abstract: There are some factors that have been used to explain why the presence of a calling (i.e., “an approach to work that reflects the belief that one's career is a central part of a broader sense of purpose and meaning in life and is used to help others or advance the greater good in some fashion” (Duffy & Dik, 2013, p. 429) reduces work stress and its potential negative outcomes, such as absenteeism, job performance and productivity, work-related accidents and overall employee health. The effect of problem-focused coping, however, remains largely untested as a potential mediator in this relation. The present study was conducted to quantitatively test whether problem-focused coping would mediate the relation between having a calling to work and perceived work stress in zookeepers. Participants were recruited through an online survey. They responded to questionnaires regarding calling, problem-focused coping, and work stress. Using hierarchical regression analyses, it was found that problem-focused coping partially mediated the relation between presence of a calling and perceived work stress. Specifically, having the presence of a calling to work predicted greater problem-focused style of coping, which, in turn, led to lower perceived work stress. Future directions for research were discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2018

Traditionally the father of the home was expected to be the provider and breadwinner of the family whilst the mother's role was nurturer and caretaker of the children. However, in modern society with mothers entering the workplace the role of the father has been impacted considerably. Fathers are now expected to actively participate in the rearing and caring of the children whilst upholding their commitment as a co-provider of their children as well. In modern society, fathers are challenged to balance work and family obligations. The workplace has generally not been sympathetic to the dual responsibilities that employed fathers have. Fathers would not always receive the same kind of compassionate support from their employers when it comes to their obligations with regards to the needs of their children as their female colleagues would. However, in recent years, workplaces are progressively recognising that fathers too may find it difficult to balance their work and family life. The goal of the study was to determine the impact of the work and personal life challenges of the fathers employed at a factory in the Western Cape. The two theoretical frameworks that guide this study are the General Systems Theory and Role Theory. Ninety-seven (97) working fathers were purposively selected by means of the non-probability sampling method. The research approach to this study was the quantitative approach. The study sought to immediately provide numerical data that would scientifically describe and explain the phenomena. The researcher used the randomised cross sectional survey design as this design is appropriate for the utilisation of a questionnaire that allows the researcher to examine several groups of fathers at one point in time. Responses were done on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree or disagree, strongly agree and agree. The research results suggest that there is a correlation between the absenteeism in their children's lives of the fathers that were surveyed and the current trend of absent fathers in South Africa. The survey also supports the academic literature that a father's identity is embedded in being able to provide for his family and that fathers from a lower economic status are less likely to reside with their children. Based on the results of this research, it can be concluded that working fathers generally do not implement their right to take leave from their workplace after the birth of their children. The research results also showed that work-life challenges can negatively impact fathers employed in a factory as a workplace in the Western Cape; however, the research also revealed that workplaces that render Employee Assistance Programmes to their workforce can significantly mitigate that impact. Drawing on the results of this study, it is recommended that further research be conducted with regard to fatherhood policies within the workplace. Workplace policies specifically designed to address the needs of the working father would allow the working father to be productive as an employee but also feel successful in the rearing of his children. / Mini Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted

El objetivo de la presente investigación es poder determinar los efectos de un programa de intervención a través de la música como una herramienta para reducir el estrés dentro de una organización. La muestra estuvo conformada por 14 trabajadores de ambos sexos (21.43% hombres y 78.57% mujeres), con rangos de edad entre 21 a 29 años (M = 24.21, DE = 2.61 y CV = 10.76), las características más relevantes de la muestra fueron el grado de estudios, puesto de trabajo, lugar de procedencia y estado civil. El instrumento de medición fue la escala original del Cuestionario de Estrés Laboral que fue publicado por la OIT-OMS y el programa de intervención TMCYD creado por las autoras. En los resultados obtenidos, se encontró que el tamaño del efecto fue mayor en la dimensión de Superiores y Recursos (d=.83), en comparación a la dimensión Organización y Trabajo en Equipo (d=.47). Se concluye que la música tiene efectos sobre el estrés favoreciendo su reducción. / The objective of the present investigation is to be able to determine the effects of an intervention program through music as a tool to reduce stress within an organization. The sample was made up of 14 workers of both sexes (21.43% men and 78.57% women), with age ranges between 21 to 29 years (M = 24.21, SD = 2.61 and CV = 10.76), the most relevant characteristics of the sample were the degree of studies, job, place of origin and marital status. The measuring instrument was the original scale of the Occupational Stress Questionnaire that was published by the ILO-WHO and the TMCYD intervention program created by the authors. In the results obtained, it was found that the effect size was greater in the Superiors and Resources dimension (d = .83), compared to the Organization and Teamwork dimension (d = .47). It is concluded that music has effects on stress favoring its reduction. / Tesis

The fundamental goal of this study was to measure the levels and causes of stress of employees in an organisation undergoing immense change, including a transaction whereby the full administrative and managed healthcare operations are sold to a prominent insurance company (acquisition). This change represents an acquisition of the intellectual capital and systems of a mutual open medical scheme by a major insurance company with a well established brand equity and profile in the South African insurance market. The importance of the study is imperative as it forms an integral part of the management of change programmes. The goal is to execute a paradigm shift in leaving behind old comfort zones and moving towards a competitive workforce in a highly competitive environment with an outcomes based approach to business. The identification of the most important levels and causes of work stress will enable the organization to address factual situations and to build these strategies into its change programmes, whilst not relying on generic, non-focused initiatives with marginal success outcomes. Some organisations are more stressful than others and in order to manage stress and embark on effective strategies to cope with stress, the unique disposition of the organisation and its employees needed to be identified. The data was collected electronically via the organisation’s Intranet by means of the Experience of Work and Life Circumstances Questionnaire (WLQ), compiled by Van Zyl and Van der Walt of the Human Sciences Research Council in 1991. The questionnaire was developed to determine the levels and causes of stress of employees. The WLQ endeavours to establish whether employees experience normal, high or very high levels of stress and also identify those factors which cause these levels of stress. The questionnaire consists of three different parts namely, a demographic questionnaire, experience of work which determine the levels of stress and finally, circumstances and expectations which analyses the causes of stress. It was clear from the study that organisational change, such as is experienced by the employees of this organisation, does lead to increased and higher stress levels. It was further demonstrated from the results that uncertainty and lack of control over their own destiny and immediate circumstances, contributed to an increase in the levels of stress. Copyright 2009, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: V an Zyl, P 2009, The measurements of levels and causes of work stress of employees in a competitive open medical scheme in the privater sector, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03152012-170001 / > C12/4/69/gm / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Purpose. Individual adaptability has been proposed as a source of adaptive performance, an increasingly important performance dimension in dynamic contexts. However, there is limited understanding of the antecedents of adaptability. Mindfulness has been shown to improve performance and well-being in the workplace, but the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are not well understood. Answering this need, we hypothesize a link between mindfulness and adaptability and conduct an empirical study to examined this relationship in dynamic work contexts. Methodology and findings. 198 knowledge workers in dynamic workplaces completed a self-rating survey that measured mindfulness and a multifactor measure of individual adaptability. Correlation analysis found a significant positive relationship between mindfulness and individual adaptability, and also between mindfulness and five sub-factors of adaptability. Regression analysis found mindfulness could significantly predict adaptability and that mindfulness added incremental variability to various sub-scale factors of adaptability, over and above work stress adaptability. In other words, mindfulness is not simply a stress management skill but also enhances other aspects of adaptability such as learning and problem-solving. Implications. Individual adaptability helps to explain the relationship between mindfulness, performance and well-being in the workplace. Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have established protocols and proven outcomes in organizational and psychological literature. It may be possible to enhance individual adaptability through such MBIs and thus support adaptive performance while reducing negative impacts on individual well-being. / Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / pt2019 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

Stress i arbetet, stress hemma, stress i livet, överallt finns stress, detta är en naturlig del i livet. Vid långvarig stress eller negativ stress blir den sjuklig. När det föreligger obalans mellan arbetsuppgifter och tid, kan detta ge upphov till stress hos sjuksköterskor För att inte utveckla symtom på utmattning eller andra sjukdomar måste det på allvar göras något åt stressen som finns, i detta fall på sjuksköterskors arbetsplats. Tidigare studier visade att sjuksköterskor upplevde och hade erfarenhet av stress av för låg bemanning och när de fick dåligt stöd av chefer. Att bibehålla de professionella etiska reglerna upplevdes också svårt. Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att belysa sjuksköterskors upplevelse och erfarenhet av stress i arbetet. Metodval gjordes genom att följa Fribergs (2017, ss. 141–143) modell för litteraturöversikt. Databaserna Cinahl, PubMed och PsychInfo användes för litteratursökningen. Detta resulterade i åtta artiklar. Fem kvantitativa, två kvalitativa och en med både kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod. Litteraturstudien påvisar att sjuksköterskor upplever eller erfar stress i arbetet. Stressen orsakades inte av samma stressorer för alla, men många orsaker till stress hade artiklarna gemensamt. Detta var att särskilt hög arbetsbelastning som ofta orsakades av underbemanning och bristande arbetsledning var vanligaste orsaken till stress. Ett bra socialt nätverk kunde mildra stressupplevelserna. Med ständig underbemanning eller överbeläggning, är det svårt att upplevelser och erfarenheter av stress för sjuksköterskor kommer att minska. När sjukvården ibland bedrivs som företag som inte får kosta för mycket, kan en del av glädjen i arbetet tappas men också omtänksamhet och omvårdnad från personalen.

Although prior research has documented the harmful effects of shiftwork on health and well-being, the relationship between shiftwork and other workplace stressors remains unclear. The current study addresses this gap by using longitudinal data from three cycles of the National Population Health Survey to explore 1) the direct effects of shiftwork and JDCSM variables (job demands, job control, social support, and mastery) on health and well-being, 2) whether shiftwork moderates the effects of JDCSM variables, and 3) whether the effects of shiftwork are mediated by these variables. In addition, “reverse” causal relationships between four measures of strain and workplace stressors are investigated. The results suggest that shiftwork is associated with a reduction in job satisfaction over two cycles. However, there was no evidence of a relationship between shiftwork and changes in chronic health conditions, psychological distress, or health-related quality of life. Consistent with the JDCSM model, increased job demands predicted more distress and less job satisfaction, while greater mastery predicted less distress and more job satisfaction. In addition, job control and social support predicted improved health-related quality of life. The associations were more consistent with the thesis’s predictions across two cycles than across three. There was only weak support for the hypotheses that shiftwork moderates the effects of JDCSM variables. However, there was evidence that changes in job control and social support mediate the effects of shiftwork on job satisfaction. There was also support for reverse causal effects between various outcomes and workplace stressors. However, the prediction that shiftwork moderates these reverse effects received only weak and inconsistent support. Exploratory analyses found specific JDCSM and strain variables to predict an individual’s continuation in shiftwork over time. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Given that working is something parents cannot avoid in our society, understanding the ramifications that work stress can have is an important tool in today's society. This study sought to investigate the impact of parents' work stress on young children in the context of work-family spillover, parenting stress, marital stress, and perceptions of parenting. As part of this study, 106 working parents of children who ranged in age from 1- to 5-years rated their stress levels across multiple domains (i.e., work, marriage, and parenting), their perceived parenting behaviors, and their young child's emotional and behavioral functioning. Correlational results of this study supported the hypothesis that these variables would be related significantly to young children's emotional and behavioral functioning. Further, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that a single variable did not predict significantly young children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors but that a combination of work stress, work-family spillover, parenting stress, marital stress, and perceptions of parenting were important in accounting for variance. The results of this study emphasized the importance of studying the selected variables collectively so that employers can evaluate current workplace policies and resources to help minimize work stress and work-family spillover.

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