The mining industry is driven by performance and intense working environments, accompanied by high demands, hazardous working conditions and socially undesirable working hours. These factors could impact on the interaction between work and home, as well as contributing to health problems of employees. The objectives of this research were to test the construct validity, construct equivalence and reliability of a work-home interaction measuring instrument, the Survey Work-Home Interaction - Nijmegen (SWING), to determine if work-home interaction differences exist between different demographical groups, and to test a structural model of job characteristics (job demands and job resources), ill health and negative work-home interference. Random samples (n = 320) were taken from employees working in the mining industry (gold, platinum and phosphate mines) in the Gauteng, North West and Northern provinces. The SWING, a self-developed job characteristics questionnaire and an adapted version of the General Health Questionnaire were administered. Structural equation modelling, descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling confirmed the four-factor structure of the SWING and the construct equivalence for two language and ethnic groups. The four factors showed acceptable internal consistencies. Statistically significant differences were found based on age, ethnicity, gender, qualification, marital and parental status, language, flexibility at work and whether individuals had a partner with a paid job. Regarding the structural model, the results showed that job demands and job resources have an impact on ill health, and that ill health is associated with negative WHI. It was also found that job demands and job resources have a direct relationship with negative WHI on their own, but when both high demands and a lack of resources are present, only an indirect relationship with negative WHI exists though ill health. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

The tertiary education environment has become known for its stressful working conditions. Factors such as high work demands (i.e. work overload, excessive time demands and work pressure) and insufficient resources (i.e. limited developmental possibilities, poor performance feedback, lack of support, etc.) all contribute to these stressful circumstances. As a result, these circumstances can cause employees to experience negative interferences between their work and nonwork roles. In addition, employees do not have adequate time to invest in their nonwork domains, hence nonwork roles are neglected (such as being a parent, being a spouse, spending time on domestic activities and spending time on religious/spiritual activities). To decrease these negative interferences, it is important for employees to recover from strains that were activated at work. The objectives of this study were to determine 1) which demands and resources significantly predicted work-nonwork interference among employees working in a tertiary education institution; and 2) which recovery strategies were significant in dealing with high levels of work-nonwork interference caused by high demands and a lack of resources. A random sample of 366 married parents was taken from a tertiary education institution in the North-West Province. A list was obtained of all the married parents of the institution. All of these employees were given the choice to participate in the research. A measuring battery measuring job demands (i.e. work pressure, emotional demands and cognitive demands), job resources (i.e. autonomy, social support and developmental possibilities), work-nonwork interference (i.e. work-parent, work-spouse, work-domestic and work-religion/spirituality) and recovery strategies (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery and control) respectively was utilised in this study. Descriptive and inferential statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlations and stepwise multiple regression, using the enter method, were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that work pressure and emotional demands significantly predict interference between all four nonwork roles. Additionally, autonomy and developmental possibilities significantly predicted work-parent and work-religion/spirituality interference respectively. Furthermore, all of the recovery strategies decreased specific worknonwork interference. Psychological detachment decreased the interference between the workspouse relationship and the work-religion/spirituality relationship. Relaxation predicted the decrease of interference between the following relationships: work-parent, work-spouse, and work-domestic. Mastery and control only significantly predicted the decrease of interference between the work-parent relationship and between the work-domestic activities respectively. Various recommendations were made for tertiary education institutions as well as for future research. Tertiary education institutions should manage high job demands by examining employees’ workload and job descriptions. Managers could possibly diminish work pressure and emotional demands by means of courses/workshops pertaining to self-management, time and organisational skills, emotional intelligence and/or coping with emotions. Tertiary education institutions should also focus on supporting employees who experience work-nonwork interferences and manage it effectively. In addition, the awareness of recovery and various recovery strategies should be promoted. Recommendations for future research include expanding the research to other occupational groups, longitudinal research designs, obtaining various opinions and perspectives of individuals also involved in the work-nonwork dyad and the study of the positive interaction between the work and nonwork roles. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom (IPS) / The construction industry plays a crucial role in the South African economy. In this high-risk industry, a lack of engagement by employees can have serious and costly health and safety consequences. Because construction companies work under conditions of tight deadlines and stringent requirements, executives and managers are often unable to reduce the demands on their employees. Hence, if employees are to increase their own levels of work engagement (and so improve health, promote safety, and guard against burnout), they need to exert personal agency by recrafting their own jobs. The term job crafting refers to proactive employee behaviours that seek to optimise the work environment, frequently by addressing the balance between job demands and job resource. Previous literature suggests that employees who use job crafting behaviours show higher work engagement, lower disengagement, more positive emotions, and better adaptive performance.

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

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The aim of this study was to examine and compare job demand and resource perception of hospital employees in Iceland and Sweden as well as their self-efficacy and intention to quit. These variables have high predictability for attitudes and behavior. Since the two countries were impacted differently by the global financial crisis of 2008, it is interesting to investigate whether these factors differ between them. A cross-sectional data was collected in public hospitals among specialized and unspecialized healthcare employees who responded to a self-administrated questionnaire. Quantitative methodology was used to analyze the differences between the groups. A MANOVA revealed no significant differences in resource perception, self-efficacy and intention to quit. However, unexpectedly, perception of job demands was significantly higher in Sweden. The literature behind this comparison sheds a light on how work conditions and employee well-being can be improved by managing resources and demands. It yields insight into how improvements can be wrought in such a complex system as healthcare in times of financial restrictions. On a practical level, this study emphasizes the importance of fair demands and good resources as a key to well-being because balanced levels of these factors enable employees to respond effectively to their work environment, be more satisfied, motivated, have high self-efficacy and be less likely to quit their jobs. Finally, areas were identified where future research is needed.

Continuous exposure to things like high job demands, lack of job resources, change, competitiveness and rivalry, can result in stress and burnout. Stressful events may lead to ill health and might impact negatively on the work-related well-being of employees. Because of the emergence of positive (organisational) psychology, the study of positive aspects of health and well-being are increasingly popular in Occupational Health Psychology. One of these positive aspects is work engagement, which is considered to be the antipode of burnout. Successful diagnoses of work stress, burnout and work engagement is the first step in facilitating the work-related well-being of employees. To measure stress, burnout and work engagement, it is important to use reliable and valid instruments. However, there is a lack of empirical research systematically investigating burnout and work engagement in South Africa, as well as serious limitations, including poorly designed studies, a lack of sophisticated statistical analyses and poorly controlled studies. South Africa is a multicultural society and therefore, when burnout and work engagement measures are applied to different cultural groups, issues of construct equivalence becomes important. Furthermore, little information exists regarding the causes and effects of work stress, burnout and work engagement of teachers in South Africa. The general objective of this research is to standardise the Maslach Burnout Inventory- General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for teachers in the North West Province, to determine causes of occupational stress for teachers, to assess the relationship between occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health, and to develop and test a causal model of work-related well-being for teachers in the North West Province. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Random, stratified samples of teachers in the North West Province (N = 1177) were taken. An adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), An Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET), the Affectometer 2, the Job Characteristics Inventory (JCI), and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, inter-item correlations, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Pearson correlations, multivariate analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance and t-tests were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test causal models of work-related well-being. Structural equation modelling confirmed a three-factor model of burnout (Exhaustion, Mental Distance and Professional Efficacy). All three factors showed acceptable internal consistencies and construct equivalence for two language groups. Structural equation modelling also confirmed a three-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour, Dedication and Absorption. Two of the sub-scales, namely Vigour and Dedication showed acceptable internal consistencies. Both the MBI-GS and the UWES showed acceptable construct equivalence. The results showed that practically significant differences exist between demographic groups in their experience of burnout and work engagement. The results confirmed the construct validity and internal consistency of the ASSET. Occupational stress and low individual commitment to the organisation explained 3 1 % of the variance in physical and psychological ill-health. Commitment from the individual to the organisation moderated the effects of occupational stress on physical and psychological health of teachers. The results showed that role overload, unfavourable task characteristics, a lack of control and low positive affect predicted exhaustion. Favourable task characteristics, positive affect and low negative affect predicted professional efficacy. Burnout was related to physical and psychological ill-health. Regarding a model of work-related well-being, the results showed that job demands, a lack of job resources and low positive affect contributed to burnout. Burnout mediated the relationship between job demands and ill-health, while positive affect moderated the relationship between burnout and ill-health. Job resources predicted work engagement. Work engagement mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Counselling services as provided by non-professional counsellors have been in place for a number of decades. Counselling traumatised people demands a significant amount of emotional investment from the counsellor. A neglected area as far as non-professional counsellors in South Africa is concerned, is the well-being of the counsellors. Burnout as well as its antithesis, work engagement, are two possible transactional outcomes impacting on the well-being of these counsellors. The measurement of burnout and work engagement requires valid and reliable measuring instruments. The dearth of research studies in the area of burnout and work engagement, together with the unique contribution of non-professional counsellors in organisational settings, has led to the primary focus of this study being the exploration of the experience of this group of counsellors doing trauma counselling in financial institutions in South Africa. A lack of norms for the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS), and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for non-professional counsellors doing trauma counselling makes the identification of burnout and work engagement within this specialist environment difficult. Consequently, investigating the reliability and validity of the MBI-HSS and the UWES would result in the standardisation of these specific measuring instruments, therefore contributing to the identification of burnout and work engagement with non-professional trauma counsellors. Some of the factors that could play a role in the prevalence of burnout and work engagement are secondary traumatic stress, the demands of counselling, lack of resources, personal consequences, social support and sense of coherence. The objectives of this research were to standardise the MBI-HSS and UWES for non-professional counsellors as well as to develop and test a causal model of burnout and work engagement for this specialist group. The research method involved four separate articles, each consisting of a brief literature overview and an empirical study. A cross-sectional design, whereby a sample is drawn from a population at a particular point in time, was used. The data for this study was collected from 168 non-professional counsellors, employed by three of the major banks in South Africa. The MBI-HSS, UWES, Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) as well as a Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ) and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, correlations, canonical analysis, and structural equation modelling were used. Structural equation modelling confirmed a three-factor model of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment). In contrast with research findings confirming the three-factor model of the UWES (vigour, dedication and absorption), a one-factor model for the UWES was confirmed for non-professional counsellors. The internal consistency of the scales for the MBI-HSS and UWES was found to be satisfactory and in line with reported findings in the literature. Structural equation analysis showed that the lack of resources and job demands predicted the core of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. The conflicts and pressures that are already associated with the everyday work of non-professional counsellors are likely to be magnified by the counselling role. Non-professional counsellors continually face conflicts created by the fact that they are accountable to large organisations, but professionally, ethically and morally devoted to their clients (the victims of trauma who are being counselled by them). They must balance the competing, and sometimes opposing demands of several parties such as trauma victims, employees, families and communities. To add to these circumstances it is important to remember that counselling is not the main job objective of the non-professional counsellors. Counselling is seen as an "add-on" to their job description and is in most instances not part of their performance measurement/assessment. Work engagement was related to low burnout scores, while personal accomplishment was associated with work engagement. High sense of coherence had a mediating effect on burnout and a positive effect on work engagement. This study seems to emphasise that job demands have a more negative effect on engagement when sense of coherence is low than when sense of coherence is high. Conversely, it is assumed that sense of coherence provides functions such as increased perception of coping capacity or minimised stress appraised, which decreases the effects of stress on an individual. Recommendations for the organisations and future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Academia is a demanding profession, as evidenced by a body of research that documents the debilitating impact of occupational stress and burnout on the personal and professional welfare of academics. In particular, high levels of these pathological phenomena, left unchecked, undermine the quality, productivity and creativity of the academics' work in addition to their health, well-being and morale. Despite these indicators of "weaknesses" and "malfunctioning", academics know that there is times that they operate in a "milieu" of work - there is an intense focus and pleasurable emotions, accompanied by high levels of enthusiasm. Especially, with the upcoming positive paradigm in Occupational Health Psychology, "positive" trends such as work engagement, optimism, organisational commitment and life satisfaction are also commonplace among academics. The first step in the enhancement of work wellness is the successful diagnosis of stress, burnout and work engagement. However, to measure these constructs, it is important to use reliable and valid instruments, and at the same time, take into account the cultural diversity in a multicultural setting such as South Africa. Clearly then, an assessment of this type should be concerned with the issue of construct equivalency. Furthermore, little information exists regarding the causes and effects of occupational stress, burnout and work engagement of academics in South Africa. The general aim of this study was to standardise an adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for academics in South African higher education institutions, to determine their levels of occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health, and to test a structural model of work wellness for South African academics. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with stratified random samples (N = 595) taken of academics in six South African universities. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Job Characteristics Inventory, the Health and Organisational Commitment subscales of the ASSET, The Life Orientation Test and Satisfaction with Life Scale were administered. Cronbach alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-tests and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test a structural model of work wellness. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a three-factor model of burnout, consisting of Exhaustion, Mental Distance and Professional Efficacy. The scales showed acceptable internal consistencies and construct equivalence for two language groups. Practically significant differences were found in the burnout levels of academics with regard to their age, marital status and working hours. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a two-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour/Dedication and Absorption. The scales showed acceptable construct equivalence for two language groups (Afrikaans and English). One scale, namely Vigour/Dedication showed acceptable internal consistency. Practically significant differences were found between the work engagement of academics with different job levels and qualifications. Compared to the normative data, academics reported significantly high levels of stress relating to pay and benefits, overload and work-life balance. Academics also reported high levels of psychological ill-health, but experienced high levels of commitment both from and towards their organisation. Organisational commitment did not moderate the effects of occupational stress on ill-health. Analysis of variance revealed differences between the levels of occupational stress and ill-health of demographic groups. Regarding a model of work wellness, the results showed that job demands contributed to burnout, while job resources contributed to work wellness (low burnout and high work engagement). Burnout mediated the relationship between job demands and ill-health; work wellness mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. Dispositional optimism moderated the effects of a lack of job resources on work engagement. Work wellness and health contributed to life satisfaction. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Continuous exposure to things like high job demands, lack of job resources, change, competitiveness and rivalry, can result in stress and burnout. Stressful events may lead to ill health and might impact negatively on the work-related well-being of employees. Because of the emergence of positive (organisational) psychology, the study of positive aspects of health and well-being are increasingly popular in Occupational Health Psychology. One of these positive aspects is work engagement, which is considered to be the antipode of burnout. Successful diagnoses of work stress, burnout and work engagement is the first step in facilitating the work-related well-being of employees. To measure stress, burnout and work engagement, it is important to use reliable and valid instruments. However, there is a lack of empirical research systematically investigating burnout and work engagement in South Africa, as well as serious limitations, including poorly designed studies, a lack of sophisticated statistical analyses and poorly controlled studies. South Africa is a multicultural society and therefore, when burnout and work engagement measures are applied to different cultural groups, issues of construct equivalence becomes important. Furthermore, little information exists regarding the causes and effects of work stress, burnout and work engagement of teachers in South Africa. The general objective of this research is to standardise the Maslach Burnout Inventory- General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for teachers in the North West Province, to determine causes of occupational stress for teachers, to assess the relationship between occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health, and to develop and test a causal model of work-related well-being for teachers in the North West Province. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Random, stratified samples of teachers in the North West Province (N = 1177) were taken. An adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), An Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET), the Affectometer 2, the Job Characteristics Inventory (JCI), and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, inter-item correlations, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Pearson correlations, multivariate analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance and t-tests were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test causal models of work-related well-being. Structural equation modelling confirmed a three-factor model of burnout (Exhaustion, Mental Distance and Professional Efficacy). All three factors showed acceptable internal consistencies and construct equivalence for two language groups. Structural equation modelling also confirmed a three-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour, Dedication and Absorption. Two of the sub-scales, namely Vigour and Dedication showed acceptable internal consistencies. Both the MBI-GS and the UWES showed acceptable construct equivalence. The results showed that practically significant differences exist between demographic groups in their experience of burnout and work engagement. The results confirmed the construct validity and internal consistency of the ASSET. Occupational stress and low individual commitment to the organisation explained 3 1 % of the variance in physical and psychological ill-health. Commitment from the individual to the organisation moderated the effects of occupational stress on physical and psychological health of teachers. The results showed that role overload, unfavourable task characteristics, a lack of control and low positive affect predicted exhaustion. Favourable task characteristics, positive affect and low negative affect predicted professional efficacy. Burnout was related to physical and psychological ill-health. Regarding a model of work-related well-being, the results showed that job demands, a lack of job resources and low positive affect contributed to burnout. Burnout mediated the relationship between job demands and ill-health, while positive affect moderated the relationship between burnout and ill-health. Job resources predicted work engagement. Work engagement mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.