M.B.A. / This research project is concerned with the behavioural changes of contract managers while working on 'remote' project sites. While working on such a project, the researcher became aware that the behaviour of certain contract managers changed over the course of the project, and that this behaviour was not the same as they demonstrated when at home or in the office environment. In many instances these behavioural changes were of a negative nature, the consequences of which often resulted in high costs being incurred by both the firm, in terms of productivity, and the individuals, physically and emotionally. The researcher explores a number of the most notable changes that were observed on site, and then undertakes research, by way of an ethnographic study, to determine whether these observations are valid in terms of being common to other contract managers on other remote sites. The research identified that a number of behavioural changes were indeed valid and that certain factors of concern to the majority of contract managers, acted as stressors that affected or influenced their behaviour. The research further confirms that both individual factors, such as personality and attitudes, as well as situational factors combine to influence the degree of behavioural change that an individual exhibits. In light of the findings, the researcher then offers a number of recommendations that senior management can implement to aid in restricting certain negative behavioural changes.

A dissertation submitted to the school of psychology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts (industrial psychology), by coursework. / Despite the potentially devastating effect that stress may have on the performance and productivity of the workforce (Greenblo,1992), few South African companies have thoroughly looked at and studied the various aspects of stress. By doing this, they should then be able to develop and implement effective stress reduction programmes, The aim of the present study, therefore, was to identify some of the causes, outcomes, and moderators of stress, which could then be used as the basis for developing stress reduction programmes. Some stressor-outcome relationships (such as job satisfaction, self-esteem, propensity to leave the organisation, and health) were looked at, after which the possible moderating effect of certain variables (gender, personality, coping style, job pressure, and organisational support) were considered. The study adopted a cross-sectional design and the data was collected using both quantitative and qualitative means. The sample consisted of 290 managers all of whom belong to one of the country's largest financial institutions, and work in one of'the various branches in and around the Gauteng region. Correlations, t-tests, anovas and a content analysis were used to evaluate the stressor-outcome relationships. In addition to these statistical analyses, moderated multiple linear regressions were conducted in order to test for any moderating variables. Overall, most of the stressor-outcome relationships were found to be significant, but the number of actual moderating variables was shown to be rather minimal. Inaddition. the information which was derived from the content analysis served to add some insight into the sometimes contradictory findings, An in-depth look at the findings of the present study can be found in the discussion section, where possible reasons and explanation for the result- are presented. Theoretical and practical implications of the study, together With the limitations, are offered. Following this, some important guidelines and suggestions for future research are considered. / AC2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Organisational Psychology / Stratified Systems Theory classifies roles within organisations according to varying discontinuous levels or layers of work (Stamp, 1981). These levels are differentiated according to the time frames within which employees typically see results, the level of responsibility they are expected to take on, as well as the complexity of the work they are engaged in (Jaques, 2007a). The aim of the current study was to contribute towards existing literature on managerial derailment by investigating whether there is an association between the level of work and the risk of derailing behaviour, and if the degree of fit between an individual’s level of work and their current and future cognitive capability is associated with the risk of derailing behaviour. Derailing behaviour is conceptualised as destructive actions that have a detrimental effect on the career progression or success of an individual (Freedman, 2005). Archival data was made available to the researcher from a single large, international telecommunications organisation based in South Africa. Participants who had been assessed using the Modified Career Path Appreciation (MCPA) as well as the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) were included in the study. The final sample (n=252) consisted of managers working at various levels of the organisation who had been assessed for the purposes of either selection or development during 2015. Overall, the research hypotheses were not supported. Contrary to what was expected, a higher level of work was not associated with a greater risk of derailing behaviour. In fact, a greater number of derailers were evident at a lower level of work when compared to a slightly higher level of work. Furthermore, contrary to what was hypothesised, those whose level of work exceeded their current or future capabilities did not display a greater risk of derailing behaviour than those who achieved fit with their environment. On the contrary, a greater risk of derailing behaviour was found for those whose current or future capabilities exceeded that required by their level of work. No differences in the types of derailing behaviour reported were found to be associated with the level of work an individual is operating at, the degree of fit they experience between their current capability and their work environment, or the degree of fit they experience between their future capability and their work environment. All the analyses conducted reinforced the same finding that participants in the sample were more likely to report a high risk of displaying derailers falling into the ‘moving against’ category, regardless of these factors. / GR2017

No description available.

The purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed among perceived stressful situations in the classroom and the amount of perceived stress among female secondary classroom teachers in Indiana.The population of the study consisted of 268 female secondary classroom teachers randomly selected by computer at the Indiana Department of Education.Three instruments were used in the study. The first instrument, General Information, was used to gather demographic data pertaining to Age Group, Years of Experience, Type of School System, Population of School System, Enrollment of Secondary School, Subject Area taught, and Grade Level(s) taught. The second instrument, Perceived Stress Questionnaire, was used to indicate the amount of perceived stress experienced by respondents. The third instrument, Perceived Needs in Stress Counseling, was used to indicate the type of counseling respondents perceived needed in order to help teachers deal with stress. The Perceived Stress Questionnaire and Perceived Needs in Stress Counseling Questionnaire employed a Likert-type scale with five degrees provided from which to choose: About 10% or less of the time, About 25% of the time, About 50% of the time, About 75% of the time, and About 90% or more of the time.The data were analyzed by frequency response percentages and cross tabulation for the General Information items, Perceived Stress Questionnaire items, and for Perceived Needs in Stress Counseling items.The following findings and conclusions were based on a review of the literature as presented in the study and the results of the data collected:1. Student threats and physical attacks are major sources of stress among discipline problems for teachers.2. Administrators not supportive of teachers in conflict situations in the presence of students are a predominant stress factor.3. Students not cooperative in class are a major source of stress for responding teachers.4. Student Apathy and lack of volunteerism in class are not major sources of stress among respondents.5. Parents defending their child's misbehavior are a major source of stress among Lack of Parental Support items.6. The majority of teachers responding did not desire stress counseling to assist them in dealing with classroom stress.

There is growing concern over the large number of Indian teachers in South Africa resigning from the profession to seek alternate employment or to emigrate. Despite this concern, very little empirical research has been undertaken to investigate the probable sources of stress and dissatisfaction among Indian teachers in this country. The present study was planned to investigate the incidence and association between emotional distress, work-related stress and job satisfaction among South African Indian teachers. The research design involved the analysis of data on Psychological Stress, Event Stress and Satisfaction with Teaching, which was obtained from a sample of 75 Indian teachers drawn from schools in the Durban area. Informed consent was obtained from the subjects prior to participation in the research. The 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), a Teacher Stress Questionnaire consisting of a 25-item Event Stress Inventory and a 25-item Satisfaction With Teaching Questionnaire, were administered. The following were the major findings: 1. The degree of emotional distress experienced by Indian teachers was significantly high. 2. Although the overall levels of work-related stress were high they were not significantly related to the number of years of teaching experience or to the mental health of the teachers. 3. There was a positive association between psychological distress and job dissatisfaction. The older teachers experienced greater psychological stress and job dissatisfaction. 4. Secondary school teachers were found to be experiencing more severe degrees of psychological distress, much higher levels of work-related stress and lower levels of job satisfaction than primary school teachers. The findings highlight the need for further research and have implications for therapeutic intervention. / Thesis (M.Med.)- University of Natal, Durban, 1990.

In large numbers, teachers are reporting high levels of work-related stress. Surveys from many countries reveal widespread concern about the effects of stress on teachers’ wellbeing and willingness to stay in the profession. The purpose of this study was to investigate coping strategies that teachers employ when faced with stress in primary schools located in the North Durban Region of Phoenix. Other related aims were to identify the causes of stress and the most significant factors that contribute to teacher stress. Current research reveal that teacher stress has a detrimental effect not only on their physical, mental, social and emotional well being, but also on their efficiency and productivity in the teaching and learning situation. Statistical analyses revealed that some of the main factors that contributed to teacher stress were large classes, the frequent changes to the curriculum, administrative tasks and the lack of motivation by learners to study. Teachers use a wide range of coping strategies to deal with stress but very few find effective ways to counter the negative effects of stress. Teachers reported that the most effective action that schools or the government could take to reduce teacher stress was to decrease teachers’ workload. These findings are in line with those reported in many western countries where the stress caused by a heavy workload and coping with educational reforms have been very much in evidence. It is anticipated that the present study will be of benefit to teachers, administrators, decision makers and other stakeholders in education. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2010.

This quantitative study was conducted using a population of Child Protection Social Workers (CPSWs) and other staff at a relatively small Child Welfare agency in Eastern Ontario (Northumberland County). The participants (n = 29) completed four questionnaires aimed at gathering data regarding demographics, Ongoing Stressors, Critical Incidents, and Horowitz's Impact of Events Scale (IES). The goal of the research was to add to the scant empirical data regarding stress and post-traumatic stress in CPSWs and Child Welfare organizations as a whole. The results indicated that 9 out of 11 front-line CPSWs were considered to be experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder based on their IES scores at the time of the testing. The study includes descriptive and correlational data for the participants.

The Occupational Stress Inventory (OSI) and a Data Form were used to describe levels of occupational stress, psychological strain, and coping resources of 500 randomly selected elementary school counselors across the United States. Stress, strain, and coping were examined at levels of demographic variables including age, gender, school size and setting, parental status, years in profession, schools served, marital status, students assigned, and hours worked. Data were collected by mail survey which had an 84% (n = 410) return rate. Of these, 310 were usable for data analysis. Respondents averaged 44.18 years old; 87.1% were female. Approximately three fourths had less than 10 years experience in their jobs, worked in education more than 8 years, were married, and were parents. Scores on the OSI for stress, psychological strain, and coping resources fell in the average ranges for all subscales. Examination of levels of demographic variables revealed Role Overload, Role Boundary, and Role Ambiguity subscales were higher for counselors serving three or more schools. Counselors serving schools in two or more kinds of geographic settings reported higher Role Overload and Responsibility stress. Elementary school counselors who were parents of one child had higher overall scores on Psychological, Interpersonal, and Physical strain scales compared to parents with two children. Counselors aged 56 & older showed better Self-care and Recreational coping scores than some younger counterparts. Parents scored significantly lower on the Recreational and Self-care scales compared to non-parents, as did counselors who were parents of one child compared to parents of two. It is recommended that counselor educators attempt to increase student awareness of the importance of developing coping skills to apply to their own occupational stress. This should be emphasized during practicum and internship activities. Legislative or administrative action may help provide support for counselors in the form of increased parental leave time, assignment to fewer than three schools, or assignment to schools located in similar geographic settings. Counselor education programs are urged to teach counselors organizational skills, systematic problem solving, and time management skills. Recommendations for further research are made. / Ph. D.

This thesis is concerned with the role of individual differences in personality and social support in mitigating work-related stress. The model of work stress described by House (1981) served as a general theoretical framework for two questionnaire studies of white-collar workers carried out in the course of this research. The present work also draws upon the demand-discretion model developed by Karasek (1979). The first study was carried out with a sample (N=117) of employees and self-employed business men and women. The main aims were to investigate: (i) individual differences in perceived social support; (ii) the stress-buffering role of support resources in moderating work-related stress. The results showed significant differences in personality and work characteristics between the occupational groups. There was evidence of interactive relationships between nAch, extroversion and locus of control in predicting perceived social support. Work and non-work support showed different moderating effects on job stressors in relation to job satisfaction and GHQ. A negative buffering effect of social support on job demand was also found in the prediction of GHQ. The findings suggest the importance of investigating further the role of individual differences in the way people develop and access socially supportive networks. The main objectives of the second study were: (i) to extend, in longitudinal data, previous findings concerning the buffering role of social support and individual differences in mediating the stress-illness relationship; (ii) to test the Johnson demand-control-support model of work stress. Work-related demands, social support, personality traits, and psychological health were assessed among a group of new graduates (N=121) in their first year of employment. The results showed significant changes in the overall levels of perceived demand, work-related support and psychological well-being between Time 1 and Time 2, and replicated the stress-buffering effects of social support found in the first study. More importantly, the findings suggest that the efficacious moderating effects of supportive relationships is dependent on the timing and matching of "stressors" with specific support resources; work-related social support showed weaker stress-buffering effects at initial assessment but was significantly stronger in moderating job stressors at Time 2. Analyses of individual difference variables showed that neuroticism, locus of control, and individual preferences for particular types of work characteristics acted as moderator variables. Consistent with Karasek and Johnson's models, significant demand-discretion and demand-discretion-support interactions was also found. However, in some instances, the three-way demand-control-support interactions were not of the form predicted. Overall, the present studies provide further information concerning the stress-buffering role of social support and individual differences at work. Further research should also focus on the sequencing of the stress-support process in order to provide a clearer understanding of how supportive relationships moderate work-related demands.