news

Career - 25.04.2022

UC3M female researcher participates in the EU report on the regulation of freelance labour platforms
The European Union has opened a proposal for a directive and EU legislation to regulate the digital labour platforms sector.

Astronomy / Space Science - Career - 15.04.2022

Giant stars undergo dramatic weight loss program
A new, slimmer type of red giant star has been identified by astronomers, who liken their discovery to 'finding Wally'. Only around 40 of these stars exist amid a sea of thousands in the Milky Way. Astronomers at the University of Sydney have found a slimmer type of red giant star for the first time.

Career - 07.04.2022

Dire working conditions for Belgian platform workers
A new study finds that five of the largest platform companies in Belgium fail to offer fair working conditions. The Fairwork research project in Belgium,  at the Centre for Sociological Research at KU Leuven and in collaboration with the University of Oxford, rated the working conditions of Takeaway, Ring Twice, Deliveroo, Yoopies, and Top Help.

Career - Research Management - 07.04.2022

Four ERC Consolidator Grants for KU Leuven researchers
The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded its Consolidator Grants. Four KU Leuven researchers are among this year's recipients: bioscience engineer Rob Ameloot, theologist Christina Kreinecker, pediatric nephrologist Elena Levtchenko, and astronomer Jon Sundqvist.

Social Sciences - Career - 04.04.2022

Lessem Studies Policy Effects on Immigrants’ Economic Outcomes
In many nations today, opportunities, income, wealth and resources are unequally distributed among people. Inclusive economic growth, which creates employment opportunities and helps decrease poverty, requires that countries choose policies that boost access to productive jobs, skills training, education and health care for people from all backgrounds.

Health - Career - 29.03.2022

Researchers to study burnout among female health-care workers
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the long-standing issue of burnout among health-care workers - a problem that will be studied in depth by a University of Toronto research team. Prior to 2020, severe burnout - characterized by intense emotional exhaustion and decreased professional achievement - was found in 20 to 40 per cent of health-care workers in Canada, according to a brief prepared for Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.

Career - 03.03.2022

Major political transformations can have an influence on employee wellbeing
Work in times of Brexit: New survey on the relationship between macropolitical events and personal wellbeing Significant societal and political transitions, such as Brexit, can impact employee wellbeing - although not necessarily in the ways that might be expected. Researchers based at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (LIR), Loughborough University, and Medical School Hamburg asked academics who worked at a British research institution how they felt about the UK's exit from the EU.

Social Sciences - Career - 21.02.2022

New study to investigate the effectiveness of an online LGBTQ+ training course to improve social care for LGBTQ+ young people in England
A new study led by the University of Birmingham will evaluate the effectiveness of an online training programme for improving social workers' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs when working with LGBTQ+ young people. In conjunction with What Works for Children's Social Care , the study will determine the effectiveness of LGBTQ+ diversity training for social workers and its impact on practice with LGBTQ+ young people.

Career - 21.02.2022

It’s complicated: People emotionally tied to robots can undermine relationships with co-workers
Robots have helped humans in countless work environments to a point that the latter-in some cases-developed strong emotional bonds with them. A new study by University of Michigan and Sungkyunkwan University (South Korea) researchers indicates that these bonds can be detrimental as workers become more attached to the robot than their colleagues.

Career - 17.02.2022

Employers should nurture friendship and support amongst co-workers to unlock creativity
Co-worker support shared with a partner at home inspires creative thinking, shows new research from our School of Management Employers who want to see creative thinking in their workforce should value supportive friendships between colleagues as the key to unlocking more resourcefulness and innovation.

Career - 03.02.2022

Uneven recovery: Detroit unemployment rate sits at 20%
Nearly 1 in 4 parents out of the labor force report they left in last year Detroit's unemployment rate-the proportion of adults who are in the labor force but not currently employed-remains at 20%, virtually unchanged over the course of 2021, according to a new University of Michigan survey. This is less than half the unemployment rate observed when unemployment peaked at 43% in June 2020, but twice the pre-pandemic unemployment rate of about 10%.

Career - Health - 02.02.2022

Who benefits the most from good leadership in the workplace?
And who suffers the most from bad leadership? ABS researchers Sofija Pajic, Claudia Buengeler, and Deanne den Hartog (Leadership and Management section) explore the relationship between leadership, wellbeing, and socioeconomic status. The study was conducted with co-author Diana Boer (Institute of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau).

Career - 01.02.2022

Career priorities emphasize passion over financial security during pandemic
Job instability during the COVID-19 pandemic reshuffled the priorities of millions of workers, who placed greater importance on work passion rather than financial security, according to a newly published University of Michigan study. Researchers sought to learn more about what happens to the career priorities of college-educated workers who lost their jobs or were furloughed during the pandemic.

Career - 31.01.2022

Employment fears may explain rise of extremist parties across Europe
Fears over job security and quality of work for a new class of disaffected citizens - the 'precariat' - could explain the rise of popular extremist parties across Europe, according to a new study. Studying the 2017 national elections in France and the Netherlands, researchers discovered a link between electoral support for radical populist parties of both the right and left and 'precarity' - a lack of economic security and stable occupational identities.

Career - 27.01.2022

The enduring buzz around bees inspires art and culture through the ages
New multi-disciplinary, international research has found that the appreciation of bees has been recognised throughout history and cultures, represented in diverse art forms from ancient carvings and historic cave art, to the big screen and across social media. The study, published in Art and Perception , found evidence of bees depicted in an amazing array of art across time, cultures, and art mediums.

Health - Career - 25.01.2022

People who have taken sick leave due to cancer have greater difficulty to continue working and enjoy less job stability
Men and women who have not taken sick leave or have done due to other diagnoses were at least 9% more likely to continue in employment compared to employees who had taken sick leave due to cancer, according to this study carried out in Catalonia, published in 'Scientific Reports'.

Health - Career - 24.01.2022

Corona-driven Stress in Healthcare Professionals
Stress levels experienced by those working in outpatient care were relatively high during the early phase of the Corona pandemic - higher than in medical personnel working in the two other sectors of the healthcare system, i.e. hospital care and prehospital emergency medicine. This was the conclusion of a study led by Associate Professor Dr Marie Ottilie Frenkel at the Institute of Sports and Sports Sciences of Heidelberg University.

Health - Career - 22.12.2021

Biology unlikely to drive ethnic differences in Covid-19 risk for healthcare workers
The differences in Covid-19 infection risk between ethnic minority healthcare workers and their white colleagues is likely due to home and work factors rather than biology, finds the largest and most detailed study on the subject, co-led by researchers at UCL. Previous research has shown that healthcare workers from ethnic minority groups are at a disproportionately higher risk of contracting Covid-19 than their white colleagues.

Career - 14.12.2021

Firefighters and civilians are challenged
Reconciling career and militia service in the fire department and civil defense faces new challenges December 14, 2021 Militia service in the fire department and civil defense is an important component of disaster relief in Switzerland. A new study by the University of Applied Sciences Graubünden has examined the attractiveness of militia service in the two organizations and the role of employers.

Career - Economics - 06.12.2021

Over-optimism in the newly self-employed
Autonomy is something people cherish. Those who long for independence in their daily working lives may decide to become self-employed. This step toward greater freedom should after all contribute to greater life satisfaction. But does self-employment actually live up to these high expectations? Researchers at the University of Basel have investigated the topic.