphone use during work underminestheir work engagement, but only when employees experiencehigh workplace telepressure as well.The study conducted byWessels et al. considers the theoreticalmodel of time-spatial job crafting, discussing its componentsand antecedents and explaining how time-spatial job craftingis related to positive work outcomes through a time/spatial-demands fit. Starting from some individual and organizationalantecedents through the time-spatial job crafting, it could bepossible to develop some positive outcomes at an individualand organizational level, such as work engagement, performanceand work-life balance, personal job fit, and organizationalcommitment. The time-spatial flexibility seems to contribute toa better organization of work and social life, also influencingperformance and well-being.The paper by Ghislieri et al., through a short review, discussedtwo important open issues of the industry 4.0. In detail,they focused primarily on the relationship between workersand technological changes in the era of intense expansion ofautomation in the workplace, and how this can affect workers’well-being, employment and equality. Secondly, they pointedout how job transformation could influence knowledge andskills requirements in the work of the future. An interestingaspect is the crucial role of trainers, educators, and policymakersin preventing skill obsolescence and fostering the continuousdevelopment and update of the expertise required by the futureof work.Three articles are focused on the relationship betweenpersonal resources and individual outcomes.In the first article, Dražić et al. investigated the relationshipamong self-perceived employability, ambition and locus ofcontrol, which is intended as where a person situates thecausation of various life events. The study was conducted in asample of undergraduate psychology students. The results showthat career ambition plays a mediating role in the relationshipbetween the locus of control and employability. Furthermore,students perceived personal capabilities and ambition as internalstrengths and lack of ambition as a major internal weakness. Inother terms, developing and sustaining career ambition couldlead to students’ perception of better employability, especiallyin some regions with high unemployment rates, and where theglobal economic crisis has been more intense.In the second article, Atitsogbe et al. investigated, througha multi-group path analysis, the relationship between personalresources (in terms of career adaptability and general self-efficacy) and career outcomes (in terms of self-perceivedemployability and entrepreneurial intentions) in an overallsample of 550 subjects of a West African country. The resultsshowed that career adaptability and general self-efficacy werepositively related to self-perceived employability, while onlygeneral self-efficacy was related to entrepreneurial intentions.By engaging an activation of resources, career adaptabilityseems to be particularly relevant for employability. Consideringthe high unemployment rates in the region where the studywas conducted, these results might provide insights into theoccupational integration challenges in such contexts.In the third article, Pedrazza et al. investigated job satisfactionand perceived self-efficacy within the context of residentialchild-care. They found that attachment style and length ofservice are antecedents of both work-related self-efficacy and jobsatisfaction. Moreover, the relational issues seem to play a role inshaping the educators’ satisfaction at work.Five studies explored the possible consequences of workclimate on workers’ outcomes.The main objective of the study performed by Beneveneet al. was to investigate how job satisfaction could mediate therelationship between physical and mental health, and happinessand self-esteem in a sample of 300 Indian teachers. Results ofthe multiple linear regression showed that job satisfaction fullymediates between both happiness and self-esteem, and health.These results suggest the importance of developing policies topromote job satisfaction among teachers, and the need to deepenthe mechanisms of job dissatisfaction.On the other hand, as reported in the study by Di Marcoet al., a work climate characterized by a discriminatoryenvironment can affect workers well-being, and this effectis partially mediated by job autonomy. Experiencing adiscriminatory work environment can undermine workers’psychological well-being. Some job resources, such as jobautonomy and social support, might reduce its negativeeffects. Anyhow, resources based interventions need tobe tailored to workers’ needs in order to obtain thebest results.The aim of the study conducted by Boštjančič et al. was toinvestigate the relationship between corporate volunteeringprograms and job characteristics, connected with workengagement. The results indicate that employees whoseemployers have implemented volunteering programs aremore engaged and report higher levels of both autonomyFrontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 2 September 2019 | Volume 10 | Article 2193Giorgi et al. Transformations in Business-Health Relationshipsand support from their co-workers and supervisors. As wellas being more social responsible, companies that promotecorporate volunteering climate could improve engagement andperformance of workers.Managing human resources to increase productivity andworkers’ outcomes is a main challenge for companies thatwant to excel in an increasingly competitive world of work.As reported in the article by Boštjančič and Slana, companiesmay use various approaches and activities to attract and developtalented employees in the so-called “war for talent.” With anexploratory approach and using the method of semi-structuredinterviews, the Authors collected information about 21 Slovenianprofessionals. They found that the majority of enrolled resourcesare annually evaluated in terms of achieved goals and providedperformances. On average 7% of employees are recognized astalented, and the largest number of companies try to attracttalented employees through various activities and the planneddevelopment of the employer’s brand. Moreover, the majorityof companies are transparent in their communications withtalented employees, but the biggest challenge remains how toattract talented employees and how to position the organizationas a desirable employer.The study conducted by Van der Heijde et al. investigated therole of age in the relationship between perceptions of learningclimate and self-rated and supervisor-rated employabilityin seven European countries (Germany, Greece, Italy, theNetherlands, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom).The results confirmed that the relationship between age andperceptions of learning climate is negative, the model alsoshowed a strong positive relationship between learning climateand self-rated and supervisor-rated employability. Furthermore,perceptions of learning climate appeared important foremployability irrespective of life or career stage This findingsuggests the need to improve lifelong employability by means ofa supportive and learning climate.CONCLUSIONSOverall, the manuscripts included in this special issue reportedfindings from a cumulative sample of over 3,200 workers,and perspectives from 50 authors. This scenario suggestthat the continuous transformations in the workplacerepresent a big challenge for both companies and workers.In particular, companies have a strong need to develop newstrategies to improve both well-being and performance ofworkers, and to sustain employability of new generationof workers. On the other hand, elderly workers, who oftenhave more difficulty managing new technologies, should besupported both with a specific learning climate and tailoredtraining courses.We believe that the changes in the world of work should bemanaged by offering adequate organizational strategies aimed toimprove both satisfaction and well-being of workers, and to guidecompanies in the forthcoming “fourth industrial revolution.”Considering the close link between human and organizationalresources, simultaneously affected by the same worktransformations, we would like to mention the motto of theBusiness@Health Laboratory of the European Universityof Rome (www.uerbusinesshealth.com): “business doesn’texist without workers’ health and workers’ health is business.”Our hope is that the manuscripts contained in this specialissue can guide stakeholders in the improvement oforganizational practices for all the professionals involvedin this epochal changes, in the promotion of workers’well-being through a supportive work environment, in thedesign of increasingly effective training programs, and inthe development of inclusive social and economic policies(e.g., Aronsson et al., 2017; Paganelli et al., 2018).AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSGG, NM, AD, and AA-M equally contributed to all the followingissues of the Editorial: conception of the work, acquisition,analysis, or interpretation of data from the contributions,drafting the work and critically revising it, final approval of theversion to be published, agreement to be accountable for allaspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to theaccuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriatelyinvestigated and resolved.REFERENCESAronsson, G., Theorell, T., Grape, T., Hammarström, A., Hogstedt, C.,Marteinsdottir, I., et al. (2017). A systematic review including meta-analysisof work environment and burnout symptoms. BMC Public Health 17:264.doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4153-7Berg-Beckhoff, G., Nielsen, G., and Ladekjær Larsen, E. (2017). Use of informationcommunication technology and stress, burnout, and mental health in older,middle-aged, and younger workers - results from a systematic review. Int. J.Occup. Environ. Health 23, 160–171. doi: 10.1080/10773525.2018.1436015Leso V., Fontana L., and Iavicoli I. (2018). The occupational healthand safety dimension of Industry 4.0. Med. Lav. 29, 327–338.doi: 10.23749/mdl.v110i5.7282Paganelli, M., Madeo, E., Nabeel, I., Lecca, L.I., Pilia, I., Pili, S., et al. (2018).Education and training in global occupational health and safety: a perspectiveon new pathways to sustainable development. Ann. Glob. Health 84, 538–540.doi: 10.29024/AOGH.2309Richardson, K. M. (2017). Managing employee stress and wellness in the newmillennium. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 22, 423–428. doi: 10.1037/ocp0000066Salanova, M., and Llorens, S. (2013). The dark side of technologies: technostressamong users of information and communication technologies. Int. J. Psychol.48, 422–436. doi: 10.1080/00207594.2012.680460Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in theabsence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as apotential conflict of interest.Copyright © 2019 Giorgi, Mucci, Di Fabio and Ariza-Montes. This is an open-accessarticle distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCBY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, providedthe original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the originalpublication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with theseterms.Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 3 September 2019 | Volume 10 | Article 2193

Editorial: New professionalism and the future of work: Interdisciplinary perspectives on transformations in business-health relationships

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Editorial: New professionalism and the future of work: Interdisciplinary perspectives on transformations in business-health relationships

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