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Personality, ways of coping and occupational burnout were examined within the context of child care work, using a number of self-report questionnaires. Subjects included 70 full-time child care workers from children's homes in the Natal-KwaZulu area. The subject sample was treated as one group, as environmental sources of stress were perceived more or less consistently across the population. Stepwise multiple regression was used to assess the relationships between personality (neuroticism, extraversion) and ways of coping and the three facets of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment). Demographic variables such as age and experience were also explored. Varying degrees of burnout were found, with particularly high levels of diminished personal accomplishment. Both emotion- and problem-focused coping strategies contributed significantly to the burnout response, with emotion-focused coping being the most frequently reported coping strategy. Significant relationships were found between personality and burnout. Neuroticism contributed a significant proportion of the variance in all three dimensions of burnout, particularly emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Extraversion and psychoticism contributed significantly to higher levels of personal accomplishment. A significant relationship was found between personality and ways of coping. Neuroticism contributed significantly to the prediction of emotion-focused coping strategies, particularly wishful thinking and self-blame. Extraversion was found to contribute significantly to problem-focused coping and growth-oriented coping. Demographic variables, particularly age and experience, were found to influence both burnout and coping responses. Ethnic identity was found to influence the coping strategies used. The results were discussed primarily in terms of their function as defenses, or as efforts to adapt (successfully or unsuccessfully) to the stress being experienced, and as vulnerability factors. The importance of contextual factors in the stress and burnout process, particularly within the current South African context, was highlighted. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1997.

Three questionnaires were administered to 75 workers and 75 middle managers in the Durban-based Portnet business unit of Transnet. The aims of this administration were the following: * to establish whether there is any relationship between perceived stress and general health within a single occupational group of middle managers and workers separately (horizontal comparisons). * to find out if there are any differences between the perceived stress, coping strategies and the general health of the middle managers and that of the workers (vertical comparisons). It was found that the relationship between high levels of perceived stress and the general health is very weak. This was attributed to the effectiveness of the coping strategies used by the members of the two occupational groups in their work environment. Significant differences between middle managers and workers on perceived stress, coping strategies and the general health were also established. These differences were ascribed to the different content and contextual work dimensions existing in these two occupational levels. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1993.

The study investigated the relationship between the expressed meaning and value of work and satisfaction of a group of school educators. The main objective of the current study was to explicate what teachers' express as making work meaningful, and what it is that gives them satisfaction as school teachers and also how that perception affects their performance. The relationship between the expressed meaning of work and job satisfaction will be dealt with, and in attempting to explain the concept of Job satisfaction, theories such as those by Herzberg and Maslow were employed to aid in answering the above mentioned questions. Some of the factors which have been identified in the literature and are seen as contributors of job satisfaction of teachers are motivation, workplace conditions, support from learners and their parents, job security as well as interpersonal relations and good social standing with other colleagues. While there may be no evidence to draw a causal relationship between pay, meaning of work and job satisfaction, pay has been widely studied in relation to job satisfaction. It is associated with achievement and recognition by one's peers, so the relationship between money and job satisfaction and pay satisfaction was explored in an attempt to find a correlation in that job and life satisfaction. The study was unable to find a concrete basis to conclude that teachers from one type of school were more satisfied than teachers from another type of school, based on the two types of schools studied in the research. It was also discovered using "The need- satisfaction in work scale", that white teachers seem to score higher on Independence, recognition and on economic and social security, but black teachers have scored higher on self-expression. Just like many other employees, teachers also desire decent salaries and benefits, suitable working conditions, recognition, and promotion opportunities and contrary to popular belief, the study found that many teachers are happy with their professional roles as teachers. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.

This grounded theory study investigated the experiences of 18 middle class, middle aged men who lost long term employment because of organizational restructuring. Limited research had previously been conducted in this area and this study extends our understanding about the impact of job loss on people who have lost long term employment. The purpose of the study was to explicate the lived experiences of these men and generate an explanation and model of how they reconstructed their understanding of career following job loss from long term employment. The men's experience of job loss and how they constructed career after the loss of long term employment were explained through a dynamic and interacting four stage process model of the dissolution of career. Stage 1, establishing career, explained how the men came to understand career as a relationship. For these men, career, as a relationship, was based on trust and was comprised of reciprocal terms believed to exist between the "good employee" and the "good employer." Over time, by fulfilling the terms of reciprocity, a psychological contract was established between the men and their employers. This contract contained mutual obligations, such as, employment security in exchange for employee commitment, loyalty, hard work, and sacrifice. Stage 2, the termination of employment, revealed how the experience of job loss signified a violation of the psychological contract. The men believed they had complied with the psychological contract; however, the employer's failure to provide employment security represented a violation of the psychological contract. This violation was a highly emotional experience, tantamount to a betrayal. Although compensation could represent the employer's effort to honour the employer/employee relationship, compensation in the form of severance pay was not adequate. Stage 3, disengaging from career, signified the period of time during which the men attempted to come to terms with the loss of career. The men attempted to secure new employment in a world of work different from the world in which they had begun their careers. Although the men sought employment that promoted the employer/employee relationship of career, seeking work revealed career as they had known it was unlikely in the new world of work. Past experience and educational upgrading had little effect on their ability to secure employment. Employers favoured inexpensive labour, immediate skills, and short term working relationships with employees. Generally, the men found themselves working in unstable jobs for less money. The men who secured stable work, gained job security through union membership or self employment instead of relying on the employer/employee relationship. The men's experiences during this stage underscored the experiences of the second stage. Stage 4, the dearth of career, represented the outcome of the men's experiences of the preceding stages. Although the men maintained previous definitions of career, they stated they had lost career and that career is no longer possible in the context of the new world of work. They were less trusting of employers. They favoured a transactional orientation towards work and stressed self interest in work relationships. Whereas, career provided a major source of purpose and meaning in the past, they constructed new purpose and meaning in life by reprioritizing other relationships in their lives, that is, with self, family, and friends. One wonders, however, whether life seemed less meaningful for the men who participated in this study because they maintained their definitions of career.

Stress, very simply, is a built-in condition. Humans are hard-wired to have a physical and psychological ―stress" reaction when facing a perceived threat, whether it is real or not. Irrespective of its definition or its source, excessive workplace stress has serious repercussions for both employees and employers. Everyone experiences stress differently because of various reasons and reacts differently to stress in the face of the same stressor. Stressors produce different stress levels in different people: combined with the external factors of stress (potential stressors) it has been found that how one is affected by that stressor depends on how one perceives this stressor, based on its relative importance to the person and the traits and characteristics of the person e.g. reactions in face of a challenge or threat. As an effect of stress, one reacts physically, psychologically and behaviourally, and has negative consequences rather than positive consequences, which affect both physical and mental well-being and performance at work. These have serious implications for businesses, especially in this highly competitive and dynamic environment. This study endeavoured to identify the causes of workplace stress at the University of KwaZulu- Natal and whether the merger between the former Universities of Natal and Durban-Westville has contributed to workplace stress. The sources of stress were identified and its effect on work performance was acknowledged. The main aim of this study was to assist employees and management alike to address the disparities of stress and to cope with stress. To prove the objectives of this study an on-line questionnaire was sent out to respondents using QuestionPro to obtain their views on the effects of stress that they have felt in the past 2 years and how they rate their workplaces. The results of the survey found that 90.3% of respondents experienced stress in the last two years while 9.7% had no experience of stress over the same period. In terms of the impact of workplace stress on work performance, 64% of the respondents indicated that stress has had a negative impact on their work performance while 26% indicated that workplace stress had no impact on their work performance. The majority of respondents felt that in order to reduce stress at UKZN, management should increase pay (rated as most relevant) followed by line managers should show more respect and empathy towards staff. Staff also indicated that stress management workshops and counselling should be provided for staff. After embarking on this research and identifying with the stress within UKZN, it was recommended that UKZN increase the awareness of stress counselling and management programmes to effectively help employees cope with stress. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

Note from the Library: The fulltext electronic version of this thesis has been removed due to restricted content. Please contact the Unisa Library for more details. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

The primary aim of this thesis is to explore, at a psychological level, the meaning of work in a rural developing society context. Additional aims comprise: the examination of distinctions in the meaning of work between different occupational niches; and the development of an appropriate conceptual and methodological approach for understanding meaning of work issues in developing society contexts. The research was conducted in the Keiskammahoek district situated in Ciskei, a South African homeland area. Demographically, the area comprises farms, small rural villages and one small town. It has traditionally fulfilled the role of a labour reserve, and the local economy largely depends on income generated through migrant labour. The population predominantly comprises indigenous Xhosa speakers, although a few whites, individuals of mixed racial origin and other ethnic groups are represented. In order to accommodate the diversity of work experience in rural society, an approach was adopted which relied on the participants' subjective definition of work. A conscious attempt was made to avoid defining work exclusively as remunerated employment. At a metatheoretical level, the meaning of work model used is grounded in Kelly's (1955) Personal Construct Theory. It comprises three facets, namely process, context and content. A multiple case study analysis was carried design was used, through to a in which nomothetic idiographic level of understanding. The primary' research instrument comprised an interview, in which data was derived from life-history material, a repertory grid, and focused interview questions. In the development of case studies, a process of triangulation was used to link the three sources of data. The thesis explores the relationship between participants and their work in several ways. First, it looks at how work and non-work are constituted and related to one another, and at how personally valuable work is contrasted to less valuable work. Second, it explores the relationship between the individual's orientation to work and their life and occupational context. Finally, it discusses the proposal that work meanings change and evolve with the development of the individual, and with shifts in social and historical circumstance.

The "psychological contract" is one of today's hottest buzzwords. In this ever­ continuing competitive and changing environment rapid organisational and managerial change is required to enable business and organisations to survive. The objective of this research was to investigate the extent to which opinions of employees about the various psychological contract dimensions can influence the overall employment relationship. A literature survey concerning the psychological contract construct, its dimensions and the variables affecting the psychological contract was done. A sample of 394 employees within an Auditing firm was obtained, from which three departments (Management Consulting, Auditing and Information Systems) employees opinions on the psychological contract dimensions were compared. The results of the empirical study indicated that there are comparable differences in employee's perceptions of the various dimensions of the psychological contract. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:28:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-02-15Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:37:05Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 takano_sml_me_botfm.pdf: 1644687 bytes, checksum: 7028934d0ea3823ad60db3a4ce8541e2 (MD5) / Tendo em vista que o processo de cuidado desempenhado pela enfermagem propicia a vivência de emoções de muitas ordens podendo gerar sofrimento psíquico, esta pesquisa teve como objetivo compreender a percepção de sofrimento psíquico no trabalho, elaborada pelos profissionais da enfermagem. Trata-se de pesquisa de natureza qualitativa. Empregou-se a técnica de entrevista semiestruturada e foram ouvidos doze auxiliares de enfermagem que desempenham atividades na unidade de um Hospital de Clínicas. Os dados obtidos foram analisados a partir da análise temática tendo como referencial teórico de Christophe Dejours. Da análise das narrativas produzidas emergiram três temas: Gratificação, Angústia e Impotência. A discussão dos temas evidenciou que os sujeitos têm sentimento de gratificação no desempenho de suas funções, sentem-se úteis e se reconhecem no processo do cuidado. Por outro lado, alguns sujeitos ouvidos relataram o sofrimento em função do mal-estar e tensão causados pelo conflito entre o desejo de realização do trabalho com qualidade, empenho e comprometimento, e a frustração por não conseguirem, devido a questões pessoais, sociais, administrativas e técnicas. O sentimento de impotência surgiu diante da falta de autonomia, falta de participação na tomada de decisões que envolvem responsabilidade no trabalho. Assim como foi evidenciado as dificuldades vividas a partir da escassez de recursos humanos e materiais, também foi apontado o conflito na equipe como fator gerador de dificuldades no campo laboral. A investigação aponta que o distanciamento do profissional às questões pertinentes ao seu próprio mundo mental, dos aspectos intrínsecos que lhes dizem respeito à ausência de percepção e elaboração dos seus sentimentos, pode dificultar o fluir dos... / Considering that the process of care developed by nursery makes possible the experience of emotions of many orders being able to generate psycho suffering, this research had as target to comprehend the perception of psycho suffering at work, built by nursery professionals. It’s a research of qualitative nature. It was applied the technique of semi-structured interview and twelve nursery professionals that develop activities in a Unit of a Clinic Hospital were listened. The data resulted were analyzed considering the thematic analysis having as theoretical reference Christophe Dejours. From the analysis of the narrations emerged three themes: Gratification, Anguish and Impotence. The discussion of the themes put in evidence that the indivuduals have feeling of gratitude on the development of his functions, feel useful and recognize themselves on the care process. On the other hand, some of the interwied related the suffering in reason of a bad feeling and tension caused by the conflict between the desire of the work done with quality, effort and commitment, and the frustration for not getting it, because of personal, social, administrative and technical questions. The feeling of impotence came in reason of the absence of autonomy, lack of participation at making decisions that involve responsibility at work. As much as it has become clear the difficulties lived in face of a lack of human and material resources, it has also been pointed a conflict in the team as a factor generator of difficulties in the labor field. The investigation shows that the distance of the professional to the questions pertinent to their mental world, from the intrinsic aspects that say about themselves to the absence of perception and elaboration of their feelings can make difficult the flow of the subjective processes of development. Other important aspect... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)