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The well-being and mental health of principals is being threatened by changing working conditions such as a broader variety of roles and tasks. In this article, we argue that social capital might buffer against declining (mental) health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential influence of social capital, including both internal (bonding) and external (bridging and linking) social capital, on principals’ well-being. A longitudinal study was set up across three waves of data. Questionnaires were collected from 2084 Australian principals and 829 Irish principals, across six and two timepoints, respectively. The hypotheses were tested using a longitudinal path model approach using maximum likelihood estimation in lavaan for R. In line with our hypotheses, the results indicated that principals who reported higher levels of either internal or external social capital also reported higher levels of well-being. More specifically, support from colleagues outside the school and supervisor support (external social capital) and collaboration and trust in management (internal social capital) predicted well-being positively across time. The results of this study highlight the importance of having social support from colleagues and supervisors and possibilities for collaboration to maintain well-being as a school principal.

Employees’ feedback-seeking networks at work are important for employees’ learning and employability. Earlier studies often neglected the specific characteristics of the different relationships an individual employee has at work. We conduct social network analyses in seven samples to study inter-individual differences in feedback-seeking relationships in detail. We investigate 2,058 feedback-seeking relationships of 118 employees to study how similarity-attraction affects the composition of feedback-seeking networks at work and how the composition of these feedback-seeking networks influences employees’ employability. This research study aims to contribute by taking into account both the mechanisms that shape feedback-seeking networks and the effects of this on employability. The results show that similarity-attraction affects feedback-seeking in the workplace and that having a largely homogeneous feedback-seeking network has detrimental effects on employability.

Fluctuating demands and fast changing job-requirements require organizations to invest in employees so that they are able to take up new tasks. In this respect, fostering employees' employability is high on the agenda of many organizations. As a prerequisite for creating employability, many scholars have focused on the role of social informal learning. In this study, we extend this perspective and examine the relationships between task variety, social informal learning, and employability. We hypothesized that task variety is a catalyst for social informal learning, which in turn enhances employees' employability. We contribute empirical evidence for this mechanism. However, while task variety leads to social informal learning and, subsequently, the competences needed for employability, task variety also may have negative direct effects on employability. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research and practice.

A 22-item short-form of the 47-item Employability Five-Factor instrument (Van der Heijde & Van der Heijden, 2006; Van der Heijden, De Lange, Demerouti, & Van der Heijde, 2009) was developed and validated across five empirical survey studies. The Short-Form Employability instrument has consistent and acceptable internal consistencies and a similar factor structure across all samples studied. The outcomes favor a five-dimensional operationalization of the employability construct over a one-dimensional higher-order construct, with good discriminant validity of the underlying employability dimensions. Moreover, since the five dimensions of employability all appeared to be significantly related to both objective and subjective career success outcome measures, the predictive validity of the shortened tool is promising. The Short-Form Employability instrument facilitates further scientific HRM and career research without compromising its psychometric qualities.

Social approaches to work-related informal learning, such as proactive feedback-seeking, help-seeking and information-seeking, are important determinants of development in the workplace. Unfortunately, previous research has failed to clearly conceptualize these forms of learning and does not provide a validated and generally applicable measurement instrument. We set out to develop and validate such a scale measuring social approaches to work-related informal learning. We collected data in four organizations in Austria and the Netherlands, with a total sample size of 895 employees. These data were used to conduct exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, which showed four distinct factors: feedback-seeking from the supervisor, feedback-seeking from colleagues, help-seeking and information-seeking. In conclusion, the scale we developed is valid in a range of contexts and thus is an appropriate tool for research as well as human resource development practice.

Background: More than ever before, school principals are dealing with stress and burnout, resulting from increasing role demands and decreasing decision latitude and autonomy. Following the Demand–Support–Constraints model, reasons for stress and burnout can be found in the lack of social support in the environment. Purpose: This longitudinal study investigates whether changes in social support from colleagues, supervisors and/or the broader community affect levels of principal stress and burnout. Sample: Approximately 26% of Australia’s school principals took part (N = 3572): primary (n = 2660) and secondary (n = 912) spread across all Australian states and territories. Age ranged between 46 and 55 years, and mean leadership experience was 12 years. Design and methods: Since stress and burnout are psychological phenomena that develop over time, a longitudinal approach was adopted. Data were collected across four waves, spread over four years, from 2011 to 2014. Results: It was found that social support predicts decreased stress and in turn burnout in school principals, however differences were found according to the type of social support. The data provide strong evidence for a positive effect of stress on burnout (e.g. the more stress at time 2, the more burnout in principals at time 3) and partial support for indirect negative effects of social support on burnout (e.g. the more support from colleagues at time 2, the less burnout in principals at time 3). However, we also found two instances of positive effects of social support from the broader community on burnout. This suggests that the more support principals receive from the broader community, the more likely they are to show burnout symptoms. This might be explained as the ‘the downside of empathy’, where principals who are strongly supported by their community might also feel more connected to that community. When their community is struggling, they are probably struggling as well. Conclusions: The findings highlight the positive impact the wider school community can play in providing supplementary professional support to the principal. Unbundling or repackaging the job responsibilities with an administrative team that shares the leadership of the school, could be part of the solution.

We live in a world permeated by digital technologies. Still, however, this digitization is not always reflected in the learning environments of higher education institutions, which raises questions about the adequacy of the instructional outcomes. In this paper, I maintain that the concept of the inverted or flipped classroom may be a fruitful path to including learning “hands-on” with technology even in learning environments absent of any technological resources. The rationale for this proposition is that flipped elements transfer the demand for technology from the teaching environment to the student. I report on a design-based research project to put this claim to a first test. The qualitative and quantitative data collected all support the idea that flipped classroom elements may help overcome differences in terms of availability of technology in different learning environments. The implications for universities and higher education teachers are discussed. Vivimos en un mundo dominado por las tecnologías digitales. Sin embargo, esta digitalización todavía no se refleja siempre en los entornos de aprendizaje de los centros de enseñanza superior, lo cual plantea dudas acerca de la idoneidad de los resultados de la docencia. En este artículo, yo sostengo que el concepto del aula invertida puede representar una vía fructífera para incluir el aprendizaje “práctico” con tecnología incluso en entornos de aprendizaje carentes de cualquier recurso tecnológico. La fundamentación en la que se apoya esta propuesta es que los elementos invertidos trasladan la demanda de tecnología desde el entorno docente hasta el estudiante. Doy cuenta de un proyecto de investigación basado en el diseño con el fin de someter esta afirmación a una primera prueba. Todos los datos cualitativos y cuantitativos recogidos apoyan la idea de que el aula invertida puede ayudar a superar las diferencias por lo que respecta a la disponibilidad de tecnología en distintos entornos de aprendizaje. Se abordan las implicaciones para las universidades y los docentes de enseñanza superior.

Employees in countries with advanced industrial economies need to continuously develop their competences to sustain their employability - that is, to have a set of competences that enables them to maintain or find an adequate job. But how should efforts to enhance employability progress in the context of the demographic shift? Previous research suggests that employees’ perspective about their future working life may influence their motivation to engage in learning activities. The study reported and discussed here investigates how employees’ perceptions of the future as a time of opportunities and limitations affects their engagement in learning from others and, in turn, their employability. We tested our model empirically in two Austrian consultancies (n = 167). We find that focus on opportunities in the future explains engagement in learning from others and, subsequently, differences in employability. The informants’ perspectives about the future may be a helpful alternative to the measurement of chronological age, which is problematic from a conceptual point of view.