Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Previous research has established that supportive work and family environments are critical in helping employees manage stressors that lead to work-family conflict. However, little is known about alternate ways that work-family conflict can be reduced in situations where support is insufficient. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, this study examines whether individual differences in personality, specifically core self-evaluations (CSE), can relieve work-family conflict when external sources of support (i.e., family-supportive organizational perceptions (FSOP), supervisor support, family support) are low. Results from 453 men and women in various industries and organizations suggest that FSOP and supervisor support reduce work-to-family conflict (WFC), and that family support reduces family-to-work conflict (FWC). In addition, work-family conflict mediated the negative relationships between social support and employee burnout. Contrary to predictions, however, instead of compensating for low FSOP, WFC was reduced especially for individuals, particularly men, who had both strong FSOP and high CSE. This implies that men who hold more positive views toward their self-worth and competence stand to gain more from family-supportive work environments than individuals who lack the same internal resources. CSE did not have this boosting influence for women. CSE also moderated the indirect relationship between FSOP and burnout through WFC, meaning that individuals with high CSE who also perceived their organization as family-supportive experienced significantly less burnout than those with low CSE.

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Dans cette thèse nous nous intéressons à la prédiction de la réussite à l’issue de la formation (réussite à l’examen à l’université, insertion de demandeurs d’emplois accueillis en formation) sur la base de mesures subjectives « à chaud » (satisfaction ou apprentissages subjectifs) et de variables dispositionnelles (sentiment d’efficacité personnelle, locus de contrôle, estime de soi, optimisme et évaluation centrale de soi). Les résultats montrent en rapport avec les modèles d’évaluation de la formation que les mesures subjectives « à chaud » ne sont pas de bons prédicteurs de la réussite à l’issue de la formation ou de l’insertion professionnelle. Par ailleurs, la réussite à l’issue de la formation peut parfois être prédite par les variables dispositionnelles dans la mesure où ces dernières ont des valeurs élevées, dans le cas d’obtention au préalable de bonnes notes de la part des étudiants. En effet, l’effet de prédiction disparait lorsqu’est neutralisé l’impact du niveau académique antérieur de l’étudiant. En accord avec les travaux sur la norme d’internalité, ces variables semblent des indicateurs de situations sociales de réussite préexistantes et non des déterminants directs de la réussite sociale (Dubois, 1987, 2003). Dans la seconde partie de notre thèse, nous proposons par le biais de la théorie de l’engagement d’agir sur le contexte au moyen d’une déclaration de liberté ayant pour objet la présence au cours. Des effets positifs de la déclaration de liberté, par opposition à une déclaration de contrainte, sont observés sur plusieurs résultats collectés en fin de formation (satisfaction, apprentissage subjectif). Au niveau théorique, il semble que les retours d’évaluation fournis par les formateurs pourraient affecter les variables dispositionnelles, dont font état les personnes formées, et ainsi les rendre prédictives de la réussite. Les interactions évaluatives réifieraient ainsi le lien entre variables dispositionnelles et situation de réussite. Par ailleurs le contexte de liberté induit pourrait favoriser une élévation des mesures dispositionnelles et initier les processus d’apprentissage. / This research work adresses the prediction of success after a training scheme (success in university examination, integration of job seekers after a training session) on the basis of 1/ subjective indicators at the end of training: satisfaction or subjective learning and 2/ individuals' variables (self-efficacy, locus of control, self-esteem, optimism and core self-evaluation). Our results show that, compared to training evaluation models, subjective indicators at the end of training do not appear to be good predictors of success. In addition, if individuals' variables are sometimes predictable of success, this seems to be related to the mere fact that they represent high values in students with past good results (the effect of prediction disappears when the effect of the student's past academic level is neutralized). In agreement with studies carried out on Internality Norm, such variables appear to be no more than indicators of previous social success situations, but not direct determinants of social success (Dubois, 1987, 2003). In the second part of our thesis, we propose – via the theory of commitment – to impact on participants' commitment, thanks to a statement of freedom (of choice) as to the attendance to classes. Favorable effects derived from such freedom of choice – as opposed to compulsory attendance - are observed on several results collected at the end of the training (satisfaction, subjective learning). At theoretical level, It seems that trainers' evaluation assessments could affect declared trainees' individual variables, thus making them predictive of success. Evaluation interactions are thus thought to reify the link usually considered between individuals' variables and situations of success. In addition, the context of freedom thus induced might contribute to enhanced individuals' variables as well as promote the mechanisms of learning.

Rapid forces for change in the post-modern society have left their mark on the labour market, creating a metamorphosis in the nature of work and the way in which careers should be approached. This has resulted in the need for individuals to possess a combination of attributes that will enable them to take an adaptive, proactive approach to their careers, which involves managing their employability. Employability is especially relevant to graduates, who are expected to acquire more than academic capabilities to ‘hit the ground running’ in their transition from higher education to the workplace. Despite the significance of the topic, it remains conceptually ambiguous with few empirical studies that explain its foundation, and fewer still that have constructed a measure explicitly gauging employability, particularly in South Africa. The main purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a measure of graduate employability in the context of the new world of work. A theoretical model of graduate employability was developed based on an extensive review of the literature and the Graduate Employability Measure (GEM) was subsequently constructed. A cross-sectional survey was utilised to collect data from a random sample of final-year undergraduates and postgraduates from the College of Economic and Management Sciences at a higher distance learning institution in South Africa. The 272 useable questionnaires returned were subjected to exploratory factor analysis, which revealed a reliable three-factor model consisting of the dimensions of career self-management drive, career resilience and cultural competence, and explaining 36.42%, 3.5% and 2.97% of the variance respectively. Analysis of variance was used to determine whether there were any significant differences between the biographical variables of the sample and the GEM factors. It was found that females and final-year undergraduates obtained significantly higher means on all the GEM dimensions than males and postgraduates respectively. The findings inform the conceptualisation of the employability construct, the elements it consists of, and how it can be measured in a valid and reliable manner. The GEM has the potential to be useful to students in a career guidance context, to employers that desire to select and develop highly adaptable employees, and to higher education, which can incorporate these important employability attributes in the curriculum to deliver highly employable graduates. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted