Contents: PART I INTRODUCTION 1 Introducing the collection 2 Silvia Pignata 2 Increasing well-being of workers in the public sector: research and practice 4 Ronald J. Burke 3 Trade unions and stress at work: the evolving responses and politics of health and safety strategies in the case of the United Kingdom 15 Miguel Martínez Lucio 4 Psychosocial factors and worker health: comparisons between private and public sectors in Australia 33 Tessa S. Bailey, Mikaela S. Owen and Maureen F. Dollard PART II STRESS AND WELL-BEING IN VARIOUS PUBLIC SECTOR OCCUPATIONS 5 Stress and well-being of first responders 58 Dessa Bergen-Cico, Pruthvi Kilaru, Rachael Rizzo and Patricia Buore 6 Managing boredom and motivation: the unusual case of stress in firefighting 74 Maude Villeneuve, Pierre-Sébastien Fournier and Caroline Biron 7 Nurses’ experiences of workplace mistreatment 88 Zhiqing E. Zhou, Xin Xuan Che and Wiston A. Rodriguez 8 Emotions in nursing 106 Gillian Lewis and Neal M. Ashkanasy 9 The impact of emotional intelligence on daily work life 122 Keri A. Pekaar, Arnold B. Bakker, Dimitri van der Linden and Marise Ph. Born 10 Stress and well-being in prison officers 137 Andrew J. Clements, Gail Kinman and Jacqui Hart 11 Well-being in academic employees – a benchmarking approach 152 Gail Kinman and Siobhan Wray 12 Stress, well-being and aging in the Italian banking sector: evidence and future perspectives 167 Gabriele Giorgi, Giulio Arcangeli, Jose M. Leon-Perez, Massimo Fioriti, Eleonora Tommasi and Nicola Mucci PART III CASE STUDIES OF EFFORTS TO BRING ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 13 Applications of psychological capital in the public sector 182 Carolyn M. Youssef-Morgan, Barbara L. Ahrens, Kristi Bockorny, Lanell Craig and Matthew Peters 14 The benefits of individual proactive and adaptive performance: an organizational learning perspective 200 Mindy Shoss, Clair Kueny and Dustin K. Jundt 15 Building a health and safety culture: actions, commitment, and perceptions 216 Sybil Geldart and Christine Alksnis 16 An organizational perspective on well-being in the health sector: a focus on leadership, systems, and culture 232 Peter Spurgeon PART IV ORGANIZATIONAL INITIATIVES AND CHANGING WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENTS 17 Developing nurse leaders for well-being and performance 248 Margaret M. Hopkins and Deborah A. O’Neil 18 Introducing a National Well-being Service for emergency responders in the United Kingdom 260 Ian Hesketh and Cary L. Cooper 19 Occupational health and safety: in crisis, or in charge? 275 Renae Hayward and John Durkin 20 Stress in Australian universities: initiatives to enhance well-being 294 Silvia Pignata Index 309

'This Handbook should be commended for its international representation of public sector employees who tend to be undervalued and frequently occupy high stress jobs. The attention to negative health and well-being effects associated with high stress occupations, especially first responders such as fire, police, and healthcare is a major contribution to scholarly works in the organizational sciences. I expect that this edited volume will broaden understanding of the strategies for reducing workplace stress, leading to improved safety, health, and well-being outcomes for public sector workers.' --Leslie Hammer, Portland State University and Oregon Health and Science University, US'An outstanding piece of work. The book is well written, very readable and entertaining. Its topics are comprehensive and diverse, encompassing employees across a variety of public sector roles and occupations. Lessons learned are translated into practical guidelines for interventions and organizational change. This very interesting book will be an important resource for both researchers and students interested in the area of occupational stress and well-being - a great read!' --Jan de Jonge, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands'This book brings together an international group of top researchers to explore occupational stress in the context of the public sector. It explores what might be unique about a wide range of settings including education, first responders, health care, and social services. This book debunks the view of public employees having an easy time by underscoring how some of the most stressful jobs can be found in the public sector.' --Paul E. Spector, University of South Florida, US