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.

Osipow and Spokane (1984) developed a model which divides occupational stress into the three main areas of stress, coping, and strain. In the past, this model has been empirically tested by the Occupational Stress Inventory (081). However, the Occupational Stress Inventory - Revised (OSI-R) has recently been developed in order to include some of the more recent developments in occupational stress literature. In addition to the original scales of the OSI, the OSI-R also contains five new experimental scales. The present study used the OSI-R to investigate differences in scale scores among management, trade/skilled, and direct labor personnel in two manufacturing plants. Although significant differences were found on the Role Insufficiency, Responsibility and Family Instrumental Support scales, the findings of this study should be questioned due to the unacceptable reliability levels on many of the OSI-R scales. / Department of Psychological Science

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.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2002. / The object of this study was to determine teacher stress in primary schools at Ensingweni Circuit. The first aim was to determine through literature the characteristics of stress, its causes and effects. The second aim was to conduct an empirical investigation into stress among educators at Ensingweni Circuit. The last aim was to present finds, and recommendations, which emanate from the study. A questionnaire was developed by the investigators, which measured the extent to which educators experienced stress in their working environment. By using the questionnaire the investigator was interested in determining which teaching stressors educators found most stressful. Some 71% females and 29% males educators of primary schools at Ensingweni Circuit filled out questionnaires. The teaching stressors which this sample of educators found stressful, in order of most to least stressful, were curriculum changes, work load pressures, job insecurity, poor relationship with colleagues, reward and recognition, learners discipline problems, poor rapport with management and role ambiguity. In terms of factors associated with teacher stress, the results showed that a combination of outside and inside were associated with teacher stress. In terms of inside factors, organisational stressors and classroom stressors were associated with teacher stress. In terms of outside stressors minimal general life stressors were also found to be associated with teacher stress. The problems educators viewed as most stressful are consistent with other studies on teacher stress, namely policy changes. time-workload pressures and classroom discipline. These studies were conducted by Bernard (1989) Gold & Roth (1993) and Cole & Walker (1989). The last chapter of this study recommends a variety of strategies that could be employed by educators to alleviate stress in teaching.

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.