Water scarcity threatens over half of the world population, yet over 141 billion liters of fresh water is used globally each day for toilet flushing. This is nearly 6 times the daily water consumption of the population in Africa. The toilet water footprint is so large primarily because large volumes of water are necessary for the removal of human feces; human feces is viscoelastic and sticky in nature, causing it to adhere to conventional surfaces. Here, we designed and fabricated the liquid-entrenched smooth surface (LESS), a sprayable non-fouling coating that can reduce cleaning water consumption by ~90% compared to untreated surfaces due to its extreme repellency towards liquids, bacteria, and viscoelastic solids. Importantly, LESS-coated surfaces can repel viscoelastic solids with dynamic viscosities spanning over 9 orders of magnitude, i.e., three orders of magnitude higher than previously reported for other repellent materials. With an estimated >~1 billion toilets and urinals worldwide, incorporating LESS coating into sanitation systems will have significant implications for global sanitation and large-scale wastewater reduction for sustainable water management.

Employee satisfaction is a main source of firms’ competitive advantages. Employee sense of gain (ESG) is defined as the subjective feeling of getting various objective benefits due to employees’ efforts at work. It appropriately reflects employee satisfaction with the objective needs and their subjective perception of the firms, which affects their attitude, behavior, and work performance. Although ESG is gaining increasing interest in human resource research and managerial practice, literature on its conception, measurement, and contribution to human resource theory is still limited. Study 1 developed an integrative framework of concept of ESG and reported the development and validation of a scale measuring ESG. Based on the exploratory factor analysis of 201 valid questionnaires responded by enterprise staffs, the initial scale was formed. Through confirmatory factor analysis of 172 questionnaires, the formal scale was obtained. The multiphase scale development process resulted in a 14-item ESG scale measuring two dimensions: employee’s material sense of gain and employee’s spiritual sense of gain. Study 2 investigated the influence mechanism of ESG based on statistical analysis of 254 valid questionnaires. The results showed that ESG was influenced by all three dimensions of supportive human recourse practices (SHRP), whereby the influences were mediated by perceived insider status (PIS). Results also suggested that leader political skill (LPS) moderated the effect between SHRP (fairness of rewards and punishments, growth opportunity) and PIS positively. Overall, this research provided a reliable and valid measurement scale of ESG in the Chinese setting and explored the influence mechanism, as well as boundary conditions. Managerial implications were provided from the perspectives of organizations, leaders, and employees.

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PurposeThis paper aims to explore the mechanism of influence on the subordinate's sense of gain at work (SGW) in terms of the coaching leadership behavior (CL), supervisor-subordinate guanxi (SSG) and commitment-based practice of human resource management (CHRM).Design/methodology/approachBased on the survey of 584 employees from 50 firms operating in China, this study explores the effect of CL on employees’ SGW, which concerns two dimensions: sense of material gain and sense of spiritual gain.FindingsResults show that the CL has a significant positive influence on both the subordinate’s sense of material gain and his/her sense of spiritual gain, in which there exists a mediating effect of SSG and moderating effects of CHRM for the influence.Practical implicationsThis study not only develops the theory of SGW, but also provides a scientific basis and policy suggestions for employers to implement in order to enhance their employees’ SGW.Originality/valueFew integrative studies have examined the impact of CL on employees’ SGW. Based on the Need-to-Belong Theory, this study adds new empirical evidence and constructs a theoretical model for the mechanism of influence on the SGW, examines the influence of CL on the subordinate’s SGW and finds a mechanism of transmission (SSG) and a boundary condition (CHRM) for the influence.