Research concerning trust relationships on the interpersonal level, particularly when studied in dyadic relationships from the follower’s point of view, is relatively scarce. Only a few researchers have attempted to link multiple dimensions of trust in the same study. The general aim of this thesis was to examine the nature, measurement and impact of trust within the work context. More specifically, the thesis tests the measurement invariance of a selected trust measurement instrument for male and female South African employees. Thereafter, the interplay between predictors of trust and trust itself is investigated. The thesis concludes with the testing of a structural model that identifies the nature of relationships between trust, psychological needs satisfaction, work engagement and intentions to quit. Throughout the study, the focus is on dyadic relationships where the direct leader is the foci of trust. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather the data. Two convenience samples were taken of 539 and 252 respondents respectively. The Behavioural Trust Inventory, the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, the Work Engagement Scale and the Turnover Intention Scale were administered. The results of study 1 confirmed configural, metric and partial scalar invariance of the Behavioural Trust Inventory across gender. One item that measures one’s willingness to share personal beliefs with a leader demonstrated a lack of scalar invariance for female managers. Results for this item should therefore be treated with caution. Latent factor mean analyses revealed no significant differences between male and female managers on the trust scales. Results for study 2 confirmed the distinctness of trust propensity, trustworthiness and trust as separate main constructs. Trust was strongly associated with trustworthiness beliefs. Trustworthiness beliefs fully mediated the relation between trust propensity and trust. The observed relations between trust propensity and trustworthiness suggest that individuals with a natural predisposition to trust others will be more inclined to perceive a specific trust referent as trustworthy. Results for study 3 provided support for a model in which disclosure-based trust in a focal leader predicts satisfaction of self-determination needs and engagement, but it did not have a statistically significant direct effect on intentions to leave. Mediation analyses revealed that satisfaction of the need for autonomy facilitates the influence of trust on work outcomes, so that the impact of disclosure on engagement becomes more powerful and that it can effectively serve as a pathway to reduce intentions to quit.

Research concerning trust relationships on the interpersonal level, particularly when studied in dyadic relationships from the follower’s point of view, is relatively scarce. Only a few researchers have attempted to link multiple dimensions of trust in the same study. The general aim of this thesis was to examine the nature, measurement and impact of trust within the work context. More specifically, the thesis tests the measurement invariance of a selected trust measurement instrument for male and female South African employees. Thereafter, the interplay between predictors of trust and trust itself is investigated. The thesis concludes with the testing of a structural model that identifies the nature of relationships between trust, psychological needs satisfaction, work engagement and intentions to quit. Throughout the study, the focus is on dyadic relationships where the direct leader is the foci of trust. A cross-sectional survey design was used to gather the data. Two convenience samples were taken of 539 and 252 respondents respectively. The Behavioural Trust Inventory, the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, the Work Engagement Scale and the Turnover Intention Scale were administered. The results of study 1 confirmed configural, metric and partial scalar invariance of the Behavioural Trust Inventory across gender. One item that measures one’s willingness to share personal beliefs with a leader demonstrated a lack of scalar invariance for female managers. Results for this item should therefore be treated with caution. Latent factor mean analyses revealed no significant differences between male and female managers on the trust scales. Results for study 2 confirmed the distinctness of trust propensity, trustworthiness and trust as separate main constructs. Trust was strongly associated with trustworthiness beliefs. Trustworthiness beliefs fully mediated the relation between trust propensity and trust. The observed relations between trust propensity and trustworthiness suggest that individuals with a natural predisposition to trust others will be more inclined to perceive a specific trust referent as trustworthy. Results for study 3 provided support for a model in which disclosure-based trust in a focal leader predicts satisfaction of self-determination needs and engagement, but it did not have a statistically significant direct effect on intentions to leave. Mediation analyses revealed that satisfaction of the need for autonomy facilitates the influence of trust on work outcomes, so that the impact of disclosure on engagement becomes more powerful and that it can effectively serve as a pathway to reduce intentions to quit.

Over the last decade, numerous changes have occurred in the insurance industry due to international expansions and stiff competitiveness. As a result of these changes, employees are suffering from stressful work conditions such as pressure to perform and work-life conflict, which lead to feelings of distrust, tension, strain in interpersonal relations, interpersonal conflict and difficulty in coping with pressure to perform. Tracking and addressing the work wellness of these employees are important to improve their work-related performance, as well as the quality of their service. Burnout, work engagement and workaholism are focal points in this regard. In order to measure these constructs it is important to have valid and reliable instruments. However, there is a lack of research which measures burnout, engagement and workaholism in the South African context. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between burnout, work engagement and workaholism amongst employees in the insurance industry. The research method consisted of a brief literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectional design was used. An availability sample (N = 153) from employees in the insurance industry was taken. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), an adapted version of the Work Addiction Risk Test (AWART), and a biographical questionnaire were administered. The statistical analysis was conducted with the aid of the SPSS program and AMOS program. The statistical method employed in the study consisted of descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and a structural equation modelling method. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine the significance of differences of workaholism between demographic groups. It was evident in this study that employees in the insurance industry experience workaholism due to their tendency to work long hours overtime, to work weekends and to take work home. Results indicated that work wellness of employees in the insurance industry does comprise well-being (Burnout and Work Engagement) and Workaholism. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

The face of the workplace has changed dramatically over the past decade and most organisations have to survive in a fiercely competitive global economy. The impact of the changing world of work is most evident in changes in the psychological contract (agreement) between employees and organisations. Employees are expected to give more in terms of time, effort, skills and flexibility, whereas they receive less in terms of career opportunities, lifetime employment and job security. It is in view of the above work complexities that employee engagement has become a focus area. in particular, to understand the mediating effects of certain psychological conditions in relation to work engagement. "Why do some employees stay engaged at work, even whilst being challenged with consistent change and greater job insecurity and why do others' disengage at work?" The objective of this study was to investigate the mediating effects of three psychological conditions, namely psychological meaningfulness, psychological safety, and psychological availability on employees' work engagement. A survey research design was used with a questionnaire as data-gathering instrument. Stratified random samples (N=171) were taken from employees of a multinational oil company. The Work Engagement Scale and the Work Experiences Scale were administered. Descriptive statistics (e.g. means and standard deviations) were used to analyse the data. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were used to assess the relationships between the variables. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate the effects of the variables in this study. The results confirmed that psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability were significant predictors of work engagement. Meaningfulness displayed the strongest positive relation with engagement. The relation of work role fit with engagement was fully mediated by the psychological condition of meaningfulness. Cognitive, emotional and physical resources had the strongest effect on psychological availability. Feelings of self- consciousness impacted on psychological availability, implying that someone who is less self-conscious is psychologically more available to engage at work. It was therefore confirmed that psychological meaningfulness fully mediated the effects of work role fit on engagement and psychological availability fully mediated the effects of resources and self-consciousness on engagement. Limitations in the research are identified and recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

The pace of changes in South African education institutions has profound effects on the teachers. Due to internal and external influences teaching is a much more demanding occupation than in the past, with significant consequences for the teacher. All the changes in the education system cause stress. Possible outcomes impacting on the teacher are burnout, work disengagement, job dissatisfaction and organisational commitment. The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between occupational stress, burnout, job satisfaction, work engagement and organisational commitment of educators on senior level in the Sedibeng West District - Vanderbijlpark. The research method was by means of two separate studies, each consisting of a brief literature overview and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A stratified random sample of educators on senior level in the Sedibeng West District - Vanderbijlpark (N = 140) was used. Six questionnaires were administered, namely, the Maslach Burnout Inventory- General Survey (MBI-GS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the ASSET Organisational Stress Screening Tool, the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire and a Biographical questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out with the help of the SAS-program and Amos. Limitations of the research are discussed, followed by ecommendations for the teaching profession and future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2004.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Thesis advisor: Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes / The productive aging paradigm emphasizes the importance of continued engagement in productive roles for maintaining health and vitality in later life. The word "engagement" is frequently used within this literature to refer to physical engagement with a role--or one's involvement in the categorical sense. However, psychological engagement--or one's subjective experience of a role as positive, meaningful, invigorating, and inspiring--is less frequently discussed. While there is a well-developed body of knowledge on the antecedents and consequences of psychological engagement with paid work, little is known about the role of age or age-related factors in these relationships. This dissertation begins to fill this gap in the knowledge base by drawing upon important insights from the business management and industrial/organizational psychology literature to understand factors that may contribute to and/or detract from older adults' ability to psychologically engage in work roles and whether these relationships vary for older adults (age 50 or older, n = 543) compared to midlife (age 35 to 49, n = 653) or younger adults (under age 35, n = 664). Results of multi-level regression analyses suggest that personal resources (i.e., core self-evaluations) and job resources (i.e., task variety, autonomy, friendship, task identity, task significance, supervisor support, job security, inclusion in decision-making, opportunities for learning and development, and team culture of flexibility) were main predictors of engagement for older adults as well as midlife and younger adults. Interestingly, the strength and nature of several of the job resource-engagement relationships were dependent upon job demands and/or core self-evaluations for older adults; however, in general, this was not the case for younger or midlife adults. Age differences remained even after controlling for several factors that could account for age-based differences in predictors of engagement (e.g., tenure). These findings provide a fuller understanding of the conditions that promote or impede psychological engagement with work in later life and will help policymakers and practitioners to better recognize and advocate for work contexts that maximize well-being for older adults. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Educational researchers contend that high-quality, sustaining teachers are critical to student success. However, few policymakers agree on the best way to improve teacher quality. Researchers outside of education found associations between employee engagement and job performance, which suggests that improving teacher work engagement may potentially improve teacher productivity. Engagement theories framed this correlational study; Kahn's engagement theory, Spector's job satisfaction theory and Meyer and Allen's organizational commitment theory. These theories contributed to examining relationships between job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and teacher work engagement. Additionally, this study further examined how these relationships mediated teacher demographics ( gender, age, educational level, and years of experience). Approximately 26 New York City secondary school teachers from five schools responded to a survey. Regression analysis showed no significant results between any of the variables; however, the descriptive analysis showed that teachers' satisfaction came from having competent supervision, their commitment was due to a sense of obligation to their schools, and their engagement was related to how absorbing they found their work. Results based on a response rate of less than 1%, suggests that due to low power, generalization among this population of teachers could not be established. Therefore, further study of how teachers engage with their work is warranted. Implications for social change are that programs that improve the quality of teacher supervisors or give teachers rewards regarding absorbing and engaging work assignments might improve teacher productivity and higher student achievement.

<p>Empirical evidence suggests work engagement to be of crucial importance for business critical aspects such as work performance and employee retention. When building a strategy for enhancing engagement in the workplace, identifying its predictors becomes important. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify predictors related to work engagement. The study was conducted in a management consultancy company, through analyzing their employee survey. Results indicated satisfaction with leadership to be of vital importance for work engagement. Other work-related attitudes identified that seemed to be reliable predictors of work engagement were employee development, communication and innovation. In addition, the demographic variables of age and status pointed towards a correlation with work engagement, however the gender variable did not show significance.</p>

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.