In South Africa, organisations are exposed to economical, political, social, demographical and technological forces that encourage change. Tremendous pressure is placed on organisations to improve their performance and increase their global competitiveness in this continuously changing world of work. As organisations focus on competition and profit margins, workers are confronted with real or anticipated job loss, causing many to feel insecure about their jobs and future work life. Employees who consider themselves empowered, experience reduced emotional strain. Empowered employees thus derive a sense of meaning from their work, and these results in work engagement. The entire population of employees working at a government organisation in Gauteng was targeted for this research. The study population included workers from all levels, ranging from semi-skilled to professionals. A cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain the research objectives. Three standardised questionnaires were used in the empirical study, namely the Job Insecurity Inventory, the Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire and the Utrecht Work Engagement scale. Results indicated lower levels of job insecurity, psychological empowerment and work engagement compared to previous studies. No correlations were found between job insecurity and psychological empowerment or between job insecurity and work engagement. Psychological empowerment showed a positive correlation with work engagement. Regression analysis indicated that meaning did not show a significant predictive value towards cognitive job insecurity, but indicated significant predictive value towards affective job insecurity and towards work engagement. Cognitive job insecurity predicted work engagement significantly. Conclusions and limitations of the current research were discussed and recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

The retention of artisans is becoming an increasingly important challenge faced by many organisations. The decision to intensify artisan retention strategies arises from the fact that there is currently a shortage of artisans in the country. This situation is aggravated by the fact that many of our country's current supply of artisans are being lured away to Canada and Australia by the highly competitive packages offered them. For effective retention of their artisans, organisations must be aware of the factors that artisans perceive as being important in the decision to remain with an organisation. The main research objective was, therefore, to establish the factors that are important for artisan retention. It was also decided to measure the level of intention to leave among a sample of artisans, as there were no results available from previous research. The research was explorative in nature and a mixed-methods design was used to achieve the objectives. The participants were selected by means of a judgement sample to consist only of participants who hold a formal qualification as an artisan, as prescribed by Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) standards. Employees were requested to take part voluntarily in the research and a total population of 14 employees responded (N = 14). A semi-structured interview was used as means of collecting the qualitative data, while the quantitative data were collected by means of questionnaires. The results indicated that remuneration had the highest rank of all the factors for the retention of artisans, closely followed by development opportunity in second place. Other factors that were also perceived as important for artisan retention by the participants included equality (ranked third), recognition (ranked fourth), management and the working environment (ranked fifth), working relationships (ranked sixth), while change management, job security, belongingness, the merit system, job satisfaction and employee wellness were all ranked jointly in seventh place. With regard to Turnover Intention, the results indicated a mean score of 2,38 out of 5,00; it can thus be concluded that the sample reported an average level of turnover intention. The spread of the scores was quite large, indicating that some artisans had a strong intention to continue working at the organisation, while others were likely to consider other offers. By way of conclusion, recommendations were made both for the organisation and for future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

In South Africa, organisations are exposed to economical, political, social, demographical and technological forces that encourage change. Tremendous pressure is placed on organisations to improve their performance and increase their global competitiveness in this continuously changing world of work. As organisations focus on competition and profit margins, workers are confronted with real or anticipated job loss, causing many to feel insecure about their jobs and future work life. Employees who consider themselves empowered, experience reduced emotional strain. Empowered employees thus derive a sense of meaning from their work, and these results in work engagement. The entire population of employees working at a government organisation in Gauteng was targeted for this research. The study population included workers from all levels, ranging from semi-skilled to professionals. A cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain the research objectives. Three standardised questionnaires were used in the empirical study, namely the Job Insecurity Inventory, the Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire and the Utrecht Work Engagement scale. Results indicated lower levels of job insecurity, psychological empowerment and work engagement compared to previous studies. No correlations were found between job insecurity and psychological empowerment or between job insecurity and work engagement. Psychological empowerment showed a positive correlation with work engagement. Regression analysis indicated that meaning did not show a significant predictive value towards cognitive job insecurity, but indicated significant predictive value towards affective job insecurity and towards work engagement. Cognitive job insecurity predicted work engagement significantly. Conclusions and limitations of the current research were discussed and recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

The retention of artisans is becoming an increasingly important challenge faced by many organisations. The decision to intensify artisan retention strategies arises from the fact that there is currently a shortage of artisans in the country. This situation is aggravated by the fact that many of our country's current supply of artisans are being lured away to Canada and Australia by the highly competitive packages offered them. For effective retention of their artisans, organisations must be aware of the factors that artisans perceive as being important in the decision to remain with an organisation. The main research objective was, therefore, to establish the factors that are important for artisan retention. It was also decided to measure the level of intention to leave among a sample of artisans, as there were no results available from previous research. The research was explorative in nature and a mixed-methods design was used to achieve the objectives. The participants were selected by means of a judgement sample to consist only of participants who hold a formal qualification as an artisan, as prescribed by Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) standards. Employees were requested to take part voluntarily in the research and a total population of 14 employees responded (N = 14). A semi-structured interview was used as means of collecting the qualitative data, while the quantitative data were collected by means of questionnaires. The results indicated that remuneration had the highest rank of all the factors for the retention of artisans, closely followed by development opportunity in second place. Other factors that were also perceived as important for artisan retention by the participants included equality (ranked third), recognition (ranked fourth), management and the working environment (ranked fifth), working relationships (ranked sixth), while change management, job security, belongingness, the merit system, job satisfaction and employee wellness were all ranked jointly in seventh place. With regard to Turnover Intention, the results indicated a mean score of 2,38 out of 5,00; it can thus be concluded that the sample reported an average level of turnover intention. The spread of the scores was quite large, indicating that some artisans had a strong intention to continue working at the organisation, while others were likely to consider other offers. By way of conclusion, recommendations were made both for the organisation and for future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

With the introduction of positive psychology the aim with organisational psychology shifted to finding the 'happy/productive' worker and focusing more on work wellness. Working as an engineer has generally been considered challenging, but tough demands on today's engineers can cause exhaustion, which is due to a combination of personal stressors, job and organisational stressors. However, recently the world of work has started to change drastically - which also holds true for the engineering profession. One of the focus areas of redress is the work-related well-being of engineers, and specifically burnout, stress and work engagement. This research focused on the total spectrum of wellness - from unwell-being (e.g. burnout and stress) to well-being (e.g. work engagement). The moderating effects of organisational commitment and dispositional optimism were investigated in order to establish a causal model for burnout and engagement. The objectives of this research were to standardise the MBI and the UWES for engineers, to determine the occupational stressors of engineers and to develop and test a causal models of work-related well-being of engineers. The research findings are set out as four separate articles, each consisting of a brief literature overview and an empirical study. A cross-sectional research design with a survey as technique of data collection was used to achieve the objectives of this research. The study population consisted of 369 engineers. A biographical questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey WI-GS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the Job Characteristics Scale (JCS), the Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET), the Health subscales of the ASSET, the Organisational Commitment subscale of the ASSET, and the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) were used. Descriptive statistics, correlations, analysis of variance, factor analyses, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling were used to analyse the data. A three-factor model of burnout, comprising exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy was confirmed. The internal consistencies of the scales were acceptable. The results obtained from comparing burnout levels of various demographic groups showed that practically significant differences existed between burnout of engineers with different levels of job satisfaction, age, years of experience and self-rated performance. Compared to normative data, participants reported lower levels of physical ill-health and psychological outcomes of stress. The most important stressors identified were work-life balance, work demands and work overload. The results do not support previous findings that commitment has a protective effect against the negative consequences of workplace stress. The buffer hypothesis of organisational commitment is not supported by the data. Structural equation modelling confirmed a model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour, Dedication and Absorption. These three factors had acceptable internal consistencies. The results showed that the self-rated performance and job satisfaction of engineers varied depending on their levels of work engagement. No demographic differences regarding engagement levels could be found between the different age groups, engineering environments, job levels and years of experience. A good fit was found for a model in which exhaustion mediated the relationship between job demands and ill-health, and work engagement (vigour and dedication) mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. The results suggested that the effect of a lack of job resources on exhaustion and the effect of job resources on work engagement depends on the level of dispositional optimism. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The impact of change on organisations and the transforming role of the protection services member means that protection services members perform under more stress than members of almost any other profession. They are human and experience the same or sometimes more severe forms of depression, anxiety and other symptoms than other people. The objectives of this study were to determine the construct validity and internal consistency of the MBI-GS, UWES, OTLQ and Health subscales of the ASSET for protection services members. The relationship between work wellness, sense of coherence and health and the development of a model of work wellness for protection services members was determined. The research method consists of a literature review and an empirical study using a cross-sectional survey design to collect data. An availability sample (N = 341) from protection services members was taken. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MI-GS), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OTLQ), Health subscales of the ASSET and a Biographical questionnaire were administered. The statistical analysis was carried out with the help of the SPSS-programme and AMOS. The statistical methods utilised in the article consisted of descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and structural equation modelling methods. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed a two-factor model of work engagement, consisting of vigour/dedication and absorption. In previous research of protection services members, two factors in the MBI-GS could also be extracted, namely, burnout and professional efficacy. The MBI-GS and UWES both showed acceptable internal consistencies. Construct equivalence for different language groups was confirmed for the MBI-GS and UWES. vii Product-moment correlation coefficients showed significant negative correlations between Burnout and Vigour/Dedication, Burnout and Sense of Coherence, Sense of Coherence and Physical Health, Sense of Coherence and Psychological Health. There were significant positive correlations between Physical Health and Psychological Health, Professional Efficacy and Vigour/Dedication, Professional Efficacy and Absorption, Vigour/Dedication and Absorption and lastly Physical Health and Psychological Health. A causal model of work wellness was developed. The first two hypothesis were accepted: Work Wellness consists of Burnout and Work Engagement and high levels of burnout may result in either physical of psychological health problems. The third hypothesis was only partially accepted: the path coefficient from Sense of Coherence to Work Wellness and I11 Health is significant. Sense of Coherence partially mediated the impact of Burnout as part of Work Wellness on Ill Health. The path coefficient from Sense of Coherence to Ill Health was also found to be significant, indicating that higher levels of Sense of Coherence can result in fewer health problems. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

A growing economy demands a skilled workforce, and the reality of the situation in South Africa is that, due to former apartheid policies and job reservation, there are large numbers of unemployed people with little hope of employment in the formal sector because they lack skills and experience. The National Skills Development and the Skills Development Levy Act gave rise to the development of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS). The NSDS is now entering its second five-year cycle with the scoreboard reflecting both gains and challenges for Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs) as the primary delivery institutions of the NSDS. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between job demands and job resources and the work wellness of employees in SETAs, using a cross-sectional survey design. The survey consisted of 159 SETA employees in South Africa. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, the Utrecht Work engagement Scale, the ASSET (An Organizational Stress Screening Evaluation Tool) and the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, were administered. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analyses, Pearson correlations and structural equation modelling were used to analyse the data. The results of this study confirmed the construct validity and reliability of the scales which were employed to measure work-related well-being. Furthermore, the results showed that overload predict exhaustion. Cynicism was best predicted by a lack of resources (specifically growth opportunities and lack of organisational support) and a weak sense of coherence. Vigour and dedication were predicted by growth opportunities, organisational support and a strong sense of coherence Exhaustion predicted physical ill-health, while both exhaustion and cynicism contributed to psychological ill-health. Affective organisational commitment was predicted by vigour and dedication, while behavioural organisational commitment was predicted by high vigour and low exhaustion. Recommendations for SETAs and future research were made / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.