Malgré la préoccupation croissante des chercheurs et praticiens pour la santé psychologique au travail, le concept de bien-être vécu au travail est encore mal compris de la communauté scientifique. En effet, peu d’efforts ont été consacrés à ce jour pour développer des connaissances sur le bien-être psychologique au travail arrimées à la réalité des employés. Cette thèse a donc pour objectif de développer une conceptualisation du bien-être psychologique au travail et une instrumentation psychométriquement fiable lui étant rattachée. Pour ce faire, deux études ont été réalisées. La première, de nature qualitative et exploratoire, fut menée auprès de 20 travailleurs canadiens francophones afin de répertorier, à partir d’incidents critiques vécus par ceux-ci, des manifestations de bien-être psychologique au travail. Celles-ci ont pu être classifiées selon un modèle en 2 axes, soit la sphère de référence dans laquelle le bien-être psychologique au travail se vit et la directionnalité selon laquelle il se développe. Ce modèle a ensuite été comparé aux conceptualisations génériques du bien-être psychologique existantes, et cette analyse a permis d’étayer la validité convergente et divergente du modèle. Dans un deuxième temps, l’Indice de bien-être psychologique au travail (IBEPT) a été créé sur la base des manifestations relevées lors de l’étude qualitative, afin d’en assurer la validité de contenu. Une version expérimentale de l’instrument a ensuite été soumise à une expérimentation auprès de 1080 travailleurs québécois. Les analyses factorielles exploratoires révèlent une structure interne en 25 items reflétant 5 dimensions, représentant elles-mêmes un construit de second ordre. La validité de construit de cette conceptualisation a ensuite été étudiée par l’analyse des intercorrélations avec une série de mesures du bien-être et de la détresse psychologique génériques. Les résultats appuient la validité convergente de l’instrument, et démontrent également sa validité divergente. Enfin, l’instrument affiche une cohérence interne satisfaisante. Au terme de cette recherche doctorale, les résultats des deux études sont interprétés en fonction de l’état actuel des connaissances sur le bien-être psychologique, les limites des études sont énoncées, et des pistes de recherche future sont avancées. / Despite growing concern by researchers and practitioners about psychological health at work, the concept of well-being in the workplace is still misunderstood in the scientific community. Indeed, little effort has been made to develop knowledge about psychological well-being at work that is tied to the reality of employees. This thesis aims at developing a conceptualization of psychological well-being at work and a related psychometrically reliable instrumentation. To do so, two studies were carried out. First, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted among 20 French-speaking Canadian workers to identify, using critical incidents they experienced, manifestations of psychological well-being. The manifestations were classified according to a 2-axis model, namely, the reference level at which psychological well-being at work is experienced and the directionality through which it emerges. This model was then compared to existing context-free conceptualizations of psychological well-being; this analysis offered support to the model's convergent and divergent validity. Second, the Index of Psychological Well-Being at Work (IPWBW) was created based on the manifestations identified in the qualitative study, in order to ensure the latter’s content validity. An experimental form of the questionnaire was administered to 1,080 Quebec workers. Exploratory factor analyses revealed an internal structure of 25 items and 5 dimensions, representing a second-order construct. The construct validity of the model was established by analyzing the intercorrelation pattern with various context-free measures of psychological well-being and distress. The results support the convergent validity of the instrument and demonstrate its divergent validity. Finally, the questionnaire shows satisfactory internal consistency. By way of conclusion, the results of the two studies are interpreted in the light of current knowledge on psychological well-being; the limits of the studies are outlined; and avenues for future research are proposed.

Cette thèse doctorale poursuit l’objectif de mieux comprendre le rôle joué par la profession réglementée en tant que déterminant de la détresse psychologique de la population en emploi au Québec et au Canada. Ceci, dans un contexte où plusieurs ordres professionnels représentant des professions réglementées, s’inquiètent de la santé mentale de leurs membres et de la pression considérable exercée sur eux dans une économie caractérisée par des pénuries de main-d’oeuvre importantes. Cette thèse fut également inspirée par les nombreuses limites constatées à la suite d’une revue de la littérature sur la santé mentale au travail, alors que les risques différenciés auxquels seraient soumis ces professionnels, comparativement à l’ensemble de la population en emploi, demeurent largement à documenter. La profession réglementée s’associe-t-elle directement à l’expérience de détresse psychologique? Quelles sont les conditions de travail susceptibles de conduire au développement ou à l’aggravation de la détresse psychologique pour ces professions? Dans le but de mieux comprendre le rôle joué par la profession réglementée en matière de détresse psychologique, nous avons eu recours à un modèle théorique multidimensionnel qui postule que les contraintes et les ressources découlent d’un ensemble de structures sociales incluant la profession, le travail, la famille, le réseau social hors-travail et les caractéristiques personnelles. Ce modèle découle des théories micro et macro en sociologie (Alexander et al., 1987; Ritzer, 1996), de l’approche agent-structure(Archer, 1995; Giddens, 1987) ainsi que de la théorie du stress social (Pearlin,1999). Trois hypothèses sont soumises à l’étude à travers ce modèle. La première hypothèse, est à l’effet que la profession réglementée, les conditions de travail, la famille ainsi que le réseau social hors-travail et les caractéristiques individuelles, contribuent directement et conjointement à l’explication du niveau de détresse psychologique. La seconde hypothèse induite par le modèle proposé, pose que le milieu de travail médiatise la relation entre la profession réglementée et le niveau de détresse psychologique. La troisième et dernière hypothèse de recherche, postule enfin que la relation entre le milieu de travail et le niveau de détresse psychologique est modérée par les caractéristiques individuelles ainsi que par la famille et le réseau social hors-travail. Ces hypothèses de recherche furent testées à partir des données longitudinales de l’Enquête nationale sur la santé de la population (ENSP) (cycles 1 à 7). Les résultats obtenus sont présentés sous forme de 3 articles, soumis pour publication, lesquels constituent les chapitres 5 à 7 de cette thèse. Dans l’ensemble, le modèle théorique proposé obtient un soutien empirique important et tend à démontrer que la profession réglementée influence directement les chances de vivre de la détresse psychologique au fil du temps, ainsi que le niveau de détresse psychologique lui-même. Les résultats indiquent que les professions réglementées sont soumises à des risques différenciés en termes de conditions de travail susceptibles de susciter de la détresse psychologique. Notons également que la contribution du milieu de travail et de la profession réglementée s’exerce indépendamment des autres dimensions du modèle (famille, réseau social hors-travail, caractéristiques personnelles). Les résultats corroborent l’importance de considérer plusieurs dimensions de la vie d’un individu dans l’étude de la détresse psychologique et mettent à l’ordre du jour l’importance de développer de nouveaux modèles théoriques, mieux adaptés aux contextes de travail au sein desquels oeuvrent les travailleurs du savoir. Cette thèse conclue sur les implications de ces résultats pour la recherche, et sur les retombées qui en découlent pour le marché du travail ainsi que pour le développement futur du système professionnel québécois et canadien. / This doctoral thesis aims to understand the role played by the regulated occupations as a determinant of psychological distress of the working population in Quebec and Canada. This, in a context where several professional organizations, representing regulated occupations, are concerned about the mental health of their members and the pressure exerted on them in an economy characterized by important shortages of labor. This thesis was also inspired by the many limitations observed after a literature review on work and mental health, whereas the differentiated risks which would be subjected to these professionals, compared to the total working population, remains largely undocumented. Is there a direct link between the regulated occupation and the experience of psychological distress? What working conditions contribute to the development or accentuate psychological distress for these regulated occupations? In order to better understand the role played by the regulated occupations in psychological distress, this thesis proposes a multidimensional theoretical model which postulates that the constraints and resources are generated by a set of social structures including the regulated occupation, the working conditions, family, social network outside of work and personal characteristics. This model stems from the micro and macro theories in sociology (Alexander et al., 1987; Ritzer, 1996), the agent-structure approach (Archer, 1995; Giddens, 1987) as well as the social stress theory (Pearlin, 1999). Three hypotheses are subject to analysis through the model. The first hypothesis assumes that regulated occupations, work conditions, family, social network outside the workplace, and individual characteristics contribute directly and jointly to explaining the level of psychological distress. The second hypothesis induced by the proposed model postulates that the workplace mediates the relationship between regulated occupations and psychological distress levels. The third and final research hypothesis postulates that the relationship between the workplace and psychological distress levels is moderated by individual characteristics, as well as by family and the social network outside the workplace.These hypotheses have been validated using longitudinal data from the National population health survey (NPHS) (cycles 1 to 7). The results of these analyses are presented in three articles submitted for publication, which are the chapters 5-7 of this thesis. Overall, the theoretical model gets an important empirical support and suggests that the regulated occupations directly influence the chances of living psychological distress over time as well as the level of psychological distress itself. The results also suggest that the regulated occupations are exposed to differentiated risks in terms of working conditions likely to generate psychological distress. The contribution of the workplace and regulated occupations is exercised independently of other dimensions of the model (family, social network outside of work, personal characteristics). The results also corroborate the importance in considering many dimensions of the life of an individual in the psychological distress and to put on the agenda the importance of developing new theoretical models, better suited to the realities characterizing today’s working environments in which knowledge workers work. This thesis concludes on the implications of these findings for research, and the benefits it brings to the labor market and for the future development of the professional system in Quebec and Canada.

Alors que la théorie de l’autodétermination (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000, 2008) propose un bassin de connaissances pouvant être d’une réelle utilité pour aider les travailleurs et les organisations à croître et à prospérer, peu d’études ont porté, à ce jour, sur l’évaluation d’interventions visant à implanter ces connaissances sur le terrain en milieu organisationnel. En ce sens, la présente thèse a pour but de vérifier l’impact d’une formation visant le développement des habiletés de soutien aux besoins psychologiques des gestionnaires sur les comportements en emploi de ces gestionnaires ainsi que sur la satisfaction des besoins psychologiques, la motivation et la santé psychologique de leurs employés. Pour ce faire, 17 gestionnaires provenant de deux organisations canadiennes du secteur public ont participé à un programme de formation d’une durée de trois journées non consécutives. Ils ont également répondu à des questionnaires un mois avant la formation ainsi que trois à quatre mois après le début de celle-ci afin d’évaluer leurs apprentissages ainsi que leurs comportements de soutien aux besoins psychologiques en emploi. Par ailleurs, 55 de leurs employés ont répondu à des questionnaires préformation et postformation au sujet de leur perception à l’égard des comportements de soutien aux besoins psychologiques de leur supérieur immédiat ainsi que de leur propre niveau de satisfaction des besoins psychologiques, de motivation au travail et de santé psychologique. L’étude a été menée à l’aide d’un devis de recherche de type prétest et post-test à groupes non-équivalents, sans groupe contrôle. Afin de renforcer ce devis, la stratégie de référence interne a été utilisée auprès des employés (Haccoun & Hamtiaux, 1994). Les résultats suggèrent que, dans la mesure où des gains étaient possibles par le biais d’une formation plus traditionnelle (c.-à-d., que le potentiel des gestionnaires à s’améliorer davantage par rapport à leur niveau de base était suffisant et que les habiletés visées se développaient bien par le biais d’une telle formation), les gestionnaires ont développé leurs habiletés de soutien aux besoins psychologiques et, selon leur perspective, transféré leurs apprentissages au travail. Toutefois, les employés de ces gestionnaires n’ont pas perçu de changement statistiquement significatif entre les deux temps de mesure quant aux habiletés de soutien aux besoins psychologiques de leur supérieur immédiat en emploi et les retombées escomptées de la formation chez les employés n’ont pas été observées. À la lumière de ces résultats, le dernier chapitre de la thèse discute de l’importance de l’analyse des besoins, de l’implication de l’environnement organisationnel dans les initiatives de formation ainsi que de l’ajout de méthodes d’apprentissage complémentaires aux formations plus traditionnelles afin d’en assurer l’efficacité. Par ailleurs, les contributions, limites et pistes de recherches futures de la thèse y seront exposées. / Although the self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000, 2008) provides a pool of knowledge that could be highly useful to help workers and organisations thrive and grow, few studies have focused on assessing interventions introducing such knowledge in practical organisational settings. In this respect, the present dissertation aims to evaluate the impact of a training program for developing psychological needs support skills of managers on work behaviours of these managers as well as on the level of satisfaction of psychological needs, motivation and psychological health of their employees. Hence, 17 managers from Canadian public sector organisations took part in a three-day training program (non-consecutive days). They also completed questionnaires a month prior to training as well as three to four months following training onset in order to assess their learning progresses and psychological needs support behaviours at work. Furthermore, 55 of their employees completed pre-training and post-training questionnaires on their perception of their manager’s psychological needs support behaviours as well as on their own level of psychological needs satisfaction, work motivation and psychological health. The study used a pre-post test non-equivalent group design, without control groups. Such design was further strengthened with internal referencing strategy (IRS) with employees (Haccoun & Hamtiaux, 1994). Results suggest that, insofar as progresses were possible with more traditional training (i.e., that the managers’ improvement potential as compared to their baseline was sufficient and that targeted skills developed properly with such training) managers have increased their psychological need support skills and, based on their perceptions, transferred training at work. However, employees of these managers did not perceive statistically significant changes between both measurement times as regards their manager’s psychological needs support skills, and expected outcomes of training on employees have not been observed. In light of these results, the last chapter of the dissertation discusses the importance of needs assessment, of organisational environment involvement in training initiatives and of additional training methods that are complementary to more traditional trainings to ensure their effectiveness. Furthermore, research contributions, limits and avenues are presented.

The general objective of this research was to do a comparative study of the Trust Audit results - obtained during 2000 - of three Business Units of a South African Company in order to determine whether there are any significant differences between them regarding the ”Big Five” personality dimensions and the ”Managerial Practices” dimensions. Trust has been found to be an essential ingredient in all organisations, providing the impetus for employers to gain a better understanding of the building blocks of organisational trust and to restore eroded trust. The intensity of any trust relationship will depend on certain facilitators of trustworthiness which may facilitate or impede the flow of trust. Research studies indicate that organisations with high levels of trust will be more successful, adaptive, and innovative than organisations with low levels of trust or pervasive mistrust. Positive results were indicated for all Business Units regarding the personality aspects. The most positive ”Big Five” dimensions were conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness while the lowest dimension was resourcefulness. Overall results regarding managerial practices indicated that not enough information sharing took place and that this had a negative effect within the work environment. The credibility dimension, being lower than the others, indicated that better credibility of persons that are reported to, could improve trust and optimal functioning within the working environment. Team management, work support and trust relationship were viewed positively by all Business Units. One of the main conclusions of this research was that managers/leaders have a pivotal role to play in creating high-trust organisations and engendering trusting relationships. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Comm. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

No description available.

The problem statement of this research is, "What is the· basis of the intergroup relations that potentially lead to ineffective work behaviour, and how does it manifest in groups within a specific consulting organisation, in terms of the premises of the Tavistock model of group relations?" The psychodynamic approach, psychoanalytic technique, open systems theory and object relations theory were used. The unstructured interview and hermeneutic approach were used for collection of data, and analysis and interpretation. The results of the research indicate that groups, in interaction with other groups, may install defences against anxieties which could undermine the success of their work efforts .. Issues of ' . ' nonclarity of task, group boundary and identity issues, authority issues and reactions of projection seemed prevalent. Various hypotheses were developed which could be used as a basis for further research. / Industrial and Organisation Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of transformational leadership styles of managers on subordinates' job satisfaction, in a steel and mining company. Leadership was conceptualised from the trait, behavioural, contingency and neocharismatic theories. Job satisfaction was derived from content and process theories.The literature highlighted leadership and job satisfaction theories, the changing context of leadership and research of both transformational leadership and job satisfaction. The study was exploratory and a random sample (N=126) was used. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire was used to measure transformational leadership and the Job Satisfaction Survey was used to measure subordinate job satisfaction. The results indicated that there was a significant impact of transformational leadership styles of managers on subordinates' job satisfaction, more specifically, in terms of fringe benefits and pay dimensions of job satisfaction, as well as the biographical variable, age. Future research may include transformational leadership styles and other variables such as performance and productivity in the steel and mining industry as well as the biographical variable, age. uture research may include transformational leadership styles and other ariables such as performance and productivity in the steel and mining ndustry. / Industrial Psychology / M.Adm. (Industrial Psychology)

This research explores the relationship between the organisational culture and financial performance of a South African investment bank by means of quantitative research. The Denison Organizational Culture Survey was used to measure the organisational culture of the investment bank and was administered to a sample of 327 employees. Income statement ratio analysis was selected as a means to assess the financial performance. The results indicate that very few of the financial measures selected could be shown to be correlated with the organisational cultural traits or subscales. Correlations between the cultural dimensions of team orientation, agreement, customer focus and vision were found with certain financial measures. Although these correlations were above the 0.50 level, the levels of significance were not sufficient in all cases to draw conclusions with confidence. The only cultural trait that was found to be correlated with financial measures was the consistency trait. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

No description available.

The postmodern organisation and its leaders are faced with relentless turbulence and change and a compelling economic drive for success. The recent exponential rise in the popularity of coaching can be ascribed to the business need for the development of leadership bench-strength. Appreciative inquiry (AI) claims to be a source of untapped strength for organisations in the postmodern world and a source of sustainable solutions and genesis for energy. However, the scarcity of evidence of coaching linked to a postmodern stance, incorporating AI principles, as well as using group-based coaching methods, provided an opportunity for this study to respond to the challenges and contribute to the theory and practice of leadership coaching in the organisational setting by investigating the transformative effects of a postmodern group-based leadership coaching programme (LCP) on leaders’ personal and professional perspectives. The premises suggest that postmodern group-based coaching is a practical and cost-effective methodology in multi-cultural international organisations. Furthermore, postmodern coaching in groups can transform the personal and professional perspectives of leaders, specifically in transforming future plans, goal-directedness, confidence, resilience, hope, subjective well-being and empowerment as a leader, as well as broadening life outlooks. Key transformative themes were identified: self-knowledge, appreciation of others, broader vision, self-control and work-life integration. This applied study has made a valuable contribution to the body of research in the area of postmodern and group-based coaching. Replication of the study in other industries, setting and with different levels of leadership, training of postmodern coaches and robust follow-up coaching were identified as opportunities for further exploration. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D.Lit. et Phil. (Industrial Psychology)