Change and transformation in higher education institutions worldwide are advancing at a rate that institutions and individual employees find hard to comprehend. During the past two decades, complex changes challenging institutions' mandates, traditional practices, authority and organisational structures have surfaced. It is widely acknowledged that stable and productive higher education institutions are vitally important to any country in order to ensure sustainable economic, social and political reconstruction and development. In the South African context, higher education institutions have an additional duty to contribute to the consolidation of democracy and social justice as well as the growth and development of the economy and redress the imbalances institutionalised by apartheid. The responsibility to execute the institutional strategies and plans to adapt to changes and to transform rests primarily with the staff of these institutions. However, the above-mentioned changes present major challenges for staff as it results in a multiplicity of roles, expectations to make paradigm shifts, implementation of new policies and practices as well as constant innovation. These challenges may be considered a healthy diversification leading to eustress and engagement, or a toll. which may well be an important cause of distress and burnout. Consequently. staffs' experience of distress/burnout and eustress/engagement, i.e. their work-related well-being, is crucially important to the success of the institution. The general objective of this research was to assess the work wellness of staff at a university of technology, and to understand the relationships between factors contributing to the experience of distress/burnout and eustress/engagement and how these relate to employees' levels of commitment and ill health. Furthermore, the study aimed to develop and test a comprehensive structural model of work related well-being to determine the effect of job demands and (lack of) job resources on distress. eustress. ill health and commitment of employees at a university of technology in South Africa. The findings are presented in three research articles, each consisting of a brief literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study included 353 participants (132 academic staff members and 221 support staff members). The questionnaire used in the empirical study comprised the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), the Cognitive Weariness Scale (CWS). the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). An Organizational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET), the Life Orientation Test- Revised (LOT-R), the Job Demands-Resources Scale (JDRS) and a biographical questionnaire. Structural equation modelling confirmed a four-factor structure of burnout, and a two-factor structure of work engagement. Principal component analysis indicated that work-related wellbeing consists of a dual bipolar structure namely Eustress/Engagement (vigour, dedication, professional efficacy) and Distress/Burnout (exhaustion. cynicism, cognitive weariness). It was found that language \vas the only reliable background variable to predict differences in levels of distress/burnout and eustress/engagement between subgroups. Different organisational stressors were found to contribute significantly to psychological and physical ill health and low organisational commitment. The comprehensive structural model that was tested showed that job demands lead to distress, which in turn leads to ill health. Furthermore. job resources contributed to work wellness and organisational commitment whilst dispositional optimism has a limited effect on staffs distress. Recommendations for the institution and future research are made. / Thesis (Ph.D. Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The manufacturing industry today is seen as a demanding world of work where employees are constantly exposed to high demands. This may have an influence on their work engagement levels and their organisational commitment. It seems that in these industries, employee turnover and absenteeism levels are high, while employees also seem to be demotivated in their work. The objective of this study was to investigate the levels of work engagement among employees in a manufacturing organisation and to assess which job demands and resources would predict work engagement. A random sample of 83 employees in a manufacturing organisation was taken. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWJ3S) and Job Demands- Resources Scale (IDRS) were used as measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics were used to explore the data Cronbach alpha coefficients were used to assess the internal consistency / reliability of the measuring instruments. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to specify the relationships between the variables. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine the effects of job demands and job resources on work engagement. The results of the Pearson Correlations showed that two job resources, namely organisational support (i.e. relationship with supervisor, role clarity, information, communication, and participation) and growth opportunities (i.e. variety in the job, opportunities to learn, and autonomy) were strongly related to the levels of work engagement. Social support (from colleagues) and advancement (i.e. remuneration, training and advawement opportunities) were moderately related to work engagement. The results of the regression analyses further indicated that an increase in two job resources, organisational support and growth opportunities, will probably increase the overall work engagement level of employee in a manufacturing organisation. The results also indicated that job demands (i.e. pace of work, quantitative workload, and emotional load) had a weak relationship with work engagement. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The technological era in which modern day organisations function, attempting to make every aspect of service more efficient and customer friendly, has cultivated a need within organisations to invent new ways of service. Call centres are one way in which organisations are trying to improve their customer service. For this reason, telephone call centres are one of the fastest growing segments of the service sector. The growth in call centres is attributable to the benefits that they offer organisations. Call centres can improve service and retain customers, increase sales and/or revenue and reduce costs and/or improve efficiency. For this reason, organisations are placing an increasing emphasis on the role of call centres regarding the competitiveness of the company and increased pressure on call centre agents. Research indicated that there are certain stressors in the call centre industry. This is emphasised by the high turnover rate and by high absenteeism levels in call centres. Although some studies seem to suggest that working in call centres can be interesting, overall it seems that working in call centres is a stressful experience. The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between job characteristics, work wellness and work-related flow of call centre agents in an insurance company. A cross-sectional design was used with an availability sample (N = 176). A self-constructed instrument (JDRS) was used to measure the unique job demands and job resources in the insurance industry. Along with the JDRS, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Work-Related Flow Scale were used as measuring instruments. Results showed that the unique job demands in a call centre are pressure, working conditions, workload, and job security. The unique job resources are supervision, resources availability, task freedom, pay and benefits, opportunity for growth, and support. Work wellness was found to comprise burnout, work engagement and work-related flow. Multiple regression analysis showed that 6% of the variance in Mental Distance was predicted by Job Demands, with Working Conditions being the only significant predictor. Within Exhaustion, 11% of the variance explained was predicted by Job Demands, with Job Security and Working Conditions being the only significant predictors. No statistically significant predictions were obtained for Work Engagement and Work-Related Flow (i.e. Absorption and Flow). Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

The mining industry is one of the largest employers in South Africa in an attempt to thrive in a continuously changing environment and in line with the modem organisation's focus on the various dimensions of employee well-being, mining organisations need the services of engaged workers. The objective of this research was to establish the relationship between work engagement and demographic characteristics, job characteristics and work-home interaction of employees working in the mining industry. A random sample of 320 employees was taken from various mining companies in the Gauteng and North West Provinces. The job characteristics, UWES and SWING questionnaires were used as measuring instruments. Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, structural equation modelling and logistic regression analysis were used to analyse the data Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations confirmed the construct validity of the measuring instruments. Chi-square and t-tests indicated positive relationships between work engagement and race, autonomy, social support, instrumental support, task characteristics, positive work-home interference and positive home-work interference. Logistic regression analyses revealed that race, autonomy, task characteristics and positive home-work interference were significant predictors of work engagement. Recommendations were made for further research. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

The mandates for government-owned enterprises (parastatals) have drastically changed in light of the changes in the government's post-democratic dispensation. There are more pressures and obligations related to governance, business operations, sustainability and financial viability prescribed for these institutions. Parastatals have moved from fully utilising government subsidies and incurring more debts at the expense of government, to income-generating entities. This change has exposed parastatals to global challenges, experienced by all organisations related to human capital management. Employees are the most critical assets that assist organisations to fulfil their mandates and drive their competitive advantage. While organisations experience challenges and pressures in the market, employees are also positively and adversely affected, depending on their dispositions and general functioning. The extent of employee participation and involvement in their work roles impacts on the success of the institution. Thus, work-related well-being of employees is an integral part of any organisational functioning and this relates to interplay between constructs of job demands, job resources, psychological conditions at work, health, work engagement, self-efficacy and organisational commitment. The general objective of this research was to study work engagement and its relationship with various other antecedents, mediators and outcomes of employees within a parastatal in the South African context. Furthermore, the study aimed to understand the relationships between factors of job demands, job resources, psychological conditions, self-efficacy and work engagement. In addition to the above, this study also aimed to determine relationships between psychological conditions, job demands, job resources, work engagement, self-efficacy, health and organisational commitment. The findings are presented in three articles, each consisting of a brief literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study included 288 participants in a parastatal in different job categories and levels. The questionnaires used in the empirical study comprised of the Work Engagement Scale, the Antecedents Scale, the Job Demands-Re sources Scale, the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire, the Psychological Conditions Questionnaire, the Self-Efficacy Scale, the General Health Questionnaire and a biographical questionnaire. Exploratory factor analyses were carried out to determine the construct validity of the measuring instruments. Pearson-product moment correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationships between the variables, while multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the predictive value of factors on each other. The results showed that psychological meaning fulness and psychological availability were significant predictors of work engagement, with person-environment fit and growth opportunities in the job as strongest predictors of psychological meaningfulness. Person-environment fit was the strongest predictor of work engagement and psychological availability was best predicted by physical resources. Overload and psychological meaningfulness were the best predictors of work engagement. Growth opportunities in the job and organisational support were the best predictors of psychological meaningfulness, which also strongly predicted work engagement. Psychological availability was found to be positively related to organisational support and self-efficacy. Low psychological availability predicted physical and psychological ill health, while low psychological meaningfulness predicted psychological ill health. Work engagement was the strongest predictor of normative and affective commitment, while psychological meaningfulness strongly predicted normative commitment. Recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The primary objectives of this study were to investigate the relationship between job insecurity, job satisfaction, work wellness, and organisational commitment of employees (N = 66) at a petroleum / oil company. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Constructs were measured by means of the Job Insecurity Survey Inventory (JISI), the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). For many employees, the changes in working life we have witnessed over the past two decades have caused feelings of insecurity concerning the nature and future existence of their jobs (Hartley, Jacobson, Klandermans, & van Vuuren, 1991). Job insecurity is not only problematic for the individual employees, but also for the company in which they work. Greenhalgh and Rosenblatt (1984) found that the impact of job insecurity on individual employees could erode the effectiveness of the organisation. A downward spiral is created, where productivity decreases, and in such a manner that the competitive strength of the company is undermined. The risk of further redundancies is increased, which in turn increases feelings of job insecurity. The impact of job insecurity as noted above, inter alia, lowered job satisfaction, lowered trust in management, lowered organisational commitment, produced a greater tendency to leave the organisation, caused an increase in psychosomatic complaints and depression, and ultimately spreads into negative consequences for the organisation. It is for these reasons that the researchers felt the need to conduct research on job insecurity. All scales used in this research demonstrated adequate internal consistencies. Job insecurity and job satisfaction were not found to be correlated as there was no negative correlation found between job insecurity and intrinsic job satisfaction. Affective job insecurity demonstrated a practically significant positive correlation of medium effect with intrinsic job satisfaction. This therefore suggested that the higher the levels of affective job insecurity, the higher the levels of intrinsic job satisfaction. These findings are contrary to literature, which suggests that job insecurity has been associated with lowered job satisfaction (Probst & Baker, 2001). Both job insecurity subscales, cognitive and affective job insecurity, demonstrated a practically significant positive correlation of medium effect with both of the OLBI subscales, implying that increased levels of both job insecurity subscales are associated with increased levels of burnout as measured by the OLBI. Job insecurity (particularly affective job insecurity) was found to be positively associated with the anxiety and insomnia subscale as measured by the GHQ, which suggested that the higher the levels of job insecurity, the higher the levels of anxiety and insomnia experienced by the participants. Participants with increased levels of tenure (more than 5 years) presented with higher levels of social dysfunction than participants who had been working in the organisation for less than five years. Employees with tertiary qualifications, as well as employees younger than 35 years, displayed lower levels of continuance commitment compared to employees without tertiary qualifications and were older than 35 years. White employees presented with higher levels of anxiety and insomnia, as well as higher levels of social dysfunction compared to participants falling within the Blacklother categories. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

A new era dawned for the higher education system in South Africa, after approval was announced by Cabinet regarding the final proposals for the restructuring of the higher education institutional landscape in December 2002, which required merging to take place between various higher educational institutions. Mergers are intrinsically stressful for employees due to the potential for change and loss, as well as the perceived decline in the organisation and a highly competitive labour market. A stable and productive higher education system is of fundamental importance to any country to ensure continuous development at economic, social and political level, hence the importance of this research. The objectives of this study were to establish the relationship between job insecurity, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, burnout, and work engagement of personnel (N = 83) after an incorporation of two tertiary educational institutions, and to determine whether job insecurity can be used to predict job satisfaction, organisational commitment, burnout, and work engagement. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population included both academic and non-academic staff members of the two institutions. Job insecurity was found to be practically significantly related to a reduction in intrinsic job satisfaction. No statistically significant relationship was found between job insecurity and extrinsic job satisfaction, between job insecurity and organisational commitment, and between job insecurity and the exhaustion component of burnout. Job insecurity was found to be practically significantly related to increased levels of cynicism and decreased levels of work engagement. Regression analyses, controlling for the influence of demographic variables, indicated that job insecurity held predictive value with regard to intrinsic job satisfaction (lo%), cynicism (7%), vigour (l8%), dedication (7%) and absorption (10%). / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

South Africa, like the rest of the world, is undergoing major changes in the social, political, economic, technological and organisational environments. The ability of any organisation to compete internationally will depend to a large extent on the quality of its people. The biggest challenge that organisations are facing is to find, develop and retain talent. More than ever the ability of organisations to grow and develop will he determined by the level of competence and energy of their people. Challenging and meaningful work, development opportunities, leadership and empowerment are some of the most important reasons why talented people will stay on in a company. To increase speed, efficiency and to reduce costs, organisations have flattened their structures. From this it can be concluded that if companies want to be successful and retain talented people they have to create an environment where people feel empowered. The leader or manager plays an import role in the empowerment of people. The consequences of empowerment can include higher levels of job satisfaction, organisational commitment and work engagement. The objectives of the study were to determine the reliability and validity of the instruments, as well as the relationship between psychological empowerment, leader empowering behaviour, job insecurity, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and work engagement. Employees from selected organisation were targeted. The study population included employees from managerial and non-managerial categories. A cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain the research objectives. Six standardised questionnaires were used in the empirical study, namely Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire, Job Insecurity Inventory, Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire, Job satisfaction, Organisational commitment and Work engagement. Descriptive statistics, factor analyses, Cronbach alpha coefficien@ correlations, MANOVAS and regression analyses were used to analyse the data. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

The work of industrial/organisational (I/O) psychologists presents an interesting context for studying meaning and engagement (as eudaimonic components of happiness). (I/O) psychologists spend more than 88% of their working day with people, and they are primary role models for happiness and change in the workplace. Information about the manifestation of their meaning and work engagement is therefore needed. The aim of this study was to determine how (I/O) psychologists experience the meaning of their work and to investigate the relationships between their experiences of work-role fit, meaning of work, psychological meaningfulness, and work engagement. The research method consisted out of a literature review and empirical study. A survey design with a convenience sample (n = 106) was taken from a sample of registered (I/O) psychologists. A biographical questionnaire, the Work-role Fit Scale (WRFS), Work-life Questionnaire (WLQ), Psychological Meaningfulness Scale (PMS), Work Engagement Scale (WES) and a self-developed survey measuring the actual and desired time spent on six broad categories of work were administered. The statistical analysis was carried out by means of SPSS (2009). Exploratory factor analyses showed one factor models for work-role fit, psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. A two factor model for the meaning of work (a job/calling and career orientation) was found. Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0,80 to 0,93 were obtained. The results showed that a discrepancy exists between the actual time and desired time spent on the six broad categories of work (see Benjamin & Louw-Potgieter, 2008). Furthermore, the results showed that half the 1/0 psychologists view their work as callings. Whereas only 16% view their work as a career and 6,6% as a job. Regression analyses indicated that work-role fit predicts psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. The job/calling orientation predicted both psychological meaningfulness and work engagement. Work-role fit predicted the job/calling orientation. Psychological meaningfulness did not mediate the relationship between work-role fit and work engagement. Work-role fit mediated the relationship between the meaning of work and psychological meaningfulness. Work-role fit partially mediated the relationship between a calling orientation and work engagement / Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Organisations are constantly undergoing major changes. These changes can have negative consequences on organisational functioning and employee well-being. It is therefore vital for organisations to focus on the elements of a healthy organisation so that a positive organisation can be built and the negative consequences avoided. A healthy organisation pays attention to six intenelated dimensions namely; organisational attributes, organizational climate, job design, job future, psychological work adjustment and negative outcomes (like that of turnover, absenteeism, alcohol and substance abuse, self-reported health, and psychological health). The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between leader empowering behaviour, role clarity, psychological empowerment, work engagement and intention to leave. A business unit consisting of managers, specialists, supervisors and administrative staff participated in this research. A cross-sectional design was used to attain the research objectives. The Leader Empowering Behaviour Questionnaire (LEBQ), the Measures of Role Conflict and Ambiguity Questionnaire (MRCAQ), Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire (MEQ), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (U\VES), and Intention to Leave Scale (ILS) were administered for the study. The statistical analysis was carried out by utilising the SPSS program. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a three factor structure for LEBQ, a two factor structure for MRCAQ, a four factor structure for MEQ, a three factor structure for UWES and since ILS only consists of two items a factor analysis was not necessary. All the scales showed acceptable reliabilities. The results showed that leader empowering behaviour, role clarity and psychological empowerment predict engagement. Moderation effects showed that role clarity interacted with competence and meaning to affect employees' dedication, and role clarity interacted with the developing of employees (as a facet of leader empowering behaviour) to affect absorption. Finally, a regression analysis showed that work engagement predicts employees intention to leave. Once conclusions for the study were drawn, recommendations for the organisation as well as for future research were made. / Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.