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High turnover rates, delay and dissatisfaction among PhD students about the high efforts and low rewards are common problems in doctoral education. Research shows that many different factors are associated with the mental health crisis in graduate education, but these diverse aspects have not often been studied in relation to talent management and human resource management (HRM) strategies. Based on questionnaires and in-depth interviews, this chapter critically assesses the factors that influence doctoral students’ well-being, using as theoretical framework the self-determination theory, concerned with the social and other conditions that facilitate or hinder human well-being and flourishing, and the job demands–resources model, an occupational stress model that suggests strain is a response to imbalance between demands on the individual and the resources he or she has to deal with those demands. These theoretical frameworks help to explore the perceived job demands and resources, and motivations of a sample of 25 PhD students in the Netherlands, in order to recommend adequate talent management strategies to improve PhD work conditions at universities and reduce the increasing levels of ill-being. The study proposes a collegial model, focussing on the enjoyment of work, instead of the current managerial model, which focusses on strengthening knowledge and skills, and stimulating performance-oriented behaviour. A differentiated approach is needed, offering customized talent development for each PhD student in order to respond to his or her specific qualities, improving general well-being. This radical shift in talent management is needed to counter the mental health crisis in doctoral studies.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of telework and management control systems (MCSs) on the congruence of civil servant objectives in the Brazilian justice system.

To this end, the authors have carried out a survey with 468 employees of the Ministério Público Federal (Federal Public Ministry), whose data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Among the main results are the perceived efficiency of telework, and the finding that action and personnel controls are positively related to the congruence of objectives. However, the moderating relationship of the MCSs presented individual characteristics. Action controls showed no evidence of moderating the relationship between the perceived efficiency of telework and congruence of objectives. However, personnel controls showed a significant and negative relationship, that is, more intense personnel controls in telework weakened the congruence of individual objectives with those of the organization.

This study contributes to practice by identifying barriers and facilitators in organizational telework programs and also spotting how controls can be planned for their activities.

The authors’ research evaluates the effect of MCSs on the relationship between the perceived efficiency of telework and the congruence of employee objectives, considering that the telework regime is in its initial phase of implementation in public entities, but this has been intensified by the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.