Todays workers are living in a rapidly changing environment and adaptability has become one of the most valued competences. Because of economical competition, demands imposed on workers are getting more and more elevated. The opposition between constraints of efficiency, search for performance, workload and private life, combined with a loss in work meaning and in social support, contribute to expose workers to job stress and burnout. Besides dealing with high workload and exigencies of adaptability, workers are expected to create their own career opportunities and development. More specifically, in order to stay competitive, organizations need workers that are active and creative at work, workers that are ready to invest not only their time, but also their mind into their work. In other words, they need workers to be engaged in their work. Given this apparent opposition between increased risk for job stress and burnout on the one hand, and increased need of engaged workers on the other, it is necessary to investigate which conditions are prevalent in the development of those phenomena. In this thesis, we present a theoretical overview of burnout and engagement concepts (chapter1 and chapter2, respectively). We then expose how they are integrated into the theoretical framework of the Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model, and what criticism it can be addressed (chapter3). Chapter4 is dedicated to our research objectives, which are declined in five empirical studies. In study1(chapter5) and study2 (chapter6), we aim at validating the Positive and Negative Occupational States Inventory (PNOSI), a tool that was designed to measure positive and negative workers reactions to their working environment. Results indicate that the tool is composed of two factors, one measuring negative occupational state and the other measuring positive occupational state. This structure was replicated on a variety of samples. Negative occupational state can be conceived as an intermediate state occurring before burnout, while positive occupational state seems to be similar to work engagement. Both are different from commitment and workaholism. The impact of item wording, and interactions between items on the one hand and gender and age on the other were also investigated. In study3 (chapter7), we aim at validating the JDR model on three-wave longitudinal data that we collected among workers of a Belgian public administration. In addition, this study aims at validating the JDR model using predictors derived from stigma and social identity literature. Results indicate that perceived prejudice predicts higher burnout, whereas group identification predicts higher engagement. This was found above the effects of job demands and job resources, respectively. An interaction effect was also observed: among those who identify strongly to their occupational group, engagement was lower when workers also perceived high prejudice towards this group. Study4 and study5 also aim at validating the model using new types of predictors. Study4 (chapter8) more specifically focuses on the health-impairment process of the JDR model. It investigates whether person-related factors (namely workaholism) predict burnout in addition to job demands. Study4 also longitudinally testes whether job strain can indeed be considered as an intermediate state occurring in response to high job demands before burnout develops. We found that job strain acts as an intermediate, shorter term reaction to high job demands, before the occurrence of burnout. Results were mitigated as to the role of workaholism. It was hypothesized that this variable would initiate another kind of process, dealing with person-related issues. In study5 (chapter9), we focus more specifically on the energetic process, and investigate whether workers work-related personal demands (namely, the expectations they develop with regards to their own performance) predict engagement above the effects of job and personal resources. Results indicate that work-related personal demands predict high future engagement, above the impact of job and personal resources. However, no reciprocal impact of engagement was observed. We end this thesis with a discussion of our results and a general conclusion.

The purpose of the present study is to find the relationship between characteristics of working life such as job demands (e.g. workload), and job resources (e.g. colleague support) and job attachments of employees, such as burnout, work engagement, and workaholism. Moreover, the effects of work characteristics on physical health, organizational commitment and work-family balance are investigated. Additionally, the relationship between three major employee attachment styles to work, namely, burnout, workaholism and work engagement was examined. Psychometric qualities of the main study scales were established through a pilot study. Data for the main study were collected from 266 Turkish hotel and health care service employees. The results of regression analyses showed that job demands have effect on burnout and work engagement / whereas job resources are related to increased workaholism and decreased burnout. Work engagement predicted physical well-being, increased organizational commitment, and work-family harmony whereas burnout had a negative effect on these outcomes. Workaholism was related only to organizational commitment. Mediation analyses showed that burnout mediated between job demands, and resources and perceived health, organizational commitment and work-family harmony, whereas work engagement mediated only between job resources and the above consequences. A proposed job stress framework was tested through Job Demand and Resources (JD-R) Model. Structural Equation Modeling results exhibited good fit to the model, thus providing support for employee well-being aspect of JD-R Model. The analyses also showed that burnout, workaholism and work engagement are different constructs. Implications for managers, limitations of the study and suggestions for future studies were presented.

While many employees are engaged in their jobs, others suffer from poor working conditions and impaired well-being. Research suggests that job demands may impair employee work attitudes and health while both job resources and personal resources can have positive effect. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relative importance of job demands, job resources, and a personal resource (self-efficacy) for employees’ health and motivation at work. Questionnaire data were collected from white-collar employees of a Swedish construction company (n = 156). Results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed the relative importance of job demands, job resources and personal resources. The job demands were negatively related to health and motivation at work, while the job resources and the personal resource were linked to better health and motivation. The findings generally supported the hypotheses. The specific types of demands and resources were significant varied across outcomes and, unexpectedly, workload was positively correlated with job performance. The findings contribute to a growing literature which indicates that lower job demands and access to both job resources and personal resources may improve employees' health and motivation at work.

Thesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The industrial psychology literature related to call centres highlights the negative aspects of call centre work environments and the resultant adverse impact on workers’ well-being. Call centres have been labelled the “coal mines of the 21st century”, “assembly lines in the head” and “satanic mills” (Janse van Rensburg, Boonzaier, & Boonzaier, 2013, p. 2). High levels of stress, high staff turnover and burnout are all factors that are often experienced by call centre agents (Banks & Roodt, 2011). However, Van der Colff and Rothman (2009) report that some call centre agents, regardless of the high job demands, do not develop burnout. These agents cope better than others under highly demanding and stressful work conditions. To build on these findings, the present study took a detailed look at factors affecting the well-being of employees working in call centres. Specifically, the question was asked, “Why is there variance in work engagement, job burnout and intention to quit amongst the employees in call centres?” The job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014) was used as a framework to investigate the well-being of call centre agents employed in the outbound departments of two branches of a Cape Town call centre. The primary objective of this study was to develop and empirically test a structural model, derived from theory, explaining the antecedents of variance in work engagement, job burnout and intention to quit amongst call centre employees. The antecedents comprise transformational leadership (as a job resource), emotional intelligence and psychological capital (as employees’ personal resources), and emotional labour (as job demands) present in a call centre environment. An ex post facto correlational design was used to test the formulated hypotheses in this research study. Quantitative data was collected from 223 call centre agents by means of non-probability convenience sampling. A self-administered hard-copy survey was distributed to the two call centre branches, given that call centre agents agreed to participate in the research study. Measuring instruments consisted of (1) the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-17) questionnaire (Schaufeli et al., 2002), (2) the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS) (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001), (3) the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS) (Ding & Lin, 2006; Lee, 2000), (4) the Emotional Demands and Emotion-rule Dissonance scales (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, & Fischbach, 2013), (5) the adapted Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5x short) (Van Aswegen & Engelbrecht, 2009), (6) the Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Gignac, 2010) and (7) the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007). The data was analysed using item analyses and structural equation modelling (SEM). A PLS path analysis was conducted to determine the model fit. From the 21 hypotheses formulated in the study, six were found to be significant. It is noteworthy, however, that 12 of the non-significant paths were related to the moderating effects. Hypotheses 1, 3 and 8 were also found to be not significant. However, hypotheses 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 were all found to be statistically significant and therefore supported the JD-R theory (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014), which postulates that job demands are generally the most important predictors of job burnout, whereas job resources and personal resources are generally the most important predictors of work engagement. Also, it was found that call centre agents experiencing a high level of work engagement were less inclined to leave the organisation. The study’s findings shed light on the importance of developing interventions that can foster job and personal resources in the pursuit of optimising work engagement. In addition, the call centre agents can be bolstered in coping with existing job demands and cumulatively this also results in a decrease in the employees’ level of burnout and in their intention to leave the company. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Bedryfsielkundige literatuur met betrekking tot inbelsentrums beklemtoon die negatiewe aspekte van die werkomgewing van inbelsentrums en die gevolglike nadelige effek op werkers se welsyn. Inbelsentrums is reeds beskryf as die “steenkoolmyne van die 21ste eeu”, ‘”monteerbande in die kop” en “sataniese meule” (Janse van Rensburg, Boonzaier, & Boonzaier, 2013, p. 2). Hoë vlakke van stres, hoë personeelomset en uitbranding is faktore wat gereeld deur inbelsentrum-agente ervaar word (Banks & Roodt, 2011). Van der Colff en Rothman (2009) rapporteer egter dat ten spyte van hulle hoë werkvereistes, sommige inbelsentrumagente nie uitbranding ervaar nie. Hierdie agente vaar beter as ander onder hoogs veeleisende en stresvolle werkomstandighede. Om verder te bou op die navorsing wat reeds onderneem is, kyk die huidige studie na die faktore wat moontlik die welsyn van werknemers in inbelsentrums affekteer. Met ander woorde, dit soek na die antwoord op die navorsingsinisiërende vraag: “Hoekom is daar verskille in die werksbegeestering, werksuitbranding en intensie om die organisasie te verlaat onder werknemers in inbelsentrums?” Om op hierdie navorsingsinisiërende vraag te kan reageer, is die job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014) gebruik as raamwerk spesifiek om die welsyn van inbelsentrumagente wat in die uitbel-departemente binne twee takke van ‘n bekende uitbelsentrum, geleë in Kaapstad, te ondersoek. Die hoofdoelwit van hierdie studie was om ’n strukturele model te ontwikkel en te toets wat die antesedente van variansie in werksbegeestering, werksuitbranding en die intensie om die organisaie te verlaat, onder inbelsentrumwerknemers verklaar. Die spesifieke antesedente wat in hierdie studie getoets is, was transformasie-leierskap (as ’n werkshulpbron), emosionele intelligensie en sielkundige kapitaal (psychological capital) (as werknemers se persoonlike hulpbronne), en emosionele arbeid (as werkseise) wat in ‘n inbelsentrum-omgewing teenwoordig is. ʼn Ex post facto korrelasie-ontwerp is gebruik om die geformuleerde hipoteses in hierdie studie te toets. Kwantitatiewe data is by 223 inbelsentrumagente deur middel van nie-waarskynlikheids gerieflikheidsteekproeftrekking ingesamel. ’n Selfgeadministreerde hardekopie-opname is in die twee takke van die inbelsentrum versprei, aangesien hulle ingestem het om aan die studie deel te neem. Die opname het spesifieke latente veranderlikes gemeet wat op die studie van toepassing is deur gebruik te maak van betroubare en geldige meetinstrumente. Hierdie instrumente sluit in (1) die Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-17) vraelys (Schaufeli et al., 2002), (2) die Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS) (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001), (3) die Turnover Intention Scale (TIS) (Ding & Lin, 2006; Lee, 2000), (4) die Emotional Demands en Emotion-rule Dissonance skale (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, & Fischbach, 2013), (5) die aangepaste Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5x kort) (Van Aswegen & Engelbrecht, 2009), (6) die Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Gignac, 2010) en (7) die Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007). Die versamelde data is deur middel van item-analise en strukturele vergelykingsmodellering geanaliseer. ’n PLS pad-ontleding is onderneem om modelpassing te bepaal. Vanuit die 21 hipoteses wat vir hierdie studie geformuleer is, is ses bevind om betekenisvol te wees. Dit is egter merkwaardig dat 12 van die nie-betekenisvolle bane verband gehou het met modererende effekte. Hipoteses 1, 3 en 8 is ook bevind om nie-betekenisvol te wees. Hierdie nie-betekenisvolle bane kan op grond van verskeie redes ontstaan. Hipoteses 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 en 9 is egter almal bevind om statisties betekenisvol te wees en ondersteun dus die JD-R teorie (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014). Hierdie teorie hou voor dat werksvereistes oor die algemeen die belangrikste voorspellers van werksuitbranding is, terwyl werkshulpbronne en persoonlike hulpbronne oor die algemeen die vernaamste voorspellers van werksbegeestering is. Dit is ook bevind dat inbelsentrumagente wat ’n hoë vlak van werksbegeestering ervaar, minder geneig is om die organisasie te verlaat. Die studie se bevindings werp lig op die belangrikheid daarvan om ingrypings te ontwikkel wat werks- en persoonlike hulpbronne kan kweek in die nastrewing van die optimering van begeestering en om inbelsentrumagente te help om die bestaande werkseise te hanteer. Gevolglik sal hierdie uitkoms lei tot ’n vermindering in die werknemers se vlakke van uitbranding en in hulle intensies om die organisasie te verlaat.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major shift towards remote work and its practices are predicted as here to stay. It entails many challenges since both the physical and psychosocial working conditions vastly differ from an office-setting, posing a threat for employee well-being. Leaders have the ability to control employee well-being through activities and their leadership style, emphasizing the importance of exploring the topic from a leader’s perspective.  Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore employee well-being in a remote work setting from a leader perspective, including the leadership activities used to manage it and how leaders adapt their leadership to the remote setting.  Method: The primary data is collected from ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews with leaders in both public and private organizations. The data have been analyzed and interpreted using an explorative approach and inductive thematic analysis.  Conclusions: This study adds multiple aspects within the common theoretical themes of the social context, communication, work-life balance and stress identified as affecting employee well-being remotely. Moreover, it expands the knowledge of leader activities used to enhance employee well-being remotely such as providing opportunities for social interactions. Lastly, the study suggests leaders to balance remote work’s demand for employee independence by providing job resources such as support and adapt their leadership not only to the employee readiness, but also the expectations set on them, their own readiness and the remote situation.

Föreliggande studie undersökte sambanden mellan chefers arbetskrav (logikkonflikter, buffertfunktion), resurser i arbetet (resursbalans, stödjande ledning) samt personliga resurser (självmedkänsla, gränssättning) och upplevd konflikt arbete-privatliv. Data insamlade från 1 817 chefer analyserades med bivariata korrelationer och viktad regressionsanalys. Resultaten påvisade signifikanta positiva samband mellan samtliga arbetskrav och konflikt arbete-privatliv samt signifikanta negativa samband mellan samtliga både arbetsresurser och personliga resurser och konflikt arbete-privatliv. Inga signifikanta interaktionseffekter återfanns för några arbetskrav eller resurser i arbetet och konflikt arbete-privatliv, och inte heller för självmedkänsla-buffertfunktion och konflikt arbete-privatliv. Signifikanta negativa interaktionseffekter återfanns för både självmedkänsla och gränssättning i relation till logikkonflikter och konflikt arbete-privatliv, samt gränssättning-buffertfunktion och konflikt arbete-privatliv. Studien bidrar till ny kunskap gällande betydelsen av chefers personliga resurser för minskad konflikt arbete-privatliv.

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Both flow and flourishing are highly favourable human states and have been described as optimal experience phenomena in the well-being literature. This being said, more research is required to gauge how these states can be more readily achieved – in general, but specifically in sport – and athletic contexts; where it has remained largely unexplored. The objective of this research was to ascertain whether specific contexts can influence the experience of flow and flourishing amongst athletes. It further investigated the state-like properties of these experiences, by evaluating whether certain resources in the environment of the athlete can promote flow and flourishing and assessing whether athlete flow is dynamic over time, i.e. whether it fluctuates over the course of a particular athletic cycle. The research comprised three separate studies, reported in article format. Manuscript 1 evaluated a structural model of athlete flow by investigating the role of both job (sport) – and personal resources in the experience of athlete flow among student athletes. The resources under investigation were teammate relationships and communication (job resources) as well as self-efficacy (a personal resource). Using structural equation modelling direct paths were revealed between teammate relationships, self-efficacy and athlete flow. The findings provide some evidence that athlete flow are associated with contextual factors that relate to the team environment as well as the personal resources of the athlete. Manuscript 2 focused on the flourishing of athletes. An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate relationships between athlete flourishing, team and individual strength use, team embeddedness and withdrawal behaviour. Results suggested that flourishing is related to team strength use. It also revealed positive paths from both the strength use dimensions to team embeddedness. Flourishing related positively to team embeddedness. Withdrawal behaviour was negatively associated with team embeddedness. The results revealed important information from the perspective of antecedents and outcomes of athlete flourishing. Manuscript 3 explored the state-like properties of athlete flow by conducting ecological momentary assessment of the experience amongst under-21 Currie Cup rugby players during a competitive stage of their athletic cycle. The objective of this study was twofold. Firstly, it sought to ascertain whether athlete flow will vary over time and during/ after specific key events during an athletic cycle. Secondly, it investigated whether the introduction of specific interventions during such cycle could influence athlete flow experience. The study, which adopted a longitudinal design, revealed that athlete flow was dynamic over time. Positive relationships were also established between challenging athletic activities, as well as strength-based team and individual interventions; and flow. This provides sport coaches and management teams with information that may assist them in assisting athletes to achieve more readily the favourable and optimum human state that is flow.

Both flow and flourishing are highly favourable human states and have been described as optimal experience phenomena in the well-being literature. This being said, more research is required to gauge how these states can be more readily achieved – in general, but specifically in sport – and athletic contexts; where it has remained largely unexplored. The objective of this research was to ascertain whether specific contexts can influence the experience of flow and flourishing amongst athletes. It further investigated the state-like properties of these experiences, by evaluating whether certain resources in the environment of the athlete can promote flow and flourishing and assessing whether athlete flow is dynamic over time, i.e. whether it fluctuates over the course of a particular athletic cycle. The research comprised three separate studies, reported in article format. Manuscript 1 evaluated a structural model of athlete flow by investigating the role of both job (sport) – and personal resources in the experience of athlete flow among student athletes. The resources under investigation were teammate relationships and communication (job resources) as well as self-efficacy (a personal resource). Using structural equation modelling direct paths were revealed between teammate relationships, self-efficacy and athlete flow. The findings provide some evidence that athlete flow are associated with contextual factors that relate to the team environment as well as the personal resources of the athlete. Manuscript 2 focused on the flourishing of athletes. An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate relationships between athlete flourishing, team and individual strength use, team embeddedness and withdrawal behaviour. Results suggested that flourishing is related to team strength use. It also revealed positive paths from both the strength use dimensions to team embeddedness. Flourishing related positively to team embeddedness. Withdrawal behaviour was negatively associated with team embeddedness. The results revealed important information from the perspective of antecedents and outcomes of athlete flourishing. Manuscript 3 explored the state-like properties of athlete flow by conducting ecological momentary assessment of the experience amongst under-21 Currie Cup rugby players during a competitive stage of their athletic cycle. The objective of this study was twofold. Firstly, it sought to ascertain whether athlete flow will vary over time and during/ after specific key events during an athletic cycle. Secondly, it investigated whether the introduction of specific interventions during such cycle could influence athlete flow experience. The study, which adopted a longitudinal design, revealed that athlete flow was dynamic over time. Positive relationships were also established between challenging athletic activities, as well as strength-based team and individual interventions; and flow. This provides sport coaches and management teams with information that may assist them in assisting athletes to achieve more readily the favourable and optimum human state that is flow.

工作要求－資源模型(JD-R model)為近年來受歡迎的工作壓力模型，並強調能適用進各工作場域，但多是以歐洲的員工為樣本來檢驗假設，故本研究以台灣企業員工為樣本，檢驗JD-R model，並釐清個人資源在模型中扮演的角色。以279 個台灣企業員工為樣本檢驗工作特徵、員工心理福祉、與表現的關係，並討論個人資源的角色。以階層迴歸分析檢驗的結果支持工作要求與工作資源能分別預測耗竭與投入，但兩者並無交互作用關係；又表現可由投入的程度來預測，耗竭對員工表現則無影響；除此之外，本研究亦發現個人資源對投入及角色內、角色外表現有直接效果、且與工作要求有交互作用關係。這些結果顯示以台灣員工檢驗JD-R model 時，無法完全支持其假設，但也發現個人資源在檢驗員工心理福祉的程度時有其作用及重要性。未來的研究可著重在討論文化因素是否造成差異。 / Job Demands-Resources Model (JD-R model) is a popular work-stress related model that claims can be adapted into all-kinds of work environment, but tested mostly with European employees. The current research intended to test the basic hypotheses of JD-R model with Taiwanese employees and to clarify the role of personal resources in the model. 279 Taiwanese employees are included in the tested sample to examine the relationship between job characteristics, employees’ well-being, and performance, and also have a discussion about the role of personal resources. The results of hierarchical regression analysis supported that job demands and job resources can predict exhaustion and engagement respectively. However, there is no interaction effect between job demands and job resources were found. Moreover, performance can be predicted by engagement, while exhaustion can’t. Besides, the present research found that personal resources have direct effects on engagement, in-role performance, out-role performance, and an interaction effect with job demands on exhaustion. These findings revealed that the basic hypotheses cannot be fully supported when tested with Taiwanese employees, but also indicated the effect and importance of personal resources while examine employees’ well being. Future research should focus more on the cultural factors to clarify whether culture do make differences.