Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In insurance sales organisations, the Personal Financial Advisors (PFAs) serve a pivotal function in the relationship between the organisation, product and customer. The organisation invests a great deal of time and money in recruiting, training and retaining good PFAs. However, turnover amongst these employees seem to remain high within the first 36 months of employment. The aim of this study was to explore the non-remuneration predictors of burnout and intention to quit amongst PFAs in order to shed some light on the turnover problem. Specific constructs were identified in a pilot study which would not necessarily have been explored by the organisation and may have gone unacknowledged or overlooked. These constructs are emotional labour, self-efficacy, time wasted on non-sales activities, supervisor support and their relationship with burnout and intention to quit. A convenience sample of 608 PFAs was approached from one insurance sales organisation. One hundred and twenty two (122) respondents completed and returned their questionnaires. The descriptive statistics of the sample reflected a mean age of 35 years (range 21 to 61 years), with 66% males and 34% females, and a race distribution of 64% White, 19% African, 10% Coloured and 7% Indian. The majority of the population had been working for 13 to 24 months (46%). Overall, the sample produced a satisfactory to good representation of the demographic statistics of the total population available to the researcher. Both quantitative and qualitative research techniques were utilised in this study. Analysis of the qualitative data supported the role of the theoretical constructs chosen for inclusion and additional sources of job stress were identified. Pearson productmoment correlation analysis was used to analyse the questionnaire data, followed by multiple regression analyses with work burnout, client burnout and intention to quit as dependent variables, and the remaining constructs as the predictors. Both a measurement and structural model was tested; both produced acceptable goodness-of-fit statistics. From all of the above-mentioned analyses, significant relationships were found to exist between time wasted on non-sales activities, burnout, and self-efficacy; self-efficacy, burnout and intention to quit, and burnout and intention to quit. Conclusions were drawn from the obtained results and recommendations are made with respect to future research, as well as with respect to the management of burnout and intention to quit in the sales environment. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In versekeringsmaatskappye speel die Persoonlike Finansiële Adviseur (PFA) ‘n baie belangrike rol in die verhouding tussen die organisasie, die produk en die kliënt. Die organisasie belê heelwat hulpbronne in die vorm van tyd en geld om goeie PFAs te werf, op te lei en te behou. Ten spyte hiervan is daar steeds ‘n groot hoeveelheid PFAs wat die organisasie verlaat binne die eerste 36 maande van aanstelling. Die huidige studie se doelwit was om die nie-vergoedingsvoorspellers van uitbranding onder PFAs, asook hulle intensies om te bedank, te bestudeer, om sodoende lig te werp op die hoë omset onder PFAs. Spesifieke konstrukte wat nie noodwendig deur die organisasie bestudeer sou word nie, is geïdentifiseer in ‘n loodsstudie. Hierdie konstrukte is emosionele arbeid, selfbekwaamheid, tyd verloor op nieverkoopsaktiwiteite, en ondersteuning deur die lynbestuurder. Hierdie konstrukte se verwantskap met uitbranding en intensies om die organisasie te verlaat, is bestudeer in die huidige studie. ‘n Gerieflikheidsteekproef van 608 PFAs vanuit een versekeringsmaatskappy is genader vir deelname aan die huidige studie. Een honderd twee-en-twintig (122) respondente het hul vraelyste voltooi en ingedien. Die beskrywende statistiek van die steekproef het ‘n gemiddelde ouderdom van 35 jaar getoon (verspreidingswydte 21 tot 61 jaar), met 66% manlik en 34% vroulik, en ‘n rasseverspreiding van 64% blank, 19% swart, 10% kleurling en 7% Indiër respondente. Oor die algemeen was die beskrywende statistiek ‘n aanvaarbare tot goeie verteenwoordiging van die totale populasie. Beide kwantitatiewe asook kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodes is gebruik in hierdie studie. ‘n Analise van die kwalitatiewe data het die rol van die konstrukte wat vir insluiting gekies is, bevestig, en addisionele bronne van werkstres is geïdentifiseer. Die Pearson korrelasie-analises is gebruik om die vraelysdata te analiseer, gevolg deur stapsgewyse meervoudige regressie-ontledings met werksuitbranding, kliëntuitbranding en intensie om te bedank as afhanklike veranderlikes, en die oorblywende konstrukte as voorspellers. Beide die metingsmodel en die strukturele model is getoets, albei het aanvaarbare pasgehalte van die model opgelewer. Uit al die bogenoemde analises is beduidende verbande tussen die veranderlikes tyd verloor op nie-verkoopsaktiwiteite, uitbranding, en intensie om te bedank; selfbekwaamheid, uitbranding en intensie om te bedank; asook uibranding en intensie om te bedank gevind. Gevolgtrekkings is gemaak vanuit die bevindinge en voorstelle is gemaak met die oog op verdere navorsing, sowel as met betrekking tot die bestuur van uitbranding en intensie om te bedank in die verkoopsomgewing.

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

The purpose of this research was to determine the antecedents to the intention to quit in an occupation characterized by a high degree of voluntary attrition. This study posits that job satisfaction and affective commitment are antecedents to voluntary turnover. The study concerns the application of Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory to determine the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction factors and affective commitment on the intention to quit among drivers in the solid waste management industry. Participants were volunteers taken from an industry leading publicly listed company, a premier privately held organization, and a unionized operation which represent all three principle lines of business. The research sample has 380 drivers randomly selected from the commercial, industrial, and residential driver classifications. Each of the participants responded to questionnaires which included items about demographics, job satisfaction, affective commitment, and the intent to quit. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Graduate Pack 16.0 with Amos. Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation was used to determine the correlation between the job satisfaction factors, affective commitment, and the intention to quit. Independent- samples t-tests were used to test the difference between groups such as union versus non-union, public versus privately held companies, and between lines of business. The outcome of the study supports Herzberg's theory and reveals that affective commitment has greater influence on the intent quit than job satisfaction. This study is the most comprehensive of its kind to address a qualitative organizational behavior issue in the solid waste management industry. In addition, the results reveal opportunities for employers to align human capital strategies with key job satisfaction factors to gain affective commitment and improve operational performance. Comparisons within the three lines of business and between union and non-union operations were included in the analysis with the results revealing no significant differences between operations or positions.

Bakgrund: Svensk sjukvård står inför stora utmaningar de kommande åren med en åldrande befolkning som kommer att kräva allt mer vård. Samtidigt väljer allt fler sjuksköterskor att lämna sitt yrke vilket försämrar vårdkvalitén och riskerar patientsäkerheten, det är därför viktigt att undersöka vilka faktorer som får sjuksköterskor att avsluta eller byta sin anställning. Metod: En litteraturöversikt med kvalitativa och kvantitativa artiklar. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva faktorer som påverkar sjuksköterskor att lämna sitt yrke. Resultat: Ur analysen framkom två kategorier; hinder i organisationen och bristande samarbete på arbetsplatsen med fyra underkategorier. Konklusion: Ogynnsamma arbetsförhållanden som skapar stress leder till ett försämrat psykiskt och fysiskt välbefinnande hos sjuksköterskor. Sjuksköterskor upplever en konflikt mellan tid för arbets- och privatliv, vilket kan vara ett resultat av hög arbetsbelastning, brist på personal, långa och ofta varierande arbetstider. På individnivå finns olika förutsättningar att hantera den påfrestande arbetssituationen och där upplevt bristande stöd från arbetsgivaren kan leda till att sjuksköterskor lämnar sitt arbete. Speciellt utsatta är de nyexaminerade sjuksköterskorna som behöver mycket stöd från medarbetare och chef. / Background: Swedish healthcare is facing major challenges in the coming years with an aging population that will require more and more care. At the same time, more and more nurses choose to leave their profession, which deteriorates the quality of care and risks patient safety. It is therefore important to investigate which factors cause nurses to end or change their employment. Method: A literature review with qualitative and quantitative articles. Aim: To describe factors that influence nurses to quit their profession. Findings: The analysis revealed two categories; obstacles in the organization and lack of cooperation in the workplace with four subcategories. Conclusion: Unfavorable working conditions that create stress lead to a deterioration in the mental and physical well-being of nurses. Nurses experience a conflict between time for work and personal life, which can be a result of high workload, shortage of staff, long and often varying working hours. At the individual level, there are different conditions for dealing with the stressful work situation and where a perceived lack of support from the employer can lead to nurses leaving their jobs. Especially vulnerable are the newly qualified nurses who need a lot of support from co-workers and manager

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

Reducing employee turnover through retention practices is an area of great interest to employers who depend on a highly skilled workforce. In recent years, Cooperative Extension has experienced the loss of many local agents/educators due to resignation and also retirement incentives offered as a cost saving measure to manage reduced funding. Due to the type of work, the training needed, and the small pool of qualified applicants, it is important to pay attention to the retention of newly hired Extension workers. Prior research suggests a linkage of factors that can predict the likelihood of new employees' intention to quit. Human resource practices including recruitment & hiring, compensation & benefits, training & development, and supervision & evaluation are items that can directly influence the level of job satisfaction of new employees as well as their level of commitment to the organization. The level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment can, subsequently, predict an employee's level of intention to quit. This paper will share findings of research conducted in the fall of 2010, which included 480 Extension agents/educators, representing 12 states in the Southern United States. The study targeted employees with less than six years of employment and investigated human resource practices that influence intention to quit. Findings indicate a significant relationship between perceptions of human resource practices and intention to quit, mediated by organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Accordingly, the research has important implications for the management of Cooperative Extension and anyone working in or preparing to work in related fields. / Ph. D.

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