The research discussed here forth pertains most dominantly to the moderating effect demonstrated by four different sources of social support on individual and organisational wellbeing in the presence of workplace bullying. Given the turbulent tensions cemented within a South African Apartheid past, bullying, particularly within the workplace, is a likely outcome channelled by conflicting sensations towards diversity. The foundational framework of the presented research was derived from the individual level factors depicted in Einarsen’s conceptual framework of the study and management of workplace bullying, and was implicitly modelled according to Cox and Mackay’s (1978, as cited in Cox & Mackay, 1985) transactional model centred on stressor-strain relationships coupled with associated buffers that may ameliorate the outcomes thereof. A plethora of research suggests that social support serves to operate effectively as a moderator within such a relationship, sufficing thus as a deciding factor in the formulation of the present study, where the stressor was conceptualised as workplace bullying, and the strain took the form of the potential adverse effects imposed on psychological wellbeing (individual wellbeing) and intention to leave (organisational wellbeing). Research has further provided evidence for organisational support from supervisors and colleagues, and external support from friends and family to be common instruments of assistance; the current study thereby sought to assess whether colleague, supervisor, friend, and family support would moderate the relationship between perceptions of bullying, psychological wellbeing and intention to leave. The present study further aimed to examine direct effects by assessing the existence of a relationship between perceptions of bullying, psychological wellbeing, intention to leave and these four sources of social support. Additionally the associations that exist between psychological wellbeing, intention to leave and the sources of support under observation were examined. Correlative analyses and moderated multiple regression analyses were conducted in order to decipher the nature of the relationships outlined above. Results yielded through moderated multiple regressions demonstrated that perceived social support from both colleagues and supervisors moderated the relationship between perceptions of bullying and intention to leave. It was additionally established that when analysed as a single variable, friends and family social support was able to demonstrate a significant inverse interaction effect on intention to leave in the presence of workplace bullying. Correlative analyses revealed that perceptions of bullying demonstrated an inverse association with supervisor support, suggesting thus that higher levels of supervisor support are associated with lower perceptions of bullying, and simultaneously that higher perceptions of bullying are associated with lower levels of supervisor support. Both colleague and supervisor support appeared to demonstrate inverse main effects for psychological wellbeing and intention to leave. Perceptions of bullying predicted the degree of variance vi explained in intention to leave. Therefore higher levels of bullying were found to predict higher levels of intention to leave. The present research therefore provided evidence for the buffering effect of social support, particularly support obtained from supervisors within the workplace, on psychological wellbeing and intention to leave, and colleagues for intention to leave in the presence of perceived workplace bullying. Additional individual-level factors worthy of future consideration, as detected by the current study included the function of childhood attachment, race, gender leadership, proximity, reciprocity, relational value and context specifity of the type and source support, propensity to seek support and coping. In conjunction with individual-level factors, organisational-level factors such as such as company culture, climate, context and industry, are essential factors to consider in the attempt to grasp a holistic understanding of the complexities that may function as precedents of the workplace bullying and social support process. The current study consequently recommended that future research account for the suggestions provided with regard to the limitations, theoretical and practical implications and potential resources utilisable in the subsistence of this process. In so doing, future research may aid in expounding an understandings of the severe experiences to which ‘victimised’ individuals are exposed, alongside the nature and function of various forms of support most effective for workplace difficulties. The responsibility to ensure that an organisation is functioning at optimum levels of productivity rests in the hands of Human Resources practitioners and industrial psychologists working within the organisation. The implications of failing such responsibility are severe; therefore it is necessary for such practitioners to grasp a holistic perspective of the underlying relational elements that operate within the workforce, and to consequently ensure the cultivation of a positive and productive work environment that is conducive to the nurturing of positive and productive employees. This may be aptly achieved through perpetual monitoring of both internal and external environments so as to detect and eradicate negative acts such as bullying, and thereby prevent the escalation of such events.

Psicóloga / The central aim of our study was to broad knowledge on the variables that may help to reduce burnout. To this end, we investigated whether the association between three job demands (i.e. role conflict, emotional demands and cognitive demands) and burnout was moderated by psychological empowerment and perceived team empowerment. Participants were 1268 employees from two organisations (government employees = 287, hospital staff = 981). Latent moderated structural equations revealed different patterns of moderation in the samples. Psychological empowerment offset the influence of the three job demands on burnout in the hospital sample, whereas in the government organisation only emotional demands were buffered. Perceived team empowerment ameliorated the effect of emotional and cognitive demands on burnout in the government sample whereas in the hospital only emotional demands were moderated. Interestingly, both kinds of empowerment were significant moderators of emotional demands in the two samples. Overall, our results support the notion that psychological and perceived team empowerment can be relevant health-promoting factors that help to deal with high job demands and reduce burnout

This thesis is mainly concerned with how equality is related to social and individual wellbeing. It is widely believed that inequalities are both necessary and beneficial for society. This has been repudiated by recent studies claiming the opposite. This thesis will first elaborate on the concept of equality before investigating the relation between inequalities and different components of wellbeing with the use of a literature review. It finds that several adverse effects are correlated with inequalities and that competition might be an explanation for- as well as an amplifier of the adverse effects. Based on these findings, the thesis presents some guidelines for incorporating equality within a set of policy-areas. It concludes that the main points of importance are to avoid connecting the ability and merit of a person to the value of that person as well as to achieve material equality: both these working as a foundation for a subjective feeling of equality in value.