The pace at which change is occurring in the life of human beings, due to technological advancement, could be described as logarithmic. This fast-paced change is not just of consequence to the individual, but to countries, governments, companies, big and small systems like villages and sports clubs and the like, as well. This study case was inspired by the fact that what was a little-known threat yesterday, could suddenly become a crippling matter. It is, therefore, critical for individuals and businesses to consider risk not just in the usual context but with an open mind. This is especially true for systems in the Third World or developing nations where evolutionary stages of advancement and development are known to have been skipped due to forced or influenced adoption by the advanced or First World dictates. An example is the adoption of Carbon Emission Minimisa tion Pacts that have also been mooted for developing nations, even though their participation in causing the past Industrial Revolution pollution was minimal. A small operation in the Eastern Cape may, today, see no need to attract an overseas customer, not realising that the local customer may enter a merger or be bought out by an international organisation which would demand international protocols on the local supplier. Such is the risk with Globalisation. Local businesses should embrace global competitive practices for sustainability in the global business arena that is surely upon the business place today and the short term. South African businesses are no longer protected by the country borders, or the government and political systems such as the apartheid-born sanctions and tariff regimes. The objective of this study of Legionella bacteria risk management by business firms in the Eastern Cape (East London and Border Areas) is to obtain an insight into how they fare on one of the risks that, in Europe, is legislated and, in many parts of the First World, is regarded as fundamental. Beside the globalisation issues mentioned above, the South African workforce has been noted as highly affected by HIV and TB, which are symptomatic of people susceptible to Legionnaire‟s Disease. The high cost and skills shortage in the South African industry demand great care in order to prevent further loss, due to sick absenteeism or the death of workers. The study included a comprehensive literature review of issues around Legionella bacteria in industrial operations and how ill effects could be prevented and managed. A questionnaire was then drawn up and used to check for awareness, capability and ascertain what motivational factors could influence Legionella risk management by businesses in the geographical study area. All businesses with facilities utilising water cooling towers, safety showers, waste water treatment plants, humidifier air conditioning and water fountains, were presented with the questionnaire. A 56 percent return was achieved and responses were processed and analysed using Microsoft Excel on a Windows XP computer package. The findings showed that there was a poor awareness of Legionella bacteria and the risk they posed, a factor that may be used to explain the poor questionnaire returns. The capability assessment also showed a weak status. Legislation, proof of outbreak and fines were determined as effective would-be motivators for full Legionella risk management. The study concluded with recommendations for awareness programmes by interested bodies like the Legionella Action Group, Department of Labour and companies providing Legionella consulting services. While legislation and, therefore, fines, were not yet applied in South Africa, the drive for employee and community welfare should be adequate motivating factors for businesses to manage Legionella risk. Foreign capital inflow into the South African economy was also a factor that should be considered by businesses that looked to expand and need to access these funds through mergers or acquisitions. These funds would require financial as well as technical audits that show adequate risk protection.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the mediating effects of job-related negative emotions on the relationship between workplace aggression and outcomes. Additionally, the moderating effects of workplace social support and intensity of workplace aggression are considered. A total 321 of working individuals participated through an online survey. The results of this thesis suggest that job-related negative emotions are a mediator of the relationship between workplace aggression and outcomes, with full and partial mediation supported. Workplace social support was found to be a buffering variable in the relationship between workplace aggression and outcomes, regardless of the source of aggression (supervisor or co-worker) or the source of the social support. Finally, intensity of aggression was found to be a strong moderator of the relationship between workplace aggression and outcomes.

Till största delen anlitas företagshälsan för efterhjälpande insatser på individnivå. Alla arbetsgivare ska enligt arbetsmiljölagen bedriva ett förebyggande systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete (SAM). Företagshälsans kompetens utnyttjas sällan i SAM, även om arbetsmiljölagen föreskriver att det ska göras om kompetensen saknas i den egna organisationen. Vid Arbetsmiljöenheten, som är Region Jönköpings läns inbyggda företagshälsa, har en metod arbetats fram för att användas i företagshälsans förebyggande arbetsmiljöarbete. Den kallas SMAK (Strukturerad Multidisciplinär Arbetsmiljökartläggning). Den bygger på nära samarbete med arbetsgivarorganisationen och dess anställda och den ligger till grund för arbetsmiljöarbete och utvärdering av effekten av olika interventioner insatta i syfte att förbättra arbetsmiljön. Arbetssättet har testats i liten skala med goda erfarenheter och syftet med förbättringsarbetet var att skala upp användningen och att fler av medarbetarna på Arbetsmiljöenheten skulle vara involverade. Förbättringsidén var att ett utbildningskoncept utformades och genomfördes för medarbetarna vid Arbetsmiljöenheten och som avslutades med att möjligheter och hinder identifierades tillsammans för den fortsatta utvecklingen av arbetssättet. För att studera vilken påverkan utbildningskonceptet haft för de anställda på Arbetsmiljöenheten användes flermetodsperspektiv. Förbättringsarbetet ledde inte till att SMAK användningen skalades upp eller att fler involverades i det under projekttiden. Däremot ökade uppfattningen om användbarheten för SMAK i företagshälsans arbete och för egen del. De möjligheter och hinder som identifierades ligger till grund för fortsatt arbete. Studien visade att förbättringsarbetet har stärkt det interna samarbetet och bidragit med entusiasm inför en fortsatt gemensam utveckling av användningen av SMAK i förebyggande arbetsmiljöarbete. Studien visade också att även om initiativet till det utvidgade arbetssättet kom från företagshälsans ledning så har förbättringsarbetet lett till en grund för fortsatt utveckling som utgår från medarbetarna på företagshälsan, vilket är en viktig faktor för att lyckas med förbättringsarbete. / The Occupational Health Service (OHS) mostly work with aftercare for the individual. There are general demands for every employer to work with the occupational environment in a planned and systematic way. The competence in OHS is rarely used in the proactive work environment management. The Swedish Work Environment Act tells us to involve the OHS if knowledge and capabilities in your organization is not sufficient. At Arbetsmiljöenheten, which is Region Jönköping County built in OHS, has a tool developed to be used in the OHS involvement in proactive work environment management. It is called SMET (Structured Multidisciplinary Work Evaluation Tool). It depends on close cooperation with the employer and the employees and is the basis for work environment management and evaluation of interventions done to improve the work environment. SMET has been tested with good experiences in a small scale and the aim of the improvement work was to scale up the use and let it be possible for more of the coworkers at Arbetsmiljöenheten to use the tool. The idea to test in the improvement work was to construct an educational program for the coworker at the OHS and then together identify possibilities and obstacles for future work. A multi perspective approach was used to study the effect for the coworkers. There was no increase in the usage of SMET, neither were more coworkers involved during the project. However, coworkers thought SMET was usable both for them as individuals and for the OHS. The possibilities and the obstacles identified after the education became the base for the future work. The result from the study tells that the improvement work has strengthen the cooperation at the occupational health service and there is an enthusiasm for the future codevelopment of the way to work with SMET in preventive and proactive work environment management. The result from the study also says that even if the initiative for an extended way of working initially come from the management, the improvement work has led to a foundation on which to build on where the coworkers are central, which is important for successful improvement work.

The general aim of this study was to research the relationship between psychosocial functioning and emotional intelligence in a sample of 69 employees in different organisational settings in South Africa. Each respondent completed the Personal Multi-Screening Inventory (PMSI) and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). The research findings indicated that there are significant relationships between subscales of the PMSI and subscales of the MSCEIT, in that the ability to manage emotions is associated with low levels of Helplessness, Stress and Frustration, and high levels of Expectation, Satisfaction and Achievement, whereas the ability to perceive emotions is associated with low levels of Satisfaction and Achievement. A relatively high level of the ability to perceive emotions is also associated with Helplessness. It is recommended that employee wellness interventions in the workplace be enhanced through emotional intelligence mediation of negative psychosocial functioning. The study is concluded with recommendations for further research. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The general aim of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between employee wellness (specifically sense of coherence, burnout, sources of job stress and work engagement) and career anchors, and to determine whether gender, race, employment and age groups differed in terms of the employee wellness and career anchors variables. The study was conducted among a random sample of 90 employees in a typical South African work context. The data was collected by means of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ), Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI), Sources of Job Stress, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and the Career Orientations Inventory (COI). Supporting evidence indicates significant associations between employee wellness and the career anchors variables. The results also showed significant differences between the career anchors of males, females, blacks, whites, permanent staff, contract staff and age groups. The findings contribute valuable new knowledge to the wellness and career literature and organisational practices related to employee wellness and career decision making. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The purpose of the research was to explore the challenges faced by both employer and employee when the later undergoes active cancer treatment from a systemic perspective. A qualitative research was conducted using a case study of six sessions with both employer and employee. The study revealed that the employer and employee defined their relationship and boundaries as a system. The research project made a great impact on the researchers’ map regarding cancer or any other symptom, the person with cancer and the employer. In the researcher’s old map, before the research project, cancer implied a very threatening disease which rendered both the employer and the employee helpless and powerless. Through the research project the researcher discovered the significance of not having preconceived ideas as according to this study both the employer and employee had the freedom to punctuate their challenges in relation to the latter undergoing active treatment. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Science (Mental Health))

The context of this research is the coping and wellness of call centre agents in a characteristically high-stress work environment. The purpose of the study was to construct a psychological coping profile by investigating the relationship between individuals‘ wellness-related dispositional attributes and their resiliency-related behavioural capacities which has been under researched in a call centre work environment. A quantitative cross-sectional survey approach was followed. The population comprised predominantly of a non –probability sample of (N=409) predominantly early career permanently employed black females employed in call centres in Africa. Correlation and multivariate statistics highlighted cognitive (cynicism and hardy-control), affective (managing own emotions) and conative (hardy-commitment) behavioural elements that should be considered in the psychological coping profile of call centre agents. Age and gender were also shown to be significant moderators of the relationship between the wellness-related attributes and the resiliency-related capacities. The main findings are reported and interpreted in terms of an empirically derived psychological coping profile. The findings may provide valuable pointers for the design of wellness intervention practices which add to the body of knowledge concerned with employee wellness in call centres / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology study was to explore and describe the meaning employees attribute to the lived experiences of returning to work after cancer treatment. Semi-structured interviews were held with eight participants and a thematic data analysis method was used. The results indicate that cancer survivors experience various challenges that make it difficult to function as they did before the diagnosis when they return to work. A critical hermeneutical reflection against the literature followed the structural analysis and resulted in a contextual framework that incorporated the individual and organisational perspective on the various influences involved in supporting cancer survivors to maintain their wellbeing when they return to work. Four phases, repression, comprehension, activation and reintegration, were identified when they tried to cope/adjust on their return to work. The corresponding forms of organisational support they expected through these phases were labelled motivation, information, navigation and stabilisation. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com.

The purpose of the research was to explore the challenges faced by both employer and employee when the later undergoes active cancer treatment from a systemic perspective. A qualitative research was conducted using a case study of six sessions with both employer and employee. The study revealed that the employer and employee defined their relationship and boundaries as a system. The research project made a great impact on the researchers’ map regarding cancer or any other symptom, the person with cancer and the employer. In the researcher’s old map, before the research project, cancer implied a very threatening disease which rendered both the employer and the employee helpless and powerless. Through the research project the researcher discovered the significance of not having preconceived ideas as according to this study both the employer and employee had the freedom to punctuate their challenges in relation to the latter undergoing active treatment. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Science (Mental Health))

The context of this research is the coping and wellness of call centre agents in a characteristically high-stress work environment. The purpose of the study was to construct a psychological coping profile by investigating the relationship between individuals‘ wellness-related dispositional attributes and their resiliency-related behavioural capacities which has been under researched in a call centre work environment. A quantitative cross-sectional survey approach was followed. The population comprised predominantly of a non –probability sample of (N=409) predominantly early career permanently employed black females employed in call centres in Africa. Correlation and multivariate statistics highlighted cognitive (cynicism and hardy-control), affective (managing own emotions) and conative (hardy-commitment) behavioural elements that should be considered in the psychological coping profile of call centre agents. Age and gender were also shown to be significant moderators of the relationship between the wellness-related attributes and the resiliency-related capacities. The main findings are reported and interpreted in terms of an empirically derived psychological coping profile. The findings may provide valuable pointers for the design of wellness intervention practices which add to the body of knowledge concerned with employee wellness in call centres / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)