Joanna Trzęsiok

This article presents the results of a literature review on the typology of Generation Z sub-generations, as well as the findings of an analysis of the Web of Science and Scopus databases concerning the association between belonging to a Generation Z sub-generation and job crafting, highlighting an existing research gap. The aim of the article is to present the results of this (taking into account three forms and global job crafting), established on the basis of an analysis of data collected via a questionnaire comprising the Polish adaptation of the Job Crafting Questionnaire (JQC) and a specification of values/preferred job characteristics according to one of the four identified Generation Z sub-generational typologies. Generational heterogeneity was confirmed, establishing that the Professionals sub-generation is the most numerous in the sample, whilst the Mainstreamers – as defined in other authors’ studies – are the least numerous. A statistically significant, albeit weak, association was found between sub-generational affiliation and global, task-oriented and cognitive job crafting, and a lack of association with relational job crafting. The value of this article lies in demonstrating that generational knowledge should be continually enriched not only with insights into generational similarities and differences, but also into sub-generational ones, which will help to avoid unjustified oversimplification and ensure that intra-generational differences are taken into account.

The article examines the similarities and differences in how employees across four Central European countries evaluate the consequences of remote work. The primary objective is to cluster these consequences into closely interrelated advantages and disadvantages that form directly unobservable factors. The research was carried out using a diagnostic survey method that comprised 1,022 respondents from four countries: Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The respondents evaluated the positive and negative outcomes of remote work. To achieve the research objective, principal component analysis was used. Six factors common to all the studied countries were identified. Two of these factors are positive, and four are negative, with respondents placing greater weight on the advantages than the disadvantages. Factors such as cost savings and the positive impact on work life, non-work life, and health were indicated as primary advantages. However, perceptions of some advantages varied across the four countries. The issue of exclusion was the most frequently cited disadvantage. The research provides reliable information concerning the comparative assessments of the consequences of remote work. Its significance lies in demonstrating that a broad spectrum of individual outcomes can be distilled into six underlying factors. They contribute to the existing literature on remote work and offer practical insights for both management and remote workers.

The article aims to demonstrate that green transition in the workplace (GTW) has a positive effect on experienced job satisfaction through its impact on the environment. A diagnostic survey based on the Job Characteristics Model was conducted among workers in four Central European countries. In each country, job satisfaction was related to a sense of meaningfulness of work, which was stronger when workers considered participation in GTW to be important for themselves and the community. A limitation of the study is that it examines only GTW-related factors in association with the impact on meaningfulness of work and job satisfaction. The practical implication is the conclusion regarding the value of GTW, not only because of its impact on the natural environment, but also because of an increase in job satisfaction. The significance of the study lies in identifying GTW as a new factor contributing to job satisfaction.

While the digital transformation is predominantly framed as a catalyst for efficiency, the structural shifts induced by digitalization seem to generate a hidden erosion of working conditions that challenges the broader vision of sustainable work. Focusing on four Central European countries, this research explores how contemporary labor environments conceal declines in job quality. Drawing on original survey data, the study identifies several critical sources of this deterioration, including uncompensated workload expansion, the erosion of the right to disconnect, and the increasing pressure of digital presenteeism. The analysis reveals that these hidden shifts are most prevalent among workers in remote or hybrid models, as well as those in the first decade of their professional careers. Younger workers appear especially vulnerable to the blurring of work–life boundaries and the compulsion to maintain availability during illness. The research questions were addressed using appropriate statistical tests and by constructing working conditions due to digitalization index (WCDI). These findings point toward a need for a broader understanding of how digital transformation impacts the sustainability of work in practice.

Purpose | The aim of the study is to identify similarities and differences in the assessment of providing work services to a spatially distant organisation as a positive outcome of remote work in four countries, namely the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Research method | A diagnostic survey method (CAWI) was applied. Respondents came from the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The hypotheses were verified with the use of the Kruskal–Wallis test and the Bonferroni post hoc test. Results | The study showed that sociodemographic characteristics such as age, seniority, level of education and place of residence do not significantly differentiate the assessment of telemigration as a positive outcome of remote work. Only in the case of Czech respondents statistically significant differences were identified with respect to the level of education. Originality / value / implications / recommendations | The article refines the perspective on remote work by focusing on telemigration. It contributes to the discussion on providing work services to a spatially distant organisation.

Purpose: The main objective of this article is to identify which competencies, i.e. hard or soft, young adults are more inclined to develop, when they engage in this development, and whether their needs related to competency development influence their communication behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical research was conducted in the second quarter of 2025 using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method. The research tool consisted of 27 substantive questions and 13 questions concerning the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, with this article focusing on the analysis of selected results. Findings: Young adults are more likely to develop hard competences than soft competences. What is more, they are more inclined to devote their leisure time to developing hard competences. However, this does not directly translate into aspects related to travelling to training sessions and courses, in particular the frequency of travel and the distance covered. Research limitations/implications: The geographical scope of the study was limited to the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis (GZM), which is characterised by specific infrastructural, cultural and spatial conditions. A potential direction for further research could be young adults classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), i.e. young people who are not working, studying or actively seeking employment. Practical implications: This research may provide guidance for training institutions and the GZM in shaping the careers of young adults and developing educational programmes. It also provides interesting conclusions for entities responsible for managing transport systems in the GZM. Social implications: When young adults have free time, they are more likely to improve their hard competences than their soft competences. Originality/value: The analysis allows us to learn about the attitudes and behaviours (including communication behaviours) of young adults living in the GZM who develop their competences in leisure time.

Ongoing climate change and increasing energy consumption are becoming a serious threat to international development efforts. To ensure a secure and sustainable future, local, national and regional authorities, as well as energy companies, need to be involved in improving energy efficiency and promoting rational energy use. The consumer is always at the centre of interest of policy and energy reduction strategies makers. It is their behaviour, motives and beliefs that can lead to optimised and economical energy management. This paper responds to the need to identify the individual preferences of energy consumers. The presented research fills an existing gap in the literature by analysing the strength of the influence of different types of instruments and external stimuli shaping pro-environmental attitudes of consumers of different behavioural types. The analysis presented in this paper is the result of the next stage of the authors’ research on energy consumers modelling, their segmentation and comprehensive characteristics. The analysis was conducted on a representative sample of N = 4332 respondents from 8 European countries (Czech Republic, France, Greece, Spain, Germany, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom). The study used multivariate statistical methods, such as: Correspondence Analysis, Factor Analysis and Kruskal-Wallis test. These methods are adequate to the assumptions of the research procedure and allowed for the identification of 4 latent factors that link the incentives into groups, where the motivation to save energy is based on: information (“Information and Knowledge”), social norms (“Social Influence”), investment funding (“Investments”) and energy price changes (“Energy Price”). In addition, the level of effectiveness of the studied incentives and motivators depends on the behavioural type of energy consumers and increases with rising levels of their intrinsic pro-environmental motivation.

Scarcity of resources and their waste, as well as deteriorating quality of life and the environment, are pressing problems of modern civilisations. Rational and efficient energy consumption is one of the possibilities for preventing harmful practices and the degradation of ecosystems. Understanding the consumer’s way of thinking and acting by identifying his needs and preferences are essential for effective efforts for smart, sustainable, and inclusive economic growth. Therefore, the aim of this article was a comprehensive socioeconomic analysis of particular behavioural types of energy consumers, as a continuation of the authors’ previous research. The paper uses statistical methods (chi-square test and correspondence analysis) dedicated to non-metric variables for an effective analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaires. The identification of socioeconomic factors was carried out on a representative sample of n = 4506 respondents from eight European countries (the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Spain, Germany, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom). This allowed for distinguishing a typical representative of five consumer segments (EI; AE; DS; O; I), developed on the basis of motivation to save energy. The authors succeeded in combining behavioural segmentation with the socioeconomic characteristics of the created classes. The results indicated that 10 out of 12 examined factors were significantly correlated with the behavioural type. These are (in order of significance): attitude towards saving energy; age; employment status; home country; the ownership status of the premises; the number of people in a household; average monthly income per person in a household; education; gender and place of residence.