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This study explores the challenges faced by the older adults during the COVID-19-induced lockdown periods in Gweru and Mutare, Zimbabwe’s third and fourth largest cities, respectively. Seventeen men and women above the age of 60 were interviewed following all COVID-19 protocols during the period April to August 2021. Semi-structured interview guides were used to gather data and Tesch’s (1990) method of thematic analysis was used to make sense of the data. Findings indicate that the older adults faced new challenges as a result of the strict lockdown and that the pandemic exacerbated the challenges that the elderly were facing. Intersectionality of challenges was also evident from the older people’s descriptions. A number of stressors were related to the pandemic restrictions, financial issues, health challenges, social challenges, and challenges of everyday living. Some participants reported mental health challenges and symptoms related to anxiety and depression. The COVID-19 pandemic presented unique psychological, economic, and social challenges to older persons in Zimbabwe. To curb such challenges in the future, there is a need to prioritize older adults during pandemic outbreaks and disasters. Adequate Universal pensions could assist in dealing with the economic challenges faced by older adults in Zimbabwe. There is a need to raise awareness and formulate structured programs on the well-being of older adults. Further research is required to map the extent of the psychological and socio-economic challenges faced by older adults in Zimbabwe.

This paper describes a growing but under-documented entrepreneurial phenomenon called entremployees. This is a hybrid form of entrepreneurship, whereby an individual simultaneously pursues a dual career in both formal employment and, based on that employment, entrepreneurship. Typically, in the mainstream literature, entrepreneurship and formal employment are understood as being mutually exclusive phenomena — one either gets a job or engages in entrepreneurship. However, Zimbabwe’s economic downturn in the last two decades has catalysed the growth of entremployeeism. The paper first outlines the characteristics of entremployeeism. Motivating factors including the external environment as push factors are discussed. The theories that beckon entremployeeism as a distinct form of entrepreneurship are presented. Finally, implications for theory and future research conclude the paper.

The idea that innovations enable organisations to enjoy adaptive, competitive, and generative advantages has become widely accepted. This recognition has seen many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) add innovation policy to their national policy frameworks. However, most LMICs continue to experience economic stagnation and low productivity growth amid calls for deeper theoretical and practical examination of what could foster and sustain innovative work behaviour (IWB) in such settings. The study developed and tested a conditional mediation model explaining the activation of IWB with a focus on the central role of decent work. A time-lagged study design informed data collection from two probability samples. Employees self-reported using previously validated measures of the constructs in use. The study used covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) to test the mediation model. Decent work had significant, positive relationships with organisational learning and work engagement. Organisational learning and work engagement were positively and significantly associated with IWB. Work engagement and organisational learning mediated the effect of decent work on IWB. The results provide complementary insights into how decent work may transform into IWB. Leadership seeking to better harness the innovative capabilities resident in their organisations should develop and nurture enterprise-wide, healthy workplaces anchored on the tenets of decent work. The modelled capabilities are learnable, and hence developable. We discuss the study implications and limitations.