Work engagement may be defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related psychological state characterized by the dimensions of vigor, dedication, and absorption. In this study, the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) were investigated by using two samples of Italian (n = 668) and Dutch (n = 2213) white-collar employees. In addition to reliability analyses, we also conducted a series of multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses of the UWES-9. The validity of the UWES-9 was investigated by studying its correlations with the Job-Related Affective Well-Being Scale (JAWS) and with a measure of work performance. Results showed that a three-factor solution of the UWES-9 is invariant across the Italian and Dutch samples, with data supporting factor variance and covariance invariance in addition to metric invariance. Internal consistencies of the vigor, dedication, and absorption scales are good. The UWES-9 and its subscales show significant correlations in the expected direction with the JAWS and with work performance. The Italian version of the UWES-9 behaves consistently with its original Dutch version and may be used for future studies of work engagement.

The COPE Index is a brief, first-stage assessment of some sophistication that can enable health and social care professionals to develop appropriately targeted interventions to enhance the positive aspects of the caregiving experience and quality of support, as well as reduce the negative impacts of caregiving.

Workplace bullying refers to prolonged exposure to frequent hostile behaviors at work, which can lead to severe stress reactions. Research in this area has not revealed a clear picture on how bullying escalates in organizations. Drawing on recent developments in work stress theory, this study tested a comprehensive model of bullying in which work environmental and personality factors were hypothesized to act as antecedents of bullying and post-traumatic stress symptoms as an outcome. Structural equation modeling on data provided by 609 public sector employees in Italy showed that job demands (workload and role conflict) and job resources (decision authority, co-worker support and salary/promotion prospects) were related to bullying over and above neuroticism, and that bullying mediated the relationship between job demands and PTSD symptoms. Evidence also emerged for a buffering effect of job resources on the job demands-bullying relationship. Overall results are compatible with a view of bullying as a strain phenomenon, initiated by both work environmental and personality factors.

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We conducted two studies on workaholism to address three identified gaps in the literature, namely, the job-related affective experiences of workaholics, the relationship between workaholism and job demands, and the long-term mental health effects of workaholism. We also examined gender as a moderator of the relationship between workaholism and its outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 311), focused on a heterogeneous sample of workers, we found that workaholism was positively related to the experience of observer-reported, as well as self-reported, job-related negative affect and that this relationship was stronger among female workers. Furthermore, in a subsample of participants (n = 189) for whom we had available blood pressure data, we found that workaholism was positively related to systolic blood pressure. In Study 2 (N = 235), based on a sample of health-sector employees in which we adopted a full, two-wave panel design including workaholism, job demands, and mental distress, we found that the baseline levels of job demands impacted the follow-up levels of workaholism, while the reverse was not the case. We also found that the baseline levels of workaholism positively affected the levels of mental distress reported after 1 year. These results add to the existing literature on the job-related affective correlates and psychophysical costs of workaholism and shed further light on work environmental factors that may contribute to its genesis.