The aim of this study was to establish whether hardiness and tenure are predictive
variables for coping with shiftwork.
The extent of shiftwork and shiftwork research has expanded internationally in the
past decade. It has been established that shiftwork has a negative effect on
shiftworkers who are predisposed to certain strain symptoms such as inefficiency,
impaired health and domestic problems. However, certain inter individual
differences do moderate coping with shiftwork through a process of cognitive and
behavioural protective acts which modify the stressful situation and neutralise the
experience of problems.
Using questionnaires (Biographical, Hardiness Index and Coping with Shiftwork
Questionnaire), a sample group of 75 cases was analysed. A 95 percent
confidence level was used throughout with a multiple stepwise regression analysis
computed. The significant r2 value = 0.18. Focus group discussions were
conducted to· add qualitative information to the areas of social, domestic, work
and sleep problems as well as coping strategies.
The predictive variables were regressed onto a number of criterion variables,
namely coping with shiftwork, work, sleep, domestic and social problems, as well
as engagement and diseng.agement strategies including both strategies in all four
domains (work, sleep, social and domestic).
It was found that hardiness and tenure are not predictive variables for coping with
shiftwork. However, hardiness, commitment and challenge are predictors for
disengagement strategies so that hardy, challenged and committed individua1s will
use less disengagement coping strategies and more specifically, use less domestic
disengagement coping strategies.
The research established hardiness as an additional personality variable linked to
a primary scale of coping with shiftwork, namely disengagement. The longer term
adjustment of shiftworkers (through tenure) was not established.
Recommendations were made for targeted shiftwork coping programmes and more
extensive classical shiftwork research in South Africa / Economics and Management Sciences / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/15808 |
| Date | 01 1900 |
| Creators | Potgieter, Tracy Elizabeth |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 1 online resource (ix, 122 leaves) |
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