The complex environment of an intensive care unit is associated with a considerable amount of stress. Intensive care nurses are confronted daily with increasing work demands, emanating from the growing numbers of critically-ill patients; the introduction of highly sophisticated technologies in the intensive care environment; increasing competition between health care institutions; increased work loads; and limited career opportunities caused by, among other things, budget cuts by the government (Janssen, De Jonge & Bakker, 1999:1360). Research has shown that such stressors can result in mental, physical and behavioural stress reactions among nurses (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner and Schaufeli, 2000:454). The objective of this study is to explore and describe registered nurses’ perceptions of factors causing stress in intensive care environments of state hospitals. The main purpose of the study is to develop guidelines for a stress management programme, to assist registered nurses to cope with the stressors in an intensive care environment. The research design is placed within a quantitative, explorative and descriptive contextual framework. Validity and reliability in testing and evaluating the research questionnaire are discussed, as well as the ethical and legal considerations relating to this research study. Findings of the research study will be utilized to assist the researcher in developing guidelines for a stress management programme to assist registered nurses in coping with stress in an intensive care environment

Critical care nursing is a vital and significant part of health care provision to critically ill patients. It is a specialty area of nursing that requires registered nurses who are highly motivated, knowledgeable and skilled to provide optimal care to critically ill patients. These patients are nursed in a complex environment consisting of specialised equipment (such as ventilators, defibrillators, intravenous pumps, and cardiac monitors) that is not found in any other field of nursing. Collegial support and an adequate registered nurse: patient ratio is vital in critical care units in order to provide optimal quality care to critically ill patients. However, an understaffed work environment, the demands of critical care nursing and other work-related problems, such as conflict with physicians, inadequate remuneration packages and an increased workload can cause serious distress and dissatisfaction amongst registered nurses in this specific environment (Carayon & Gürses, 2005:287). The objectives of this study therefore are to explore and describe the experiences of registered nurses of their work environment in a critical care unit and to make recommendations that will assist registered nurses working in a critical care unit. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design will be utilised. Data will be collected by means of semi-structured interviews and analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Cresswell, 2003:192). Purposive sampling will be used to select a sample of registered nurses working in a critical care environment. Guba’s model (in Krefting, 1991) will be utilised to verify data and to ensure trustworthiness of the study. Ethical considerations will be adhered to throughout the study. Once data has been analysed, recommendations will be made that will assist registered nurses working in a critical care unit.

The morale of educators in certain schools is very low. From the literature review I concluded that not all schools experience low morale in the same way. There are different factors impacting on the morale of educators at different schools. In this study, the causes of low educator morale, indicators of low morale, the importance of high morale and how low morale can be dealt with were addressed in order to provide guidelines to improve low morale. An empirical study was conducted and 2 schools in the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth were used in this case study to establish to what measure the educators are exposed to the abovementioned variables. The data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. South Africa is divided into different demographic areas. The majority of people living in the communities where these schools are located are poor, unskilled, unemployed and the crime levels are very high. The socio-economic context within which these schools are located also has an impact on the morale of the educators at these schools and it affects their working lives. Educators, SMTs and principals took part in the empirical study so that their views can be compared and to facilitate the researcher to make recommendations on improving low educator morale. The research outcomes were analysed and deductions, recommendations and a need for further research were given. The empirical and literature study emphasised that the morale of educators is low in the schools and this morale status impacts on learners’ achievements, the health of the educators and the health of the institution. The educators in this study ranked their own morale status as low and some of the causes of the low morale according to the empirical study are lack of resources, ill-disciplined learners, uninvolved parents and an ineffective management style of the principal.

The literature has indicated that nurses perceive more occupational stressors than do other professional groups. HIV is a new stressor which has impacted on society, in particular on people caring for HIV/AIDS patients. The availability of antiretroviral treatment (ART) which is accessible at wellness clinics has improved the quality of life of people with HIV and greatly prolonged the lives of many infected people. Wellness clinics are out-patient clinics where HIV positive patients receive their ART. This study has explored and described the occupational stressors perceived by nurses working in wellness clinics in Nelson Mandela Bay. The study was conducted using a qualitative research approach. Convenience sampling was used consisting of voluntary registered female nurses. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using Tech’s method. The nurses who participated in this study reported their perceptions of occupational stressors in wellness clinics where they worked. The occupational stressors perceived by the nurses included the working environment, interpersonal relationships and the organizational structure. However, they also reported that they experienced satisfaction from their jobs despite the perceived stressors.

The main purpose of this study is to explore the factors that contribute to occupational stress as experienced by the Student Support staff in a Further Education and Training (FET) College in the Southern Cape. The Student Support staff has displayed many symptoms of stress over the past few years. This in turn has led to absenteeism, change in staff temperament, their feelings towards the College, motivation levels and a significant change in the staff’s day to day operations. Although the Head of Department for Student Support Services has engaged with the staff on numerous occasions to discuss the reasons for their experience of stress, no substantial reasons could be established in order to make the necessary changes in the department. No interventions that have been implemented to date have relieved the staff’s experience of stress. The researcher chose to use a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design to gain insight into the situation or phenomenon in order to identify the factors contributing to occupational stress and to identify measures that can be implemented to reduce occupational stress in the Student Support staff. The participants in this research included at least 10 Student Support staff within the Student Support Services Department at a Further Education and Training College in the Southern Cape. Purposive sampling was used in this research study. Interviews will continue until data saturation is achieved. The staff members must have been employed for at least one year in the Student Support Services Department. The researcher will make use of semi-structured interviews, observations and field notes. The data will be systematically collected and meanings, themes and general descriptions of the experience analysed within the specific context (de Vos, Strydom, Fouche & Delport, 2005). The researcher will make use of Tesch’s method of analysis, and use Guba’s strategies for ensuring Trustworthiness. The researcher will apply the ethical considerations of confidentiality, informed consent, ethical approval from relevant institutions, avoidance of harm to participants, truthfulness and the debriefing of participants when conducting this study. The findings were reported as three major themes and subthemes. The three major themes were; Student support staff identified several factors that contributed to occupational stress, Student support staff identified the effect that occupational stress has on them, Student support staff offered suggestions that the college could implement to reduce occupational stress. These themes were discussed and analysed in-depth.

M.A. (Psychology ) / The purpose of this study was firstly to develop a measuring scale to determine tension experienced by working mothers who still have pre-school children in nursery schools...

Bibliography: pages 105-116. / The present study investigated the relationships between work stressors, three moderator variables, and a variety of affective, behavioural and health outcomes. More specifically, it was hypothesized that the work stressors would be significantly associated with adverse affective, behavioural and health outcomes. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that personal and situational variables, in the form of the Sense of Coherence (Antonovsky, 1979, 1987), Job Decision Latitude (Karasek, 1979), and Participation in Decision Making, would moderate the relationships between work stressors and a variety of outcomes. The data were obtained from a sample of 111 male, white, blue collar workers at a large chemicals manufacturing organization from a questionnaire compiled for this study, and organizational records. The data were subjected to correlational analysis, supplemented by a form of moderated multiple regression analysis. It was found that the relationships between work stressors and outcome variables were insignificant which led to the conclusions that firstly, a priori specification of stressors may ignore the specificity of persons' appraisals of and responses to stressors, and secondly, consideration must be given to the affective meaning ascribed by subjects to job demands. The moderating effects of the Sense of Coherence, Job Decision Latitude and Participation in Decision Making were inconsistently related to outcome variables, frequently operating in the unexpected direction. It was, however, demonstrated that the main effects of the moderating variables which operated in the expected direction, outweighed the unanticipated negative interaction effects. It was observed that the inclusion of personality variables and situational variables in future studies of occupational stress are necessary, a conclusion which is consistent with more recent findings.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, 2005. / This study set out to investigate the prevalence of burnout among teachers. To this end, the following objectives were formulated: To (a) ascertain the incidence of burnout among teachers in KwaZulu-Natal. (b) determine the manner in which teachers manifest burnout, (c) find out whether there is any association between teachers' biographical factors and burnout. In order to investigate the aims of the study the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Educators Survey was used. This instrument was administered to a sample of 364 teachers who teach in traditionally black secondary schools in three districts of the Zululand region of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Data was analysed by means of the chi-square one-sample test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). After the analysis and interpretation of data was done, the study came to the following conclusions: (i) teachers differ in the extent to which they experience the incidence of burnout. There is a group of teachers who experience low burnout levels, there is also a group that experience moderate burnout levels and a group that experiences high burnout levels. However, the test revealed that the majority of teachers experience low burnout levels, (ii) There is a positive relationship between the variable of the level of education and emotional exhaustion, and between the variable of gender and personal accomplishment. This means that teachers who hold a postgraduate qualification experience high emotional exhaustion compared to their counterparts who hold lower qualifications. This further means that male teachers experience high personal accomplishment levels compared to their female counterparts, (iii) Finally the study revealed that there is no relationship between teachers' biographical factors (gender, age, marital status, level of education, position at school, work experience, average number of learners in classes taught, location of school) and burnout.

Dissertation / The aim of this study is to investigate teacher stress and to identify factors that contribute to the stress experienced by township secondary school teachers. Based on an extensive literature study, an inventory, the Teacher Stress Identification Test was developed. The inventory was completed by 368 teachers who live in townships and work in township secondary schools in the Free State. Information thus gained was analysed with the use of a statistical computer programme. It appears from the research that the inventory has both a high reliability coefficient and construct validity. The empirical research revealed that township secondary school teachers experience moderate to high levels of stress. It also gave a clear indication of the factors contributing to the stress experienced by these teachers, allowing the researcher to make several recommendations. Lastly, the manifestations of stress as well as the coping mechanisms of these teachers were briefly investigated. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

This case study explored the occupational stress stimuli perceived and / or experienced by employees in a small Gauteng based manufacturing Company. The research was aimed at assisting the Company‟s management to devise and implement strategies to prevent and/or reduce stress and its consequences. The key theoretical concept is that employees who are frequently exposed to stress stimuli within a work environment can incur stress. In turn, the consequences of stress (i.e. stress related illnesses) can be harmful to employees as well as to the organisations at which they work. The starting point for preventing the debilitating consequences of stress is to explore whether stress stimuli are prevailing within a workplace and also to discover the types of stress stimuli that may exist. Once this is known the Company‟s management team can implement stress reduction and prevention interventions to mitigate undesirable consequences of stress stimuli in the working environment. This research was done by means of a qualitative case study using one organisation and a number of sources of data. The Researcher made use of secondary data which were qualitatively analysed. As a result of the research the Researcher was able to discover a broad range of workplace stress stimuli in the workplace. This will assist the participating Company's management team to devise and implement plans/strategies to prevent and/or reduce stress and its consequences. This study also lays a foundation for future research to take place, specifically regarding the development and implementation of stress reduction and prevention measures within an occupational environment. / Business Management / M. Tech. (Business Administration)