Gold mining in South Africa has played a significant role in the economic development of the country over the past 120 years. The continued focus on productivity, recruitment and consolidation in the South African gold mining industry will result in a decline in production. Much of the decline can be attributed to natural attrition as the industry has moved from a mass employer of limited, contract, unskilled labour, to an employer of more permanent, mostly semi-skilled or skilled labour. The objective of this research was to investigate the reliability of measuring instruments of social support, role overload (qualitative and quantitative), job satisfaction and turnover intention for employees in the mining industry. Further objectives included empirically determining whether social support has a moderating effect on the relation between role overload and job satisfaction and turnover intention. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A random sample was taken from a South African mining company (N=250). Gender and age were included as control variables. Individuals on Paterson grading E band to C Upper (managers) were part of the sample. Five measuring instruments were administrated. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results obtained for the five scales proved the measuring instruments to be reliable. The results show that when an employee feels that his/her work is more than he/she can accomplish in the time available (quantitative role overload), the employee will most probably also feel that his/her work requires skills, abilities and knowledge beyond that of their own (qualitative role overload). It is also indicated that social support from the supervisor increases the employee's positive attitude or pleasurable emotional state towards his/her job or job experience (job satisfaction), as well as heightens the probability of social support from colleagues. Furthermore, the more positive the employee's attitude towards the job, the less the intention to stop working will be (turnover intention). This intention to stop working will also be less when social support from the supervisor is more and/or when the employee experiences less feelings that his/her work is more than he/she can accomplish in the time available. Turnover intention was predicted by social support from supervisor. Job satisfaction was predicted by role overload (quantitative) and social support from supervisor. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Gold mining in South Africa has played a significant role in the economic development of the country over the past 120 years. The continued focus on productivity, recruitment and consolidation in the South African gold mining industry will result in a decline in production. Much of the decline can be attributed to natural attrition as the industry has moved from a mass employer of limited, contract, unskilled labour, to an employer of more permanent, mostly semi-skilled or skilled labour. The objective of this research was to investigate the reliability of measuring instruments of social support, role overload (qualitative and quantitative), job satisfaction and turnover intention for employees in the mining industry. Further objectives included empirically determining whether social support has a moderating effect on the relation between role overload and job satisfaction and turnover intention. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A random sample was taken from a South African mining company (N=250). Gender and age were included as control variables. Individuals on Paterson grading E band to C Upper (managers) were part of the sample. Five measuring instruments were administrated. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The results obtained for the five scales proved the measuring instruments to be reliable. The results show that when an employee feels that his/her work is more than he/she can accomplish in the time available (quantitative role overload), the employee will most probably also feel that his/her work requires skills, abilities and knowledge beyond that of their own (qualitative role overload). It is also indicated that social support from the supervisor increases the employee's positive attitude or pleasurable emotional state towards his/her job or job experience (job satisfaction), as well as heightens the probability of social support from colleagues. Furthermore, the more positive the employee's attitude towards the job, the less the intention to stop working will be (turnover intention). This intention to stop working will also be less when social support from the supervisor is more and/or when the employee experiences less feelings that his/her work is more than he/she can accomplish in the time available. Turnover intention was predicted by social support from supervisor. Job satisfaction was predicted by role overload (quantitative) and social support from supervisor. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Tertiary institutions in South Africa have experienced radical changes in the past decades, especially due to the change from technikons to universities of technology. These changes created new mental and emotional demands for academic staff and placed them under additional pressure. Problems experienced by tertiary institutions include constantly changing systems, students from underprivileged backgrounds and decreased subsidies from the state. These factors could lead to role overload and role conflict. The objective of this research was to examine the relationships between individual indicators of work climate (job challenge demand, role overload and role conflict, job satisfaction and pay satisfaction and social support) and turnover intention. Further objectives included empirically determining if these indicators of work climate can be used to predict turnover intention and to determine if social support plays a moderating role in the translation of work climate in turnover intention. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A convenience sample was taken from a South African university of technology. Measuring instruments for all the variables of interest were administered. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Finally, a structural equation model was developed to explain the relations between the variables. The results obtained for the scales proved that four of the seven specific measuring instruments are reliable in terms of their specific use for employees in a South African tertiary institution. Job challenge demand, quantitative role overload and role conflict were less reliable. Results showed that when an employee feels that he/she has too much to do in too little time, or if the task is too difficult to complete, he/she will experience lower levels of job satisfaction which in turn may lead to higher levels of turnover intention. Social support from the supervisor and colleagues increase job satisfaction. A moderating effect for social support between work climate (role characteristics and satisfaction) and turnover intention was demonstrated. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Tertiary institutions in South Africa have experienced radical changes in the past decades, especially due to the change from technikons to universities of technology. These changes created new mental and emotional demands for academic staff and placed them under additional pressure. Problems experienced by tertiary institutions include constantly changing systems, students from underprivileged backgrounds and decreased subsidies from the state. These factors could lead to role overload and role conflict. The objective of this research was to examine the relationships between individual indicators of work climate (job challenge demand, role overload and role conflict, job satisfaction and pay satisfaction and social support) and turnover intention. Further objectives included empirically determining if these indicators of work climate can be used to predict turnover intention and to determine if social support plays a moderating role in the translation of work climate in turnover intention. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A convenience sample was taken from a South African university of technology. Measuring instruments for all the variables of interest were administered. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Finally, a structural equation model was developed to explain the relations between the variables. The results obtained for the scales proved that four of the seven specific measuring instruments are reliable in terms of their specific use for employees in a South African tertiary institution. Job challenge demand, quantitative role overload and role conflict were less reliable. Results showed that when an employee feels that he/she has too much to do in too little time, or if the task is too difficult to complete, he/she will experience lower levels of job satisfaction which in turn may lead to higher levels of turnover intention. Social support from the supervisor and colleagues increase job satisfaction. A moderating effect for social support between work climate (role characteristics and satisfaction) and turnover intention was demonstrated. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelse av arbetsmiljön på en sjukhusavdelning och hur denna upplevelse påverkar deras relation och inställning till arbetet. Metod: Metoden består av en fallstudie som utgår från en abduktiv ansats tillsammans med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Insamling av empirisk data gjordes i samband med sex stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer, varav samtliga respondenter representerade en avdelning inom en organisation. Fenomenologisk design har sedan tillämpats i samband med tolkning av den empiriska datainsamlingen där kategorier utifrån upplevelser kunde identifieras.  Slutsats: Slutsatsen är att det finns betydande brister i hur sjuksköterskor hanteras inom vården, och att dessa faktorer inte är isolerade utan påverkar varandra i ett kretslopp. Faktorerna som kunde fastställas är: personalbrist, bristande balans mellan krav och resurser samt bristande kommunikation mellan kommunikationsleden. Däremot identifieras kollegialt stöd och den gemensamma viljan att hjälpa andra och bidra till samhällsnyttan vara faktorer som gör sjuksköterskornas arbete meningsfullt och får dem att fortsätta arbeta. För att förbättra sjuksköterskornas arbetsmiljö krävs åtgärder för att adressera negativa faktorer och parallellt med kollegialt stöd implementera förbättringar i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. / Purpose: The purpose of the study is to describe nurses' experience of the work environment in a hospital unit and how this experience affects their relationship and attitude to work. Method: The method consists of a case study based on an abductive approach together with a qualitative research method. Collection of empirical data was done in connection with six semi-structured interviews, of which all respondents present a department within an organization. Phenomenological design has then been applied in connection with the interpretation of the empirical data collection where categories based on experiences could be identified. Conclusion: The conclusion is that there are significant shortcomings in how nurses are managed in healthcare, and that these factors are not isolated but influence each other in a cycle. The factors that could be determined are: Staff shortage, lack of balance between requirements and resources and lack of communication between the communication links. On the other hand, collegial support and the common desire to help others and contribute to the social good are identified as factors that make the nurses' work meaningful and make them continue to work. In order to improve the nurses' work environment, measures are required to address negative factors and, in parallel with collegial support, implement improvements in the psychosocial work environment.