Thesis (M.Psych.Org.) - University of Queensland, 2007. / Cover title. Includes bibliography.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Aug. 6, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-58).

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D.Comm. / The aim of this study is to develop an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon of life balance in the lives of South African professional women, and to develop a Life Balance Questionnaire to measure this phenomenon. The study was approached qualitatively, applying the Grounded Theory method, with a systematic set of procedures to develop and derive at a theory inductively. The purposeful sampling method was used in combination with the chain reference sampling technique. In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty four selected participants, then a group session was held to confirm identified themes and concepts and to form a theoretical framework. The literature review reveals that professional women in the 21 st century face an exceptional challenge in balancing the multiple tasks associated with their homemaker and work roles. The phenomenon of life balance therefore seems to become an important consideration in the lives of professional women. The main findings in this study indicate that South African professional women of different cultural backgrounds experience similar pressures and challenges. The findings also indicate that, to define the phenomenon of life balance, all roles performed by an individual throughout her life need to be considered, as what constitutes life balance for one person might not apply to another. Selfawareness is identified as the main point of departure for achieving life balance. This implies that it is important to accept "who you are" and "what is important to you", and to take responsibility for the choices you make. It is concluded that life balance is cyclical, so it is important to be aware of it as a process, rather than an end, and as a tool for achieving personal growth. Life balance is, therefore, not defined as "one, single ultimate experience", but as individual experiences over time, or, rather, as "life balance moments". The final conclusion is that two main types of factors influence and support life balance, namely internal or influential factors and external or supporting factors. Internal factors include self-awareness, the ability to know and understand oneself, to take responsibility for decisions and life choices, to understand and deal with personal fears, the application of proactive coping strategies, a positive attitude towards life and chosen demands, and trust in others for assistance and support. External variables include situational conditions, societal views and attitudes, support structures, organisational values and support, and literature and training programmes. To illustrate and confirm the conclusions of this study, two Life Balance Models are developed to represent a definitional and process approach to the theme. The study concludes with a proposed "Life Balance Questionnaire" aimed at measuring life balance in the lives of professional women. The testing and validation of the "Life Balance Questionnaire" do not form part of the study.

D.Comm. / The aim of my study was to attain new insights into the dynamic interactions between the family and the workplace. Furthermore, the aim of this research project is to contribute methodologically, theoretically, practically and scientifically to the theme of workplace and family stress. For the purpose of my study I believe that a qualitative as opposed to a quantitative methodology is more appropriate. Literature reviewed on these methodologies, led me to the opinion that I would be in a position to express myself fully, with my own worldview, which I would probably not have been able to do with quantitative research. A contemporary qualitative research method was used to ultimately develop my substantive model. My unit of analysis was people from an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions provider. I made use of semistandardised interviews to gather my data and paid attention to the considerations for effective qualitative interviewing and preparation as pointed out by Mason (1996). I ended up interviewing six individuals after reaching a point of saturation. This is the point where I ascertained that the interviews could not contribute meaningfully to the information that I had already gathered with regard to the categories. I followed the law as laid down by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The interviews were transcribed and I commenced with the Grounded Theory process. Furthermore, I adhered to the guidelines for assessing the quality of my study as indicated by Lincoln and Guba (1985) and Marshall and Rossman (1999). The results of this Grounded Theory process enabled me in the design of my substantive model. Three core dimensions emerged from the design process, namely, the job, the family and the personality, which I termed the internal environment. These dimensions formed the central part of the substantive model. The substantive model depicted the unidirectional interactions of the core dimensions mentioned. The model also depicts the external environment and the universe as influencing forces on the core dimensions. Even though the external environment and the universe were not part of the scope of the study I felt that it was necessary to include them in the model. In essence the model described my definion of the family setting, namely: “The family setting is a complex, meaningful system of unidirectional interactions between the family, the job, the personalities, the external environment and the universe of all the individuals concerned” (as defined by the author). In closure, I believe that the theoretical, methodological and practical, contributions derived from this study will add significant value to further exploration of this topic.

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Please read the abstract in the front matter of this document. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

This study examines Work Family Conflict including Work Interferes with Family (WIF) conflict, Family Interferes with Work (FIW) conflict, role overload, role interference and the impact of children across various life and career stages. Much of the research in this area focuses on the differences in the way the genders experience Work Family Conflict. Research has shown that various life and career stages can have a marked impact on this type of conflict and this study aims to determine how individuals in the various life and career stages experience this conflict. A correlational research design was used for this study. Using a five point likert scale, participants were asked to score their responses to seventeen items. The instrument was based on Duxbury and Mills Measure of Work Family Conflict (1990) (in Handbook of Quality-of-Life Research: An Ethical Perspective by Sirgy, 2001) with the inclusion of two additional items due to their high face validity. The questionnaire was distributed to human resources managers in organisations, friends, family members and colleagues and friends, family members and colleagues of theirs. Most of the responses were scored using a pencil and paper technique and the remainder was distributed using a Surveymonkey application on social media platforms like Facebook and Linkedin. The overall sample size of respondents was 175. The raw data was entered on an excel spreadsheet and analysed using Statistica version 12 and Microsoft Excel applications with VBA macros developed by a consultant for the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Unit for Statistical Consultation. . Statistics such as means, Cronbach alpha’s, relationships between factors, descriptive statistics, MANOVA and Chi-squared tests were used to analyse the data. The results of this study demonstrate the need for organisations to take heed of the various challenges that individuals face in both the workplace and home environment and the different ways in which these are experienced across various life and career stages. This will enable them to design specific interventions to mitigate the effects of Work Family Conflict and improve employee’s level of performance.

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