Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Aim: The aim of the study was to analyse the psychosocial factors in work- and private life and its correlation with various stress-related symptoms and ill health among employees at a faculty at the Linnaeus University. The goal was also to analyze whether there was a gender difference in these health parameters associated with a difference in psychosocial work and home conditions between women and men. Method: Data were collected through a questionnaire were the responders answered questions about demand, control and social support which emanated from Karasek's demand control model. Their professional position was determined by their pay-and educational level in accordance with the theory of the social gradient of health. Stress was measured using "SCGP scale" and mental illness with the help of the ”General Health Qestionnarie.” Two regression analyses were conducted, the first to analyze the correlation between psychosocial factors and stress-related symptoms and the other to analyze the correlation between psychosocial factors and mental ilness. Results: High demand, low control, low social support and lower professional position had a strong relationship (p<0,000)  with both stress-related symptoms ( R = 0,49) and mental illness ( R = 0,56) even after controlling for confounders.The strongest own relationship (when the overlap effects between different variables was taken into account) were found between high demands and stress-related symptoms (standardized beta 0.35) and high demands and mental illness (standardized beta 0.38). Conclusion: Due to the cross-sectional nature of the study causal inferences cannot be made. However the results showed that high demand, low control and low social support together had a strong correlation with stress-related ill-health. Furthermore, the study showed no gender differences in the psychosocial factors which is a likely explanation for the fact that there was no difference between men and women in neither stress related symptoms or mental illness. This is an important and positive finding because of the fact that the result indicates that differences in health between men and women is reduced when they have equal opportunities in work and private life. / Mål: Målet med studien var att analysera psykosociala faktorer i arbets- och privatliv och dess samband med stressrelaterad ohälsa bland de anställda på en fakultet vid Linnéuniversitetet. Målet var även att analysera huruvida det fanns en könskillnad i dessa hälsoparametrar kopplad till en skillnad i psykosociala förutsättningar mellan kvinnor och män. Metod: Data samlades in via en enkätstudie där de anställda fick svara på frågor kring krav, kontroll och socialt stöd vilka utgick från Karasek´s krav kontroll modell. Individernas plats i yrkeshierarkin avgjordes av deras lön samt utbildningsnivå i enlighet med teorin kring hälsans sociala gradient. De frågor som berörde hemarbete utgick ifrån tidigare forskning på området. Stress mättes med hjälp av ”SCGP scale”, en skala som mäter olika stressrelaterade symtom och psykisk ohälsa mättes med hjälp av ”General Health Qestionnarie”. Två regressionsanalyser genomfördes, den första regressionen analyserade samband mellan psykosociala faktorer och stressrelaterade symtom och den andra regressionen analyserade samband mellan psykosociala faktorer och psykisk ohälsa. Resultat: Höga krav, låg kontroll, lågt socialt stöd samt lägre yrkesposition hade tillsammans ett starkt samband, (p <0,001) med både stressrelaterade symtom (R = 0,49) och psykisk ohälsa (R = 0,56), även efter kontroll för confounders. Det starkaste egna sambandet (när överlappningseffekter mellan olika variabler tagits hänsyn till) återfanns mellan höga krav och stressrelaterade symtom (standardiserad beta 0,35) respektive höga krav och psykisk ohälsa (standardiserad beta 0,38). Konklusion: Resultatet visade att höga krav, låg kontroll, lågt socialt stöd samt lägre plats i yrkeshierarkin tillsammans hade ett starkt samband med stressrelaterade symtom samt psykisk ohälsa. På grund av studiens tvärsnittsdesign kan dock inte orsak och verkan säkerställas. Vidare visade studien inga könsskillnader i ovannämnda psykosociala faktorer vilket är en trolig förklaring till att det inte heller fanns någon skillnad mellan kvinnor och män i stressrelaterade symtom samt psykisk ohälsa. Detta är ett viktigt och positivt fynd då resultatet indikerar på att skillnader i ohälsa mellan kvinnor och män går att utjämna genom att skapa lika förutsättningar i arbets- och privatliv.

Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka hur organisatoriska faktorer som krav i arbetet och stödfunktioner kan påverka grundskolans mellanchefers förutsättningar att vara tillgängliga för medarbetare enligt medarbetarnas förväntningar. För att får svar på vårt syfte använde vi oss av en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet från vår kvalitativa undersökning analyserade vi med hjälp av teorier kring krav i arbetet, kontrollspannetsbetydelse, mellanchefers behov av stöd och chefen som stötdämpare. Resultatet visar att medarbetarna förväntar sig att chefen är nåbar och tar sig tid genom att faktiskt lyssna aktivt när medarbetaren behöver det. Hur stödet ser ut påverkar hur mycket tid chefen kan lägga på att vara tillgänglig enligt medarbetarnas förväntningar. Ett stöd som fungerar frigör tid med medarbetarna medan ett ofungerande stöd istället tar tid från medarbetarna. Kraven på cheferna ökar, möjliga faktorer handlar om att omvärlden förändras och då ändras även arbetets förutsättningar som exempelvis fler uppgifter att hantera. / The aim of our study was to examine how organizational factors such as job demands and support can influence primary school middle managers opportunities to be available to subordinates under subordinates' expectations. To answer our purpose, we used a qualitative approach with semi structured interviews. The results was analyzed using theories of job demands, span of control, middle managers need for support and a theory about middle managers acting as a shock absorber between subordinates wishes and the managements demands. What kind of support the manager have affects how much time the manager can spend on being available for the subordinates. If the support isn´t adapted for the managers situation, the result will be more unnecessary duties for the manager and less time for the subordinates. The results show that subordinates expect the middle manager to be reachable and to take time to priority the subordinate when the subordinate needs it. Even if the manager can prioritize subordinates needs today, changes inside and outside the organization leads to higher demands on the managers.

Universities worldwide are developing a disturbing imbalance with their environments. In recent years, academic working conditions in South African universities have changed dramatically as a result of the country's post-apartheid policies and the accelerating globalisation of knowledge. Academic staff are continually confronted with an overload of job demands without corresponding increases in job resources. These prolonged job stressors that academic staff are subjected to over lengthy periods of time coupled with inadequate job resources can lead to the development of a pathogenically defined construct, namely burnout. The objective of this research was to investigate the relationships between burnout, strain, job characteristics and dispositional optimism in universities in the North-West Province. A cross-sectional design was used. The study population (N = 279) consisted of academic staff of universities in the North-West Province. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), The Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R), Job Characteristics Scale (JCS) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQI9) were used as measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics (e.g. means, standard deviations and kurtosis) were used to analyse the data. Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were used to confirm the structure of the measuring instruments and to test theoretical models. The results showed that the stressors of overload was associated with high levels of exhaustion and low professional efficacy. Job resources (i.e. social support, task characteristics) were related to low levels of exhaustion and cynicism and higher levels of professional efficacy. Exhaustion and low professional efficacy were significantly related to physical and psychological health problems. Exhaustion and cynicism were negatively related to optimism, whereas professional efficacy were positively related to the latter. Optimism moderated the effects of a lack of resources on exhaustion and the effects of job resources on professional efficacy. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Call centre employees in the insurance industry constantly interacts and negotiates with strangers, and are confronted with the unknown, unfamiliar and the unpredictable. They use interactive display terminals during telephone calls and thus perform multiple-tasks with frequent interruptions. Their jobs are also characterised by repetitive movements, while complex information is processed. In addition, call centre employees often work in noisy environments under time pressure, and their performance is usually monitored on line. Job demands and job resources can influence the well-being of call centre employees. Emotional intelligence is deemed to aid in the conceptualisation of psychological well-being and can be applied as a means to successfully cope with daily demands and pressures. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between job demands, job resources, emotional intelligence (EQ) and work-related well-being of call centre employees. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population (n = 141) consisted of call centre employees in a corporate insurance environment in Gauteng. The Bar-On EQ-i, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General survey, UWES, Job characteristics scale and a biographical questionnaire were used as measuring instruments. Cronbach alpha coefficients, inter-item correlation coefficients, factor analysis, Pearson product moment correlation coefficients and structural equation modelling were used to analyse the data. Principal component analysis resulted in a fifteen factor model of emotional intelligence namely emotional self-awareness, assertiveness, self-regard, self-actualisation, independence, empathy, interpersonal relationship, social responsibility, problem-solving, reality testing, flexibility, stress tolerance, impulse control, happiness and optimism. Regarding the Job Characteristics Scale, eight factors were extracted, namely role clarity, supervision, pay and benefits, workload, job security, colleague support, opportunity to grow and social contact between the call centre agents. For the MBI-GS two factors were extracted namely: exhaustion and cynicism and for the UWES one factor was extracted, namely vigour/dedication. The correlation coefficients indicated that exhaustion was statistically a significant positive correlation (practically significant, large effect) with cynicism and a statistically significant positive correlation (practical1y significant, medium effect) with workload. Exhaustion was also a statistically significant negative correlation (practical1y significant, large effect) with engagement and a statistically significant negative correlation (practically significant, medium effect) with role clarity, col1eague support, self-regard, self-actualisation, flexibility, stress tolerance, impulse control, and happiness. Cynicism showed a statistically significant negative correlation (practical significant, large effect) with engagement and a statistically significant negative correlation (practical significant, medium effect) with role clarity, supervision, opportunity to grow, engagement, emotional self-awareness, self-regard, self actualisation, flexibility, and happiness. The results indicated that EQ directly influences the experience of burnout (main effect), however, no results could be obtained supporting the moderating effect of EQ between emotional demands and burnout. Recommendations were made for cal1 centre management in the insurance industry and for future research purposes. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.