Remote working – strongly widespread during the covid-19 pandemic –is today one of the main forms of innovation in the world of work. As always, within innovation phenomena we have static elements, from the past, and dynamic elements, looking to change the status quo. Consequently, the evaluation of remote work may be either conservative or innovative. Remote work can be considered as a simple re-proposition of the Fordist-Taylorist Enterprise that does not actually change the characteristics of employment as a not democratic relationship involving the worker submission to the employer managerial, control and disciplinary power. On the other hand, remote work can be recognized as the symptom of a broader cultural, organizational and process change in the firm, allowing the worker to conquer new spaces of freedom and autonomy, which not only allow for a new balance in the relationship between work and life, but also redefine both the factual and juridical connotations of subordination. This chapter analyzes this second perspective and, on the basis of legislation and collective bargaining, tries to define the elements of change in the concept and morphology of subordination within the employment relationship.

A truism across cognitive, clinical, and personality psychology is that coherence of personal narratives is good for us; overall, narrative coherence is conceptually related to fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety and a higher sense of well-being, meaning, and purpose in life. Yet the empirical findings are inconsistent. In this chapter, I explore theoretical and methodological challenges to the concept of narrative coherence, drawing heavily on Habermas’s (2008) model of global, temporal, and causal dimensions. I take a sociocultural developmental approach, in which I explore how relations between different aspects of coherence vary developmentally and by event type in ways that differentially relate to evolving autobiographical memory and well-being. A more nuanced approach to narrative coherence clarifies the ways in which different aspects of personal memories and narrative coherence do and do not relate to different aspects of well-being both over developmental time and as time since the event occurred.

This chapter emphasises the importance of understanding the mental states of animals and the profound impact that care settings can have on their overall health. The chapter discusses how a positive internalisation of external variables by animals can significantly enhance their well-being, even in less than ideal conditions. It highlights the role of care technicians in creating environments that not only provide physical safety and resources but also support the psychological needs of the animals. The narrative integrates scientific observations and behavioural studies to underline the necessity of a holistic approach to animal welfare. Moreover, the chapter includes references to various studies and literature that support the methodologies discussed, ensuring that the approaches to animal welfare are grounded in scientific research. This comprehensive overview serves as a guide for improving the standards of animal care through focused psychological and emotional support.

Children’s autobiographical memories and life stories are shaped in early interactions with parents. I integrate findings from two longitudinal cohorts of New Zealand children from toddlerhood (age 1.5 years) to young adulthood (age 21 years): Origins of Memory, a longitudinal correlational study (N = 58), and Growing Memories, a longitudinal intervention study (N = 115). Findings show that mothers’ elaborative reminiscing with young children, especially open-ended elaborative questions and confirmations, is critical for children’s later autobiographical memory and narrative skills. In adolescence and young adulthood, children with highly elaborative mothers reported earlier memories. Building on their richer memory bank, they also told turning-point narratives with stronger causal links between past and present selves. Moreover, they reported better well-being. Based on these findings and those from Habermas’ MainLife study, I propose an integrative theory of life story development that details how and why mothers’ elaborative reminiscing leads to causally coherent life stories and better well-being for their young adult children through enriching their autobiographical memories.

The epilogue considers one possible future incarnation of the idea of progress in medicine, namely progress as achieving sustainability. Despite the fact that environmental concerns have long been associated with reimagined ideas of progress, aspirations for sustainability remain underdeveloped in medicine. Nevertheless, this epilogue discusses the cases in which the concept of medical progress has been coupled with “sustainable” or “green” medicine. Visions of sustainable medical progress tend to presuppose a multidimensional concept of medical progress, call for expanding the time frame in which progress is assessed, and posit environmental limits as constraints on open-ended progress. At the same time, few of these visions engage with the pluralistic nature of medical progress, preferring to understand measures that support a robust natural environment as intrinsically good for the health of individuals and societies, and broadly aligned with the goals of conventional medicine.

This chapter reviews the psychological research examining the relationship between religious faith and life purpose. First, because defining the constructs of religious faith and life purpose have been such an empirically challenging task, the author offers various definitions adopted in the social sciences. Second, the author describes theoretical propositions about possible mechanisms that help to explain why religious faith contributes to life purpose. Although research is limited, the author then reviews the empirical literature that has addressed the link between religious faith and life purpose, including findings to date that suggest that various religious faith constructs may play a key role in cultivating one’s sense of life purpose. The author also reviews the literature that has examined the complex relationships between religious faith, life purpose, and well-being. Throughout, the author offers suggestions for future research to advance the science examining religious faith and life purpose. The chapter closes with a discussion of the implications of this research to inform understandings of the development and importance of religious faith, and life purpose to optimal human functioning.

Self-discovery characterizes the late teens and early twenties. Accordingly, many young people turn to colleges and universities – with their expansive resources for occupational, ideological, and interpersonal exploration – to help them clarify who they are and where they are going in life. Although changes in identity and self-direction are normative, perhaps even expected, parts of one’s journey through college, people vary in their ability to find threads of continuity within themselves in the face of change. This leaves many of them feeling unstable and disconnected from the people they were in the past. A sense of being “off-course” in life is known as derailment and is consistently related to elevated levels of concurrent psychological distress. As demand for mental health services on college campuses rises across the nation, derailment represents a potentially salient experience that can help educators and practitioners better address the developmental needs of their students. In this chapter, I review the features of emerging adulthood before unpacking derailment and what it could mean within the landscape of this period. Then, against the backdrop of existing identity and purpose formation literature, I explore the alignment between current United States (US) college structures and the developmental needs of students, theorizing on how traditional institutional policies, practices, and opportunities encourage or discourage derailment during a student’s tenure. Finally, I close by looking ahead to the future, calling for empirical investigation of how higher education can support young people in finding a balance between maintaining personal stability and undergoing radical personal change.

Inquiry into purpose spans multiple disciplines, perspectives, and centuries. Seemingly inherent in the process of human development is the desire for humans to find a direction for their lives. This chapter provides an introduction to purpose inquiry, underscoring how purpose research shows that the construct can permeate multiple domains of life. We outline some of the frameworks and theoretical traditions that the reader will encounter throughout this volume. Following this section, we discuss three central questions regarding the nature of purpose that have yielded nascent reflections and research directions to this day. We conclude by providing the outline for the upcoming chapters, noting how each provides a valuable and unique piece to the puzzle of purpose.

Is purpose a cause, consequence, correlate, or component of well-being? Sense of purpose can be understood as the extent to which one feels that they have personally meaningful goals and directions guiding them through life. Because models of well-being differ in how they conceptualize what it means to be psychologically well, purpose is treated differently across these frameworks. In this chapter, we begin by considering how purpose fits in various well-being theories, including philosophical schools of thought (Liking, Wanting, and Needing theories), contemporary theoretical and measurement models (e.g., subjective well-being, Value Fulfillment Theory, Ryff’s psychological well-being, self-determination theory, Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments, and other factors such as health (PERMA+)), and mechanistic models that seek the synthesize across multiple approaches (e.g., Engine Model of Well-Being, Eudaimonic Activity Model). We conclude by answering the question proposed in the title of this chapter, “Where does purpose belong in well-being theory?”, and by offering specific recommendations for purpose and well-being researchers.

The final chapter compares The Villages to other retirement communities, aging in place, and aging in community. Drawing on the study’s findings and the perceptions of interviewed individuals, it highlights how The Villages’ unique characteristics – including its size, innovation culture, bubble communication, opportunities for meaningful involvement, social networks, and communal coping – generally enhance residents’ well-being. The chapter also summarizes The Villages’ weaknesses and presents key takeaways about the societal meanings of its success.

Departing from the distinctions among retirement communities, "aging in place," and the newer concept of "aging in community," this chapter presents a definition and typology of retirement communities along with a brief history of these communities in the US. It then offers a literature review on key topics: (a) transitioning into a retirement community, (b) adjusting to and aging within a retirement community, and (c) the well-being of residents in these communities.

Because the full reconstruction emerges piecemeal over the course of the study, this chapter starts by summarizing the most fundamental ways in which Aquinas connects the big-picture elements of his ethics through his understanding of happiness, both individual and common. The chapter then offers reasons for thinking that Aquinas’s ethics of happiness is still worth taking seriously today. In particular, it focuses on three illustrative aspects that make Aquinas’s ethical views distinctive and appealing. The first is Aquinas’s account of the nature of happiness and how that account fits into his broader understanding of well-being. The second is Aquinas’s account of the relationship between the right and the good. The third is Aquinas’s account of the most comprehensive role that virtue plays in ethics and human life.

Atonement is a critical component of the cultic system described in Leviticus 1–7 and 16. Purification of sin and thanksgiving offerings shape the worship of Israel. This chapter describes the theology of sacrifice and atonement in Leviticus, the specific offerings, and how atonement has been interpreted by later commentators.