The interest in the well-being construct is strongly related to what we could metaphorically call as a theoretical-methodological turn in psychology. The notion of turn is rooted in geometry and refers to the amplitude of rotation of the angles that favor mobility. The use of this metaphor for other domains of concept is applicable if we consider that both, the solution and responses to our questions, demand not only collecting more data, but changing the perspective in which the phenomenon is observed and analyzed. The Copernican turn to the several empirical evidence that did not fit perfectly into data allowed moving from a geocentric to a heliocentric explanation. This move happened by leaving an intuitive viewpoint aligned to common sense, the sun rises and sets everyday, to a counterintuitive one, i.e., the earth moves around the sun.
Another example of the metaphoric use of this concept is found in Kant’s (1994)Kant, I. (1994).Crítica da razão pura (3a ed.) (M. P. dos S. & A. F. M., Trad.). Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. epistemological turn, when he proposed that the problem of knowledge would not be the object to be known, but the subject that knows it: what could be known is imposed by aprioristic metaphysical categories (time and space). Another turn that we could recall refers to the linguistic turn described by Habermas (1987)Habermas, J. (1987). Teoría de la acción comunicativa. Madrid: Taurus. as the repositioning of language from the subject’s consciousness (subjective dimension) to that of discursive practice (intersubjective and shared).
The study of well-being is yet another turn, as it proposes changing the focus from a psychological and psychiatric approach focused on the disease and its consequences, contributing to the delimitation of what would be pathological and normal, towards an approach of studying processes that promote favorable psychological states that make people’s lives more fulfilling, and that could promote a better balance between humans’ strengths and weaknesses. Well-being would be one of these psychological states. This approach came into being through the Positive Psychology movement, which started in the 2000s. Since then, it has influenced the field of study of people management and organizational behavior.
Nineteen articles from several associated fields of knowledge were submitted to this special edition. Theses articles directly or indirectly investigated well-being-related constructs adopting different methodological approaches. Articles were of high quality, posing challenges to the election of the six articles to be published in this special edition. The other articles approved will be further published in the regular editions, following the rules for publication adopted by the journal.
We present below a brief summary of the six articles that are part of this special edition. We strongly recommend those interested in well-being to follow the next publications of RAM to have access to other outstanding articles that could not be included in this edition.
In the article “Management practices, well-being and supportive behavior”, the authors assessed the influence of practices of change management, the reasons and benefits on well-being and the supportive behavior to changes among administrative employees of a Brazilian holding that provides road transportation services. As a result of the investigation, the authors concluded that practices of change management positively affect both supportive behaviors and the well-being of workers. They also found a differentiated effect of perceived organizational reasons and the benefits perceived on supportive behaviors and well-being at the workplace.
The article “Antecedents of well-being at work: trust and people management policies” investigated the impact of people management policies and organizational trust on well-being at work. The authors concluded that the perception of engagement-oriented policies and trust in ethical standards and organizational competence serve as predictors of well-being at workplace.
The article “The role of job crafting on the promotion of flow and well-being” assessed the mediating role played by the flow at work between the relations of work redesign dimensions (task redesign, cognitive reformulation and relationships redesign) and the dimensions of positive mental health (emotional well-being, psychological well-being and social well- -being). The authors conducted the investigation with professionals from several Brazilian states and concluded that the work redesign action, notably cognitive reformulation, influences labor and overall well-being.
In the article named “Personal organizational well-being and quality of organizational life: the mediating role of organizational culture”, the authors tested the effects of organizational culture moderation and mediation on the relations between organizational life quality (OLQ) and personal well-being in organizations (PWO). The study comprised 1292 employees, representing 81% of the civil servants in a public organization. It tested two mediation models and two moderation models. Results point out that, except for the bureaucratic culture, all the other types of culture served as mediators, suggesting that the OLQ effect on the PWO is better explained by the organization’s culture.
In the article named “Antecedents and consequents of prosperity at work: a mediation-moderation model”, the authors investigate the effects of participation in decision-making (context resources) and of social support at work (resources derived from work) on role-play at work, assuming prosperity at the workplace as the mediator variable. It also tested the moderator role of self-efficacy on the relation between participation in decision-making and social support at work on prosperity. The results support the hypotheses of mediation and moderation, suggesting an indirect effect of participation in decision-making on the role-playing through prosperity, in addition to the effect of interaction with self-efficiency with participation in decision-making and social support with positive impacts on prosperity at the workplace.
In the article named “Presenteeism of class teachers: well-being as a critical psychological state in the mediation of job characteristics”, the authors report a study on the mediating effect of fulfillment at work, a well-being variable, on the relations between the variables of work design and presenteeism, defined as completed work and avoided distraction. The mediation of fulfillment at work and the criterion variable completed work was not confirmed to any category of work design. However, they found direct relations between autonomy of planning, social support and use of equipment and completed work. As regards avoided distraction, mediation was only found to one of the work design variables. Decision autonomy and selection of work methods, comfort and physical demands of work showed direct relations with avoided distraction.
We finish this presentation wishing everyone a good reading.
References
- Habermas, J. (1987). Teoría de la acción comunicativa Madrid: Taurus.
- Kant, I. (1994).Crítica da razão pura (3a ed.) (M. P. dos S. & A. F. M., Trad.). Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
07 Feb 2020 -
Date of issue
2020
