The changes in the political landscape in South Africa have exacerbated major transformation of the society and all other aspects of life, including education. It is in this view that transformation of the education sector resulted in the changes within the employment relationship, as well as the psychological contract between educators and the Department of Education. This is further explained by the changes experienced in both the employer and employee's obligations. Furthermore, these changes have a tremendous influence on the degree of job satisfaction, organisational commitment, as well as an intention to quit among educators. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the employment-and psychological contract of educators in the Sedibeng West District of the Gauteng Department of Education. The measuring instruments, i.e. employer's obligations, employee's obligations, job satisfaction, organisational commitment, as well as intention to quit questionnaires, were used in the empirical study. A cross -sectional survey design was conducted among 298 educators (including school managers) in the Sedibeng West District. A response rate of 75% (224 respondents) was obtained. The results indicate a practically significant correlation coefficient of a medium effect between the employer and the employee's obligations, a negative correlation of medium effect between the employer's obligations and an employee's intention to quit, and no significant relationship between the employee's obligations and an employee's intention to quit. Furthermore, a practically significant correlation coefficient of medium effect was obtained between job satisfaction and an employee's intention to quit, and no significant relationship could be found between job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Lastly, a practically significant negative correlation of a medium effect was obtained between organisational commitment and an intention to quit. A multiple regression analysis indicates that 21% of the variance in the employee's intention to quit was predicted by both the employer and employee's obligations. Organisational commitment and job satisfaction predicted 33% of the total variance. Recommendations for the Department of Education, as well as future research were also made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

During the last decade, dramatic changes have been experienced in workplaces because of technological growth, globalisation, ever increasing competitive markets, changing industrial relation laws and better management skills (Cappelli, 1999). Amidst this change, the biggest issue is for organisations to gain dedication from their employees. Maslach et al (2001) explains that the impact of the changing world of work is perhaps most evident in changes in the psychological contract. Employees are expected to give more in terms of time, effort, skills and flexibility, whereas they receive less in terms of lifetime employment and job security. In security companies, the employer obligations and employee obligations also went through a process of change. Crime has become a very serious concern in South Africa. In Gauteng, crime has increased with 69,2% (SAP Statistics, 2005) from 1994 to 2004. Because of crime, many independent security companies were formed to help prevent crime, working together with the South African Police Force. A lack of research exists regarding employees' work outcomes like job insecurity, organisational commitment and intention to quit associated with the psychological contract within a service company. The objectives of this study are to investigate the relationship between employer obligations, employee obligations, job insecurity, organisational commitment and intention to quit of employees (N=217) in a service (security) company. A cross - sectional design was used. Constructs were measured by means of an employer obligations questionnaire, employee obligations questionnaire, job insecurity questionnaire, organisational commitment questionnaire and intention to quit questionnaire. The research method for each of the two articles consists of a brief literature review and an empirical study. Exploratory factor analysis, as well as Cronbach alpha coefficients are computed to access the reliability and validity of the different measurement instruments. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse data and Pearson product moment correlation coefficients, as well as regression analysis were used to examine the relationship between the constructs employed in this research. Significant differences are found between various biographical groups and the scores of the psychological contract (employer obligations scale and employee obligations scale), the job insecurity scale, the organisational commitment scale and the intention to quit scale. Conclusions are made, limitations of the current research are discussed and recommendations for future research are put forward. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

Understanding the employment relationship in the chemical industry in South Africa and organisational change within it is crucial to the understanding of the changing employment and psychological contract within this industry. This study focused on the employment- and psychological contracts, as well as employees ' work-outcomes (organisational commitment, job insecurity, job performance and intention to quit). Employees from the chemical industry were targeted and a cross-sectional survey design was used to obtain the research objectives. Descriptive statistics, factor analyses, Cronbach alpha coefficients, correlations, multiple regression analyses were used to analyse the data. In Article 1 the objectives were to investigate the reliability and validity of the measuring instruments, and to study the relationships between employment- and psychological contracts and other employment relation outcomes. The Psychological Contract Questionnaire (PCQ) and demographical questionnaire were administered. Three internally consistent factors, namely Employer Obligations, Employee Obligations and Status of the Psychological Contract were extracted. Statistically significant differences were found between employee obligations and state of psychological contract. Statistically significant relationships were also found between employee obligations and violation of psychological contract. In Article 2 the objective was to determine the relationship between employer obligations, employee obligations, and the state of psychological contract, violations of psychological contract and various demographical characteristics of employees in the chemical industry. The PSYCONES were administered. Practically significant relationships with a large effect were found between employer obligations, state of psychological contract and violation of psychological contract. Gender and age were statistically significantly related to experiences of the psychological contract. In Article 3 the aim was to assess the relationship between employer obligations, employee obligations, the state of the psychological contract, violations of the psychological contract, work-outcomes and the demographic of employees. The PSYCONES were used as measuring instruments. A practically significant relationship was found between the state of psychological contract, violation thereof (a large effect), job insecurity (a medium effect) and organisational commitment (a medium effect). Regression analyses showed that psychological contract violation predicted organisational commitment. A negative relationship was found between the violation of the psychological contract, as associated with the state of the psychological contract, and intention to quit. Theoretically, it was expected that job insecurity would have a negative impact on organisational commitment, but the results showed that a statistically and practically significant positive relationship exists between job insecurity and organisational commitment. Only the type of contract and qualifications of employees resulted in a statistically increase in the prediction of variance in job insecurity. Demographical characteristics (age, gender, tenure, supervision, qualifications, and type of contract) did not contribute to oganisational commitment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Thesis (MComm)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In recent decades, organisations have continued to lose their skilled and experienced employees due to voluntary turnover. As a result, managers, researchers and practitioners have taken interest in understanding the factors that affect employees’ turnover decisions. However, although several existing studies have identified numerous factors related to turnover behaviours among employees, most of the empirical research studies utilise explanatory models that do not sufficiently address the mediating processes that lead to turnover intention. This study examined the collective effects of perceived leader behaviour, psychological empowerment, satisfaction and commitment on turnover intention. In doing so, the present study tested an explanatory structural model that suggests how these variables jointly influence turnover intention. Therefore, an ex post facto correlation study was conducted using a sample of military personnel (n = 318) in which study participants completed five questionnaires that measured the endogenous latent variables (i.e., psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and organisational commitment) and the single exogenous latent variable (i.e., leader behaviour) in the structural model. Item analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to assess the measurement properties of the respective measures. The results showed adequate evidence that the manifest indicators used in the study were indeed valid and reliable measures of the latent variables they were linked to. The proposed structural model was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) and the goodness-of-fit statistics showed that both the hypothesised measurement model ( = 182.97; df = 67; p-value = 0.0000; RMSEA = 0.074) and the structural model ( = 182.91; df = 68; p-value = 0.00000; RMSEA = 0.073 ) were found to fit the data reasonably well. The results supported a model where turnover intention was explained to result from a combination of organisation-related and job-related attitudes. In turn, these attitudes were affected by leadership behaviours. The results showed that turnover intention resulted more strongly and directly from low levels of organisational commitment than from job satisfaction per se. The results also suggested that turnover intention was the result of high levels of psychological empowerment. Leader behaviour had a strong direct effect on both psychological empowerment and organisational commitment, but not a unique effect on job satisfaction, while psychological empowerment had a strong direct effect on both job satisfaction and turnover intention than on organisational commitment. The results also indicated that job satisfaction had an insignificant effect on organisational commitment. In addition, psychological empowerment mediated the effect of leader behaviour on turnover intention, while job satisfaction did not mediate the relationship between leader behaviour and turnover intention. Finally, the results suggested that psychological empowerment played mediated the effect of leader behaviour on job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The study adds to the existing literature in two ways. First, the findings indicated that turnover intention results strongly from the combination of leader behaviour, psychological empowerment and organisational commitment, with psychological empowerment and organisational commitment playing a dominant role, with their direct- as well as mediating effects on turnover intention. Second, the present study partially replicated earlier studies of turnover intention in a new setting, i.e., within a military sample and within a non-Western context. In this way, the study confirmed the generalisability of earlier findings that relate to the development of turnover intention. A unique finding of the present research was the positive relationship found between psychological empowerment and turnover intention, suggesting that turnover process models may be more organisation-specific than previously thought (e.g., Alexander, 1998). The study limitations and recommendations provide avenues to be explored for possible future studies and recommendations for human resource management practice are discussed.

Orientation: Skills retention is a critical strategic priority for every organisation. Currently, with the global war on talent, organisations are faced with a mammoth challenge on how to retain critical talent. Manager support and work-life balance enhance talent retention strategies. Research purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine if manager support and work-life balance can determine the employee’s intention to stay or leave the organisation. Motivation of the study: Organisations are battling to find factors that contribute to retention of employees. Despite the fact that Human Resource (HR) practitioners are the ones taking care of retention strategies, the needs and factors that cause employees to stay or leave the organisation must be investigated. Research design and methodology: A quantitative research design with a correlation analysis was chosen for this study. Non-probability purposive sampling was used with n = 172. A structured questionnaire was then used to collect data, and an analysis was made on the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Main findings: The findings indicate that manager support and work-life balance are predictors of intention to quit, with a 42% variance. The lack of manager support and work-life balance has an impact on the intention to quit. The higher the manager support is perceived, the less the intention to quit – the same holds true for work-life balance. Practical/managerial implication: The research identified factors that can predict the intention to quit and highlighted insight such as manager support and work-life balance as key issues to consider in increasing retention. Manager support and work-life balance play a pivotal role in employee retention. Furthermore, the research identified HR practitioners as key contributors who take care of these factors in the organisation, yet who also need to be taken care of. The organisation should develop retention strategies, which include HR practitioners as employees who take care of other employees in the organisation. Contribution and value add: The research investigated a unique group that is known to provide retention strategies and that advises line managers on HR processes. Focusing attention on HR practitioners as a matter of study will contribute to organisational retention strategies on what causes them to stay with the organisation. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Human Resource Management / Unrestricted

This research study investigated the effect of job engagement to organisational stress and the employees’ intention to quit among administrative personnel at the University of Fort Hare. The main objectives of this study were determining the effects of organisational stress on employees’ intention to quit, examining the role of job engagement as a moderator of the relationship between organisational stress and employees’ intention to quit, and providing results that would lead to a deeper understanding of the nature and extent of the relationship between organisational stress and intention to quit. A survey method was adopted for this study. A questionnaire comprising of four sections: biographical information, ERI questionnaire for stress, turnover intention, and UWES scale, was administered to non-academic support personnel of the University of Fort Hare in all three campuses namely Alice, Bhisho, and East London. Simple random sampling was used to select the participants. The literature reviewed displayed a great need for managers to understand organisational stress and its causes, and how to manage and cope with stress so as to avoid losing employees, especially highly competent employees. The study yielded results that show that there are interrelationships amongst the three variables, and that job engagement does moderate the relationship between organisational stress and employees’ intention to quit.

Abstract Therefore, we remain, despite everything Factors affecting social workers to remain in the workplace       In studies conducted in the social welfare a complex picture regarding the social workers' job situation. The work of the public authority is complex and place high demands on the individual social worker. Social workers has a complex worksituation at the same time as many of the social offices has a high staff turnover and many teams go understaffed. Both in Sweden and internationally, many social workers choose to change jobs or to completely leave the social services because of the tough work situation. However, there are the social workers who choose to remain in their jobs despite a heavy workload and staff turnover. In the light of the social service current work situation, the question which factors make the social worker chooses to remain in the workplace. In this qualitative study, 12 social workers who have choosed to remain in their workplace been interviewed and the answers were then interpreted from a hermeneutic approach. The result shows that the work situation is tough as a social worker and that there are several factors that individually and together have an influence on choosing to remain in the workplace. The work- and work groups importance in combination with good management within organizations and a clear, empathetic and competent leadership and support in various forms are factors that are crucial to remain in the workplace.       Keywords: turnover, intention to quit, retention, social services, social workers, work conditions, satisfaction

With the demographic layout of the workplace changing constantly, as more women enter the workforce, and as new organizational hiring practices lead to more diversity in the work environment, both researchers and employers have become increasingly interested in understanding the consequences of work-family conflict. Work-family conflict affects the individuals suffering from it, their families, and their employers. Thus, it is important to have a robust and comprehensive causal model that explains how these consequences arise so as to help all parties involved to prevent these consequences. The purpose of the present study was to test a comprehensive model of work-family conflict by examining the work, non-work and stress related consequences of work-family conflict using a sample of 181 Jamaican High School teachers. The results indicated that all hypothesized correlations but one were significant and in the direction predicted. However, the proposed model did not demonstrate good fit with the data. Post hoc revisions to the original model provided support for some of the initial hypotheses, thereby suggesting that work family conflict did predict job and life stress, among others. Overall, these findings indicate that work-family conflict results in work, non-work and stress related consequences that are evidenced in a complicated network of direct and indirect relationships. The results suggest that the consequences of work-family conflict may be best reduced by making attempts to prevent or eliminate a consequence that occurs early in the chain. A discussion of these and other implications are presented, and suggestions made for future research. / Master of Science

Smoking cessation can reduce health risk and prevent millions of tobacco-related deaths. However, cessation rates are low in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs), with only a small proportion of smokers intending to quit. Given the paucity of literature to support tobacco cessation programs in LMICs, this study aimed to: 1) identify factors associated with intention to quit smoking, 2) assess the relationship between health care provider quit advice/tobacco screening and utilization of cessation assistance, and 3) examine the relationship between home smoking rule and smoking intensity across three stages of smoking cessation (precontemplation, contemplation and preparation) in LMICs. Data were obtained from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2009-2012, a nationally representative household survey of noninstitutionalized civilians aged 15 years and older. Weighted multivariable regression analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.4. Adjusted odds ratios (OR), percent change in smoking intensity and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated. Home smoking rule and exposure to anti-smoking messages were the important factors associated with contemplation and preparation to quit smoking. Approximately 1%, 7%, 9% and 15% used quitline, medical treatment, counseling/cessation clinic and cessation assistance (all three combined), respectively, in the past year. Quit advice was significantly associated with utilization of counseling/cessation clinic (OR=3.89, 95% CI=2.8–5.5), medical treatment (OR=1.71, 95% CI=1.2–2.4) and cessation assistance (OR=2.60, 95% CI=2.0–3.4). Tobacco screening was associated with utilization of counseling/cessation clinic (OR=2.60, 95% CI=1.1–5.9) and medical treatment (OR=1.71, 95% CI=1.2–2.4). Living in a completely smoke-free home was associated with a 22.5% (95% CI=17.1%–28.0%), an 18.6% (95% CI=9.0%–28.2%), and a 19.4% (95% CI=3.9%–34.9%) significant reduction in smoking intensity among smokers in precontemplation, contemplation and preparation, respectively. In conclusion, the results suggest that smoke-free home, anti-smoking campaigns, and health care provider intervention promote smoking cessation in LMICs. Therefore, comprehensive smoke-free policies, anti-smoking media campaigns and integration of tobacco screening and quit advice into the health care system are important for tobacco cessation in LMICs, suggesting the need for full implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention for Tobacco Control Articles 8 and 11 – 13.

Every society has jobs that need to be done in order to survive and to improve its members’ subjective well-being. Work is an important source of individuals’ subjective well-being. Employees within higher education institutions face a complex environment and play an important role in the reconstruction and development in South Africa. Employees are experiencing more challenges in the workplace than ever before. They spend more time at work and because they have less leisure time, they have fewer opportunities of seeking meaning in their lives. These factors have an impact on the well-being and happiness of employees in higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between employees’ work experience, type of contract and work outcomes of employees at a higher education institution. A cross-sectional survey design was used with 483 employees at a higher education institution and a response rate of 62% (N = 300) was obtained. The measuring instruments used in this study included the Psychological Contract Across Nations (PSYCONES), Employment Contract Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, Mental Health Continuum - Short Form and Intention to Quit Scale. Exploratory factor analyses and Cronbach alpha coefficients were computed to determine the construct validity and reliability of the measures. Pearson correlation coefficients, multivariate analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance and hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between the constructs in this study. Bootstrap-estimated confidence intervals were used to assess the significance of indirect effects. The results of study 1 confirmed the validity and reliability of measures (except for the social contract). Age, tenure and gender had statistically significant effects on the fulfilment of one dimension of the psychological contract, namely work conditions. Younger people with less tenure experienced more fulfilment of the psychological contract (regarding work conditions). Tenure also impacted psychological contract violation. Type of contract (permanent versus temporary) impacted the fulfilment of the psychological contract (specifically work conditions). Males (compared to females) experienced more fulfilment of the psychological contract (regarding work conditions) and less violation of the psychological contract. Tenure and type of contract were also related to experiences of the employment contract. The results of study 2 showed that psychological contract violation, job dissatisfaction and lack of flourishing directly impacted turnover intention. Lack of psychological contract fulfilment indirectly impacted job dissatisfaction and languishing via psychological contract violation. The employment contract did not have a statistically significant effect on job satisfaction, flourishing and turnover intention of employees in a higher education institution. Psychological contract violation indirectly impacted turnover intention via job dissatisfaction and languishing of employees. The results of this study confirmed the important role of fulfilment of the psychological contract and non-violation of the psychological contract regarding job satisfaction, flourishing and retention of employees in a higher education institution. Recommendations were made for future research. / MCom, Labour Relations Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012