Applied Psychology Research

Academic citizenship through the lens of the psychological contract: A qualitative study of UK business schools

2025-01-14T05:17:47+00:00

Many would argue that much of the higher education sector is reliant on goodwill, including the willingness to work with and support colleagues in the fulfilment of the fundamental roles associated with being an academic, this research suggests that a fundamental part of this is reliant on how the individual’s psychological contract manifests into academic citizenship. Research into the psychological contract of academics is limited. Similarly, there is also limited research into the concept of academic citizenship. This paper considers the concept of academic citizenship through the lens of the psychological contract, suggesting the notion of academic citizenship is borne out of the employment in and the perception of the academic role. The research made use of an interpretivist design using a series of semi-structured interviews. Following a qualitative base the study draws on the lived experiences of eighteen Business School academics across nine Universities. Using thematic analysis to draw out key themes and linkages, the research provides an overview of the employment relationship with employers and colleagues. The paper provides an understanding of individual behaviour in the workplace which is crucial to effective performance management and employee engagement. As such this paper contributes to understanding academics within the workplace and their responses to the behaviour of others. The research brings together two constructs which have not previously been considered, noting the inter-relationship between the two.

Prevalence of working adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder impairment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for the future

2025-01-22T02:44:58+00:00

In this study; we analyzed the relationship between U.S. workers’ reported levels of ADHD symptomatology and the impact of pandemic conditions on symptomatic impairment and the estimated prevalence of Adult ADHD. We compared data from the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale Screener (ASRS) collected during the pandemic with data from two pre-pandemic studies. Our findings indicate that during the pandemic; mean impairment scores on all six ASRS items increased; leading to a predicted rise in the Adult ADHD diagnosis rate to 9.26%; compared to the pre-pandemic estimate of 4.4%. These results suggest that more adults experienced significant ADHD-related challenges during the pandemic. As organizations continue to implement remote work and other pandemic-related changes; it is important to consider the unique difficulties that neurodiverse workers; particularly those with ADHD; may face in adapting to these new work environments.

Bird nesting and its relationship with parents’ mental resilience

2025-01-23T01:33:58+00:00

Divorce has increased dramatically in recent decades. Many separated parents adopt the “bird nesting” technique, where the parents rotate on a weekly basis in the family home, allowing the children to remain in their familiar environment. Thus, the present study investigated the correlation of “bird nesting” with the parents’ mental resilience. For this purpose, questionnaires were used on a sample of 99 parents who have divorced in the last 2 years, where they were asked about their demographic characteristics as well as questions related to the use of the “bird nesting” technique and mental resilience. The results showed that no statistically significant difference was found in mental resilience between parents who apply and do not apply the “bird nesting” technique. Overall, the present research did not find a relationship between the use of the “bird nesting” technique and the mental resilience of divorced parents. It is possible that the relationship is affected by various factors, such as the duration of the divorce, the age of the children, the financial situation, the existence of new partners, etc.