Vivien Valko

Type of the article: Research article

Abstract
In today’s dynamic labor market, employee engagement has emerged as a critical organizational priority. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of stress factors on employee commitment and to identify differences in stress perception between mental and manual workers in the Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprise sector. The survey was conducted among 223 employees of the SME sector in Hungary in 2025. Participation was voluntary, anonymous, and confidential in accordance with GDPR requirements. A heterogeneous snowball sampling method was applied. The sample was nearly evenly split between white-collar (50.7%) and blue-collar workers (49.3%). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 23, and nonparametric methods such as the Jonckheere–Terpstra and Mann–Whitney U tests were applied. Descriptive statistics showed medium average levels for stress (Mean number = 3.07) and commitment (Mean number = 3.60). A significant negative trend between perceived stress and organizational commitment was confirmed (z = –3.230; p = 0.001), with higher stress levels. Pairwise comparisons showed that employees experiencing extreme or high stress reported moderate or low levels of commitment (p = 0.003 and p = 0.002). A significant difference in stress perception was found between occupational categories (U = 5129.000; p = 0.018), with higher levels among white-collar employees. Among knowledge workers, the most influential stressors included complex tasks (44.4%), tight deadlines (39.0%), lack of support (35.9%), insufficient information (34.1%), and unclear expectations (30.9%). Thus, workplace stress significantly reduces organizational engagement and highlights the importance of targeted stress management strategies in SMEs.

Acknowledgments
This research has been funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant IRN AP23489234 “Research of new tools for the development of agro-technological hubs in the regions of Kazakhstan to increase the country’s competitiveness in the Eurasian region”).

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Given the instability of global energy markets and recurring price shocks, it is increasingly important to assess the sustainability of economic growth in countries heavily dependent on oil and gas, such as Kazakhstan. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the oil and gas sector’s production, fiscal and external sector transmission channels on Kazakhstan’s economic growth during 2010–2024. The empirical base includes official data from the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Finance, and the World Bank, as well as economic indicators related to exchange-rate dynamics and inflation. The study employs a combination of cointegration analysis, vector error correction models (VECM), and short-term ordinary least squares (OLS) specifications. The results show that oil production and GDP are linked by a stable long-term relationship, with the error-correction term indicating that about 24% of deviations from equilibrium are eliminated per year. Gas production emerges as a key short-term growth factor: a one-thousand-ton increase in gas production is associated with a 5.26 billion tenge (11.8 million USD) in GDP (p = 0.002). Tax revenues from the oil and gas sector exert a moderate positive effect on economic dynamics (p = 0.065), reflecting fiscal sensitivity to external conditions. The external sector channel exhibits the strongest short-term effect: a one-unit depreciation of tenge is associated with an average increase of 2.61 × 10⁵ tenge in nominal GDP (p < 0.01). Overall, the results indicate that Kazakhstan’s economic growth is shaped by long-term dependence on production and short-term transmission of price and financial shocks.

Acknowledgments
This paper has been funded by the Science Committee MSHE RK (Grant “Strategy for the structural and technological modernization of the basic sectors of the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, taking into account ESG approaches: criteria, implementation mechanisms, and forecast scenarios” BR24993089).