The purpose of this study was to determine the status of health promotion activities provided by Indiana public school corporations for their employees and the impact of corporation leadership on the provision of these activities. The subjects of this study were Indiana public school superintendents. All 291 superintendents were mailed the survey instrument created by the researcher for this study and there were 227 (78%) responses.The results showed that 54% of the responding Indiana school corporations provided some type of health promotion activity for employees on a corporation-wide basis. The primary reason school corporations provided health promotion activities for employees was to keep employees healthy. The major impediment in providing health promotion activities for employees was a lack of resources. School corporations in rural settings were less likely to provide health promotion activities for employees. School corporations were more likely to provide health promotion activities for employees as the number of full-time employees increased. This study also found a relationship between the importance a superintendent placed on providing health promotion activities for employees and the provision of those activities in a school corporation. As worksites, Indiana public school corporations have not met the national goals and objectives for worksites found in Healthy People 2010. / Department of Educational Leadership

Thesis (M.M.S.)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Title from PDF cover (viewed February 27, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-192)

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: HIV/AIDS has been seen as a thorn in the Corporate World's flesh. It is destroying the workforce like a swarm of locust on a wheat field. The Government Departmental Sectors are no exceptions. This paper has been written after a through project that was undertaken at the Department of Transport and Public Works in Cape Town. It was found that there is a great need for HIV/AIDS Education and Life skills Training amongst all Government Departments. The objectives of the researcher were also based on the ILO's document and our South African Labour Law. The employees at 7 (Seven) District Offices were educated and workshoped on HIV/AIDS Education. It was impossible to have all three Employee Assistant Programmes conducted within 7 (Seven) months of the project. The programmes for HIV/AIDS Education and Training entailed Pre-Awareness, Awareness and Post-Awareness. Only the Pre- Awareness programme was completed with a bit of Awareness was covered. In the workplace situation, time means money and it seems as if less time is allocated to the health part of the employees. Common and better methods in facilitating for HIV/AIDS Education and Trainings were by "Cascade Model, On-Job-Training (OJT) or Front Line Training (FLT) and Workshop Sessions" seem to be more appropriate, yielding better communication skills between the employees and employers. A simple questionnaire was constructed on the basis that the sample group was workshopped. The response was great and constructive comments were received from the employees, for example a question was "Do you find it good to celebrate the 09th - 15th February: Condom Week; 16th May: International AIDS Candle Memorial Day and 01st December: World AIDS Day"? Answer: YES - It creates awareness and unites people for the same course. It became interesting to the researcher in noticing how HIV/AIDS Education and Life Skills Training(HAELST) is very much needed in both Corporate/Private Sectors and Government Departments. In conclusion, recommendations are suggested to all Government Departmental and Private Sectors in HIV/AIDS Education and Training. The ball remains in the Corporate World to apply them as a tool to avoid loosing well qualified and skilful employees because of HIV/AIDS. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om die noodsaaklikheid van opleiding aan regeringsinstansies in MIV/Vigs en lewensvaardighede te beklemtoon. Die studie het op die Departement van Vervoer en Openbare Sake gefokus. Werknemers van 7 distrikskantore het werkswinkels in die verband bygewoon. Die werkswinkels het hoofsaaklik op voor-bewustheid, bewustheid en na-bewustheid van MIV/Vigs gefokus. Die data is deur middel van ‘n vraelys ingesamel wat die proefpersone na afloop van die werkswinkel voltooi het. Dit is bevind dat daar ‘n geweldige behoefte vir MIV/Vigs en lewensvaardigheid opleiding by privaat- sowel as regeringsinstansies is. Die aanbeveling is dat die instansies hul werknemers in die verband moet oplei op te verhoed dat hul gekwalifiseerde en vaardige werknemers as gevolg van MIV/Vigs verloor.

The White paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery no 1459 of 1997 stipulates that the wellbeing of employees needs to be accounted for. A directive to have employee health and wellness programmes established in all government departments was given by the director-general of the Department Public Service Administration in 2008. The Employee health and wellness programme is aimed at promoting and improving employee wellbeing, which is also linked to organizational wellness. The primary aim of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is to make a positive contribution towards maximum employee productivity and effectiveness in the workplace. Employee health assessment conducted by the Department of Social Development in 2006 and 2009 confirmed that South African organizations, including the Department of Social Development, experience high levels of employee poor health. Studies suggest that both employees and the employers need to pay attention to the improvement of employee health and wellness. In 2012, an integrated employee health and wellness policy was developed to improve the Department of Social Development employee wellness. The interest to conduct the study emanates from the researcher‟s own supposition that the policy has not been fully implemented, this deduction is based on the fact that, although the policy has four critical focus areas, some of these areas, such as counselling, are not rendered. Literature reviewed includes the process of policy implementation and description of employee health and wellness, benefits of employee health and wellness programme for both employees and employer. A mixed method study was conducted to explore the implementation of the employee health and wellness policy as a strategy to improve both employee and organizational wellness within the Department of Social Development, Eastern Cape - Amathole District. The population of the study included both DSD management and non-managerial employees from Amathole District; the study also includes the Eastern Cape Department of Transport, Amathole District Municipality and South African Police Service (Mdantsane). Themes that were identified from qualitative data through semi- structured interviews by means of audio-recorder were triangulated through questionnaires and document analysis. Since the policy came into effect in 2012, results show that the implementation has been confronted with a number of challenges which include lack of support from the top management. Lack of buy in by DSD management has serious implications on the policy objectives; these include the inadequate distribution of capital, human and physical resources necessary to implement the policy. In order for the DSD to improve the implementation of employee health and wellness policy, the management needs to ensure that there is adequate provision of human and capital resources. Employees should be well-informed on policy guidelines and procedures and benefits to stimulate maximum utilisation. A decentralisation of implementation to Area offices is necessary to promote accessibility of services and prevent unnecessary delays in service delivery.

The objective of this study was (i) to determine the relationship between sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout; and (ii) to determine whether, in terms of the various socio-demographic groups, namely, gender, age, race, marital status, number of years in current position and number of years in public service, the sample differed significantly in terms of their levels of sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout. A quantitative study, using primary data, was conducted using a convenience sample (N = 172) of middle managers in a public service organisation. The psychometric properties of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory Scale were investigated before the hypothesis was tested. The statistical analysis of the data included descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics. The Kaiser-Meyer Olkin and Bartlett’s test of sphericity techniques were used to determine the exploratory factor analysis of all three measuring scales. A correlation analysis between the one-factor sense of coherence, one-factor work engagement and the three burnout sub-dimensions (exhaustion, cynicism and professional efficacy) was conducted. The Pearson product-moment correlation was used to determine the strength of the relationships between the variables. The level of significance was set at a 95% confidence interval level (p 􀀂􀀁0,05). Standard multiple regression analysis was used to establish whether there is a significant relationship between sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout. The Wilk’s lambda technique was used to test the results for significance, while Levene's test of equality of error variances technique was used to test the results for significance on the sense of coherence and work engagement scales with regard to the demographic groups. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between the participants’ sense of coherence, work engagement and burnout levels. Significant differences were also found between respondents in the marital status group and the burnout dimension, depersonalisation or cynicism. The results also reflected the wellbeing status of middle managers and indicated that the respondents were flourishing (feeling good as they scored a high sense of coherence and functioning well as indicated by a high score for work engagement). It is anticipated that the findings of the study will contribute valuable knowledge to employee wellbeing programmes in public service. The study concludes by making recommendations for future research practice. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The general aim of this study was to research the relationship between psychosocial functioning and emotional intelligence in a sample of 69 employees in different organisational settings in South Africa. Each respondent completed the Personal Multi-Screening Inventory (PMSI) and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). The research findings indicated that there are significant relationships between subscales of the PMSI and subscales of the MSCEIT, in that the ability to manage emotions is associated with low levels of Helplessness, Stress and Frustration, and high levels of Expectation, Satisfaction and Achievement, whereas the ability to perceive emotions is associated with low levels of Satisfaction and Achievement. A relatively high level of the ability to perceive emotions is also associated with Helplessness. It is recommended that employee wellness interventions in the workplace be enhanced through emotional intelligence mediation of negative psychosocial functioning. The study is concluded with recommendations for further research. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The general aim of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between employee wellness (specifically sense of coherence, burnout, sources of job stress and work engagement) and career anchors, and to determine whether gender, race, employment and age groups differed in terms of the employee wellness and career anchors variables. The study was conducted among a random sample of 90 employees in a typical South African work context. The data was collected by means of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ), Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI), Sources of Job Stress, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and the Career Orientations Inventory (COI). Supporting evidence indicates significant associations between employee wellness and the career anchors variables. The results also showed significant differences between the career anchors of males, females, blacks, whites, permanent staff, contract staff and age groups. The findings contribute valuable new knowledge to the wellness and career literature and organisational practices related to employee wellness and career decision making. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology study was to explore and describe the meaning employees attribute to the lived experiences of returning to work after cancer treatment. Semi-structured interviews were held with eight participants and a thematic data analysis method was used. The results indicate that cancer survivors experience various challenges that make it difficult to function as they did before the diagnosis when they return to work. A critical hermeneutical reflection against the literature followed the structural analysis and resulted in a contextual framework that incorporated the individual and organisational perspective on the various influences involved in supporting cancer survivors to maintain their wellbeing when they return to work. Four phases, repression, comprehension, activation and reintegration, were identified when they tried to cope/adjust on their return to work. The corresponding forms of organisational support they expected through these phases were labelled motivation, information, navigation and stabilisation. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

M.A. / AIDS, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, has become a serious public health concern in most cities in countries worldwide. Since the discovery of AIDS there have been impressive advances in the understanding of the AIDS virus, its routes of transmission and its methods of prevention. But even these hard-won-discoveries have not yet led to a drug that can cure this deadly disease or to a vaccine that can prevent it. In the light of this it would appear that a different approach to the management of AIDS is currently of utmost necessity. AIDS can be prevented by empowering individuals with the knowledge of AIDS transmission and prevention, thereby eliminating their ignorance and increasing their understanding, empathy and compassion for those currently involved in dealing with this struggle. The implications of AIDS and the HI-virus (human immunodeficiency virus) range far beyond the AIDS/HIV patients themselves. The affects of HIV and AIDS are felt by family members, partners and friends whose relationships are placed under immense strain, co-workers who are confronted with their own fear and compassion and by those at high risk for the disorder who are continually faced with ridicule and discrimination. This study focused specifically on the workforce of South Africa whose economic productivity is essential for South Africa's continual development and existence. In the absence of a fully developed and integrated social infrastructure, South Africa is reliant on its workforce for its monetary contribution in support of the unemployed, underprivileged, disabled and desolate of this country. The aim of this study was to obtain a better level of understanding of the workforce's knowledge regarding HIV and AIDS, to become aware of misunderstandings and myths which could hamper prevention and to review current methods of public education in order to enhance future methods of knowledge empowerment. A healthy workforce can constitute a strong support network, and thereby not place further strain on an already overwhelmed economy and government.

In 2010, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Swaziland noticed a significant increase in employee absenteeism which they discovered was related mainly to: poor health (sick leave), personal and financial stress (garnishee orders were increasing), and low staff morale, the consequence of which was low productivity and missed deadlines (FSRA, 2010:7). High levels of absenteeism meant that a sizeable number of employees were unable to complete their daily tasks (FSRA, 2010:7). Consequently, in 2011, the FSRA Human Resource Department started a wellness programme for all employees in the organization in an attempt to respond to the human resource challenges reported in 2009/10 financial year. By the end of 2012, FSRA management reported that the introduction of the EWP had not yielded the expected results. This therefore prompted management to request an evaluation of the FSRA employee wellness programme. The aim of this research was to identify and prioritize the needs of employees in terms of requirements of a wellness programme and how it should be delivered. The specific objectives of the study are as follows: to identify the wellness needs of employees, to identify employee preferences in terms of the type of interventions to be included in a wellness programme, to identify the preferred mode of delivery of the wellness programme and to make recommendations to management on the design of a wellness programme. Questionnaires with closed ended questions were used to collect data for this survey. The questionnaire used is attached as Appendix A. By means of a needs analysis survey, this research was designed to assess the FSRA employees’ needs in terms of an employee wellness programme, as well as the preferred EWP delivery methods. About 70 percent of FSRA employees participated in the survey. The respondents completed the questionnaire and submitted it online over a period of 10 working days (2 weeks). This report is structured into three sections, namely; section one, which is the evaluation report that gives details of the importance of the study, highlights research methods and then present the results, discussions and recommendations. Section two deals with the literature review while section three reports on the research methodology, research design and procedures and the limitation of the study. In light of the findings on the wellness needs of employees, 72 percent of the respondents felt the current wellness programme was very inadequate and a further 10 percent added that it was inadequate in addressing their wellness needs largely because the needs were not known. The most important wellness needs identified included: exercise, nutrition, personal hygiene, disease awareness and treatment of illness, coping with stress, coping with workload, ventilation, safety, bereavement, personal debt, and retirement planning. The most preferred wellness interventions that respondents proposed include Flexible Work Schedule, Safe Workplace, Improved Ventilation, Retirement Planning Advice and Gymnasium. Further analysis done using correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between the wellness needs and the wellness interventions. Concerning the delivery of the wellness programme, most of the employees indicated that outsourcing certain services was better than having them in house. The highest ranking of the services for out sourcing were nutrition education and medical checkups that ranked between 82 percent and 75 percent respectively. The respondents indicated that they want almost all the chosen interventions to be outsourced. Time slots should also be taken into consideration to ensure employee participation in the wellness programme services. The respondent FSRA employees seem to prefer interventions of an educational nature to be during the lunch hour. These include Nutrition Education, Health Education, Hygiene Education and Medical Check ups and Treatment, whereas Gymnasium was preferred to be after working hours.