The current economic situation has reconfirmed the importance of researching job insecurity and the impact it has on the individual as well as the organisation. An individual outcome which is normally negatively affected is general health. Engagement, although an experience on individual level, is an organisational outcome affected by job insecurity. With the introduction of positive psychology, emotions in the workplace created new research grounds. It seems that hope and happiness have a positive influence on negative consequences, which can assist managers in finding a competitive advantage in their human capital. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, general health, work engagement, hope and happiness of employees (N = 286) of a co-operation in the North-West Province by using a cross-sectional survey design. The measuring instruments used were Job Insecurity Scale (JIS), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Hope Scale (HS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWL), and a biographical questionnaire. The measuring instruments were translated into Afrikaans which is the language mostly used by the target population. Four articles explained the study through a brief literature review and empirical study in each. Factor analyses were done to determine construct validity, and Cronbach's alphas and inter-item correlation coefficients assessed the internal consistency of the instruments. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient as well as regressions, MANOVA and ANOVA was done to determine relationships between variables. Hierarchical regression was performed to test for moderation and mediation. JIS, GHQ, HS and SWLS confirmed their structural models and proved good internal consistencies. Gender, cultural group and qualification were found to have statistically significant influence on job insecurity. Females regarded the importance of job features and importance of changes to total job higher than their male colleagues. The cultural group 'other' indicated higher levels of job insecurity with regard to likelihood to loose a job feature. This fear was also experienced by participants with a qualification Grade 7 and lower as well as likelihood to changes in total job. No correlation was found between job insecurity and general health, but job insecurity did show correlations with engagement and hope. Hope and happiness were also positively correlated and hope was found to predict happiness. Hope did not moderate the job insecurity general health relationship, but did moderate the relationship between job insecurity and engagement. Hope explained 7% of the variance in general health and 14% of the variance in engagement. Happiness moderated the effect of job insecurity on general health but not of job insecurity on engagement. Happiness also showed a main effect of 13% on general health and predicted 10% of the variance in engagement. When tested, a partial mediation of happiness on the relationship between job insecurity and engagement was found. Recommendations for the organisation and future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The world of work in South Africa has and is still changing. These changes include the introduction of the Employment Equity Act, Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment and the advancement in technologies. In addition, South Africa is now a globalised country and this means that it is faced with the challenge of keeping up with the trends of doing business and working in line with other globalised countries. The effect of tllis in the teaching environment may be linked to the high demands and changes placed on teachers. They have to increase the standard of education and change old ways of teaching. With these rapid changes and demands teachers may feel that they are not competent enough and have limited resources to achieve what it is expected of them by the Government. Consequently, this causes a feeling of job insecurity amongst teachers, especially when they feel that what the government is demanding of them do not compare to the resources available. Job insecurity has an influence on the individual as well as the organisation. On the individual's side, it results in reduced levels of psychological well-being characterised by incidents such as anxiety, social dysfunction, irritation and strain-related psychosomatic complaints. With regard to the organisation, some individuals psychologically withdraw from the job or the whole organisation when they experience a feeling of job insecurity. In addition, there is an increase in absenteeism. Although a feeling of job insecurity is a reality in thc South African world of work, only limited numbers of programmes are implemented to address the problem. To overcome a feeling of job insecurity, employees need to be resilient. When faced with challenges, stressful events and changes individuals cope and adapt in varied ways and show varying degrees of resilience. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on the relationship between job insecurity, general health and resilience of teachers in South Africa. The objective of this study was to determine whether a relationship exist between job insecurity, general health and resilience. The cross-sectional research design was used with a survey technique to collect data from an available random sample of teachers in the Sedibeng West District. The measuring battery consisted of four questionnaires namely; a Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Resilience Scale (RS) and a Biographical Questionnaire. A positive correlation was obtained between job insecurity and psychological distress, suggesting that increased levels of job insecurity are associated with increased levels of psychological distress. Negative correlations were found between job insecurity and resilience as well as resilience and general health, suggesting that individuals who have high levels of resilience also have low levels on job insecurity and psychological distress respectively. A statistically significant difference was found on job insecurity with regard to cultural groups and the employment contract of teachers. Conclusions were drawn from the findings and recommendations were made for the Department of Education and future research. / The world of work in South Africa has and is still changing. These changes include the introduction of the Employment Equity Act, Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment and the advancement in technologies. In addition, South Africa is now a globalised country and this means that it is faced with the challenge of keeping up with the trends of doing business and working in line with other globalised countries. The effect of this in the teaching environment may be linked to the high demands and changes placed on teachers. They have to increase the standard of education and change old ways of teaching. With these rapid changes and demands teachers may feel that they are not competent enough and have limited resources to achieve what it is expected of them by the Government. Consequently, this causes a feeling of job insecurity amongst teachers, especially when they feel that what the government is demanding of them do not compare to the resources available. Job insecurity has an influence on the individual as well as the organisation. On the individual's side, it results in reduced levels of psychological well-being characterised by incidents such as anxiety, social dysfunction, irritation and strain-related psychosomatic complaints. With regard to the organisation, some individuals psychologically withdraw from the job or the whole organisation when they experience a feeling of job insecurity. In addition, there is an increase in absenteeism. Although a feeling of job insecurity is a reality in the South African world of work, only limited numbers of programmes are implemented to address the problem. To overcome a feeling of job insecurity, employees need to be resilient. When faced with challenges, stressful events and changes individuals cope and adapt in varied ways and show varying degrees of resilience. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on the relationship between job insecurity, general health and resilience of teachers in South Africa. The objective of this study was to determine whether a relationship exist between job insecurity, general health and resilience. The cross-sectional research design was used with a survey technique to collect data from an available random sample of teachers in the Sedibeng West District. The measuring battery consisted of four questionnaires namely; a Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Resilience Scale (RS) and a Biographical Questionnaire. A positive correlation was obtained between job insecurity and psychological distress, suggesting that increased levels of job insecurity are associated with increased levels of psychological distress. Negative correlations were found between job insecurity and resilience as well as resilience and general health, suggesting that individuals who have high levels of resilience also have low levels on job insecurity and psychological distress respectively. A statistically significant difference was found on job insecurity with regard to cultural groups and the employment contract of teachers. Conclusions were drawn from the findings and recommendations were made for the Department of Education and future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

In order to stay competitive in an economic landscape characterised by constant turmoil and change, organisations in the chemical industry are engaging in various adaptive strategies like mergers, acquisitions and diversification. Adaptation strategies may vary but they all have similar results in common, one of which is the exposure of employees to feelings of uncertainty and job insecurity. Identifying factors that enable employees to effectively deal with job insecurity is becoming an increasingly important topic for research. The primary objectives of this research were to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, general health and organisational citizenship behaviour of employees in a chemical industry, as well as to determine whether self-efficacy mediates the relationship between job insecurity and general health on the one hand and between job insecurity and organisational citizenship behaviour on the other hand. The research method consists of a literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data. An availability sample (N = 205) was taken from employees in a chemical industry. The Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Organisational Citizenship Behaviour Scale (OCB), General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale (GPSES) and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The statistical analysis was carried out with the SPSS program. Principal component factor analysis confirmed a two factor structure for job insecurity consisting of affective job insecurity and cognitive job insecurity. Factor analysis resulted in three factors for general health, namely psychosomatic symptoms, severe depression and social dysfunction. The two factors of the OCB were confIrmed and were labeled altruism and compliance. The unidimensional structure of the GPSES could also be confirmed and was labeled self-efficacy. All scales indicated acceptable reliability with Cronbach alpha coefficients varying from 0,70 to 0,89. Spearman product-moment correlations indicated a statistically positive correlation (practically significant, medium effect) between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity. Results further indicated that an increase in psychosomatic symptoms will lead to an increase in severe depression and social dysfunction, while an increase in severe depression will be associated with an increase in social dysfunction. It was found that when altruism increased, self-efficacy will also increase. The hypothesised mediating effect of self-efficacy was only partially demonstrated for the relationship between affective job insecurity and general health, as demonstrated by severe depression. Self-efficacy was further shown to mediate the relationship between cognitive job insecurity and altruism. The relationship between cognitive job insecurity and affective job insecurity as dependent variables and compliance as an independent variable were partially mediated by self-efficacy. MANOVA analysis indicated that female employees experienced higher levels of cognitive job insecurity than male employees. White employees and employees with a degree exhibited more organisational citizenship behaviour, as demonstrated by compliance. Results further indicated that African employees and employees with a qualification of up to Grade 11 experienced higher levels of severe depression. Recommendations for future research were made, as well as recommendations to the participating organisation. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

Organisations have been under enormous pressure due to the changes that they are constantly faced with. Most organisations have at some stage been involved in restructuring, laying-off of employees, and outsourcing of non-core business activities with the aim of coping with the change process. When organisations go through these changes, they still need to support their employees. They must ensure that the employees' roles are clarified, and that they feel secure in their jobs in order to improve their commitment to the organisation. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between perceived organisational support, role clarity, job insecurity and organisational commitment. Employees from a business unit in a petrochemical organisation were targeted for this research. The study population included employees from managerial, non-managerial and specialist categories. A cross-sectional design was used to achieve the research objectives. Measures of Perceived Organisational Support (POSQ), Role Clarity (RCQ), Job Insecurity (JIQ), Affective Organisational Commitment (OCQ) and a biographical questionnaire were administered for the study. The statistical analysis was carried out with the help of the SPSS program as well as the AMOS program. Pearson product-moment correlations indicated that when perceived organisational support increases, affective organisational commitment and role clarity will also increase. When perceived organisational support increases, role conflict and job insecurity will Vll decrease. Affective organisational commitment as well as role clarity is predicted by perceived organisational support. MANOYA analysis indicated that male employees experience higher levels of role conflict than their female counterparts. It seems that employees in first line management and professional categories experience significantly higher levels of perceived role conflict than employees in lower level positions. Employees in non-management positions experience significantly higher levels of affective job insecurity than employees in senior management positions. Employees in senior management positions experience significantly lower levels of cognitive job insecurity than employees in non-management positions. Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

The industrialised world of today are characterised by transformation and concepts such as downsizing, rightsizing and restructuring have become a reality. South Africa is not excluded from this worldwide phenomenon and economic and political changes, as well as the shrinking labour market, lead to increased job insecurity. After 1994 local governments were faced with the challenge of high demands for basic services in previously disadvantaged communities, while having limited resources. These organisations are also affected by the processes of restructuring and transformation, which, in turn, have led to understanding in most departments and, as such, may contribute to job stress. In this study, job insecurity is regarded as a stressor, and its possible relationship with burnout, work engagement and coping is explored. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The Job Insecurity Questionnaire, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the COPE Questionnaire were administered together with biographical questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Low levels of job insecurity and burnout and high levels of engagement were found in the study population. Results also indicated that job insecurity is related to burnout, that burnout has a negative correlation with work engagement and coping, and that a positive relationship exists between work engagement and coping. Finally, a regression analysis showed that nine percent of variance in burnout, as measured by the OLBI, is predicted by total job insecurity. Job insecurity can thus partially be used in the prediction of burnout. Limitations in the research are identified and recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

The objective of this Study was to identify any relationships that may exist Main job insecurity, burnout and organisational armament. To determine the levels of job insecurity, burnout and organizational commitment, how different demographic p u p s experience different levels of job insecurity and whether job insecurity can predict burnout and orgauisational commitment. A -sectional w e y design was used. A random sample of human resource workers (N = 146) was used & on a financial institution in Gauteng. The Job Insecurity Survey Inventory (JISI), Maslach Bumout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) wae administered with a biographical questionnaire. The regression analyses indicated that 29, 8% of the total variance was explained by job insecurity on burnout and that 28, 7% of the total variance was explained by job insecurity on organisational commitment / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

The effect of globalisation and the changing world of work place demands on organisations for better performance and competitiveness. The result is large-scale workforce reductions, outsourcing and unemployment, which is taking its toll on the emotional well-being of employees. In an attempt to reduce costs, organisations put pressure on employees who remain at work to modify their jobs, accept alternative employment conditions/positions, or to relocate, all of which are strengthening job insecurity, and leads to employees working harder in order to keep their jobs (Biking, 1999). These factors will lead to tired employees. Shirom (1989) claims that exhaustion is the most important dimension regarding burnout. Internationally, the changing work environment is causing people to experience higher levels of job insecurity. In South Africa we do not only have the impact of globalisation, but our country has also gone through major political changes. Celebrating 10 years of democracy the workers at government organisations are faced with numerous challenges that have an impact on job insecurity, burnout, job engagement and psychological well-being. The primary objective of this research was to examine the relationship between job insecurity, burnout, job engagement and psychological well-being of workers at a government organisation. The measuring instruments that were used are the Job Insecurity Survey Inventory (JISI), the Oldenburg Bumout Inventory (OLBI), the Utrecht Work Job engagement Scale (UWES), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). A cross-sectional survey design was conducted among 500 employees of a government organisation. A response of 296 completed questionnaires was received Results demonstrated a practical significance between Job Insecurity and Job engagement as well as between Job Insecurity and General Health and between Job Insecurity and the exhaustion disengagement scale of the OLBI. It was found that increased job insecurity is associated with decreased work job engagement and poorer general health. Multiple regression analysis indicated that 22% of the variance in job engagement as measured by the OLBI was predicted by job insecurity and 8% of the variance in exhaustion as measured by the OLBI was explained by job insecurity. Further it indicated 14% of the variance in job engagement as measured by the UWES was predicted by job insecurity. A total of 17% of the variance in general health can be explained by job insecurity. Levels of job insecurity, as well as burnout were found to be average. Positive results for job engagement were found, measuring slightly above average. Results indicated good health as measured by this study. Recommendations for the organisation and future research were made / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

During the last few decades economic changes leading to transformations in the labour market have taken place in the industrialised world (Mauno & Kinnunen, 1999). These changes have had to be implemented as a result of economic recession, new information technology, industrial restructuring and accelerated global competition (Hartley, Jacobson, Klandermans & Van Vuuren, 199 1 ; Hellgren, Sverke & Isakson, 1999). South African organisations, to remain competitive in these harsh conditions, have been forced to improve organisational effectiveness and streamline operations (Human, Buitendach & Heyrnans, 2004). Many have had to engage in downsizing and restructuring in order to reduce labour costs and to improve competitiveness. These efforts usually result in the reduction of a large number of staff (Labuschagne, 2005). In addition to having adverse effects for those people who lose their jobs, it may also lead to increased stress among the survivors (Ashford, 1988; Ketz de Vries & Balazs, 1997). The primary objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, organisational citizenship behaviours and affective organisational commitment. Constructs were measured by means of the Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), the Organisational Citizenship Behaviours Questionnaire (OCB), the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OC) and a biographical questionnaire. A cross-sectional survey design was conducted among the 80 employees of a privately-owed franchise store of a large retail supermarket. A response of 66 completed questionnaires was received. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

In South Africa, organisations are exposed to economical, political, social, demographical and technological forces that encourage change. Tremendous pressure is placed on organisations to improve their performance and increase their global competitiveness in this continuously changing world of work. As organisations focus on competition and profit margins, workers are confronted with real or anticipated job loss, causing many to feel insecure about their jobs and future work life. Employees who consider themselves empowered, experience reduced emotional strain. Empowered employees thus derive a sense of meaning from their work, and these results in work engagement. The entire population of employees working at a government organisation in Gauteng was targeted for this research. The study population included workers from all levels, ranging from semi-skilled to professionals. A cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain the research objectives. Three standardised questionnaires were used in the empirical study, namely the Job Insecurity Inventory, the Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire and the Utrecht Work Engagement scale. Results indicated lower levels of job insecurity, psychological empowerment and work engagement compared to previous studies. No correlations were found between job insecurity and psychological empowerment or between job insecurity and work engagement. Psychological empowerment showed a positive correlation with work engagement. Regression analysis indicated that meaning did not show a significant predictive value towards cognitive job insecurity, but indicated significant predictive value towards affective job insecurity and towards work engagement. Cognitive job insecurity predicted work engagement significantly. Conclusions and limitations of the current research were discussed and recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

The world that is becoming more advanced and complex, induces acute competitiveness and immense challenges for organisations and employees. This, along with the increased demands from current operating economic conditions around the globe oblige organizations to embark on adaptive strategies such as downsizing, restructuring and temporary employment as a mechanism to sustain their continued existence in a hastened transformation era. Although these impetuses affect the content and structure of work directly, they also have indirect inherent effects as they create pressures of uncertainty and feelings ofjob insecurity. It is apparent that job insecurity may negatively affect employees' job satisfaction and affective organisational commitment. It is deemed important to identify the negative impacts of these changes on individual employees and devise change management and coping interventions to empower employees in lowering the stress that they may experience due to transformations within their organisations. Thus, the objectives of this research was to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, job satisfaction, affective organisational commitment and work locus of control and how demographic groups might differ in their experience of job insecurity among employees (N = 286) in a co-operation industry. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The constructs were measured by means of the Job Insecurity Scale (JIS), Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQAffective- subscale), Work Locus of Control Scale (WLCS) and a demographic questionnaire. The research method consists of a brief literature review and an empirical study. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the construct validity of the MSQ, OCQAffective, and WLCS. Alpha coefficients were also computed to assess the internal consistency of the scales. Descriptive statistics, Pearson-product moment correlation coefficients, MANOVA, and ANOVA were used to analyse the data. Multiple regression analyses were used to further examine the potential mediating effect of work locus of control in the job insecurity-outcomes relationships. Simple principal component analyses confirmed appropriate factor structures for the JIS. MSQ and OCQ. Although Spector proposed that the WLCS is a unidimensional scale, various previous studies have obtained evidence supporting a two-factor structure. In a similar vein, simple principle component analysis delivered a two-factor structure. All scales used demonstrated an adequate level of internal consistency. Job insecurity indicated a practically significant positive correlation with intrinsic job satisfaction, although the relationship between job insecurity and extrinsic job satisfaction was not statistically significant. A statically significant positive correlation was found between job insecurity and affective organisational commitment. Work locus of control demonstrated a practically significant correlation with job insecurity. Work locus of control demonstrated a practically significant positive correlation with affective organizational commitment, as well as both job satisfaction dimensions. Regression analyses indicated that work locus of control mediates the relationship between job insecurity and intrinsic job satisfaction. Work locus of control was also found to be a mediator of the relationship between job insecurity and affective organisational commitment. It was established that employees with tertiary qualifications such as degrees and postgraduate degrees experienced lower job insecurity as compared to employees with lower qualifications such as Grade 10 to Grade 12. No further significant differences were established in terms of gender, culture, age and tenure in the experience of job insecurity. Conclusions are made, limitations of the current research are discussed and recommendations for the organisation and future research are outlined. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.