The continuous alignment of human resource strategies, activities. processes and
competencies within an ever-changing business environment poses certain challenges for the
human resource profession in a global petrochemical industry. Modem business managers
have realised the necessity of work wellness initiatives and that a relationship exists between
employee wellness and business results, but very few companies measure whether such
initiatives actually had any impact on work performance.
Defining performance indicators and competence models for human resource practitioners
has developed into a dynamic activity. Adaptation to continuously changing business needs
has the potential to create a sense of incompetence, exhaustion, decreased motivation and
dysfunctional work attitudes, collective1y defined as burnout. This highlights the need to
identify and research psychological constructs that hold predictable value for the ability of
human resource practitioners to prevent and overcome burnout by generating sufficient
emotional energy to adapt to changing business needs, acquiring strategic human resource
competencies to increase their feelings of professional efficacy and increasing their
contribution towards organisational performance.
The objective of this study was to determine perceived importance and actual performance of
human resource practitioners in a global petrochemical company in terms of human resource
roles, and to determine the influence of work wellness (burnout, engagement and
workaholism) on the perceived value adding contribution of human resource practitioners in a
global petrochemical company.
The research method for each of the three articles of this study consisted of a brief literature
review and an empirical study. Stratified samples were taken of human resource personnel (N
= 128) and their internal line customers (N = 67). The measuring instruments used in this
study included the Ulrich Human Resource Role Assessment Survey (HRRAS), Maslach
Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and
the Workaholism Scale. Article I compared perceptions of human resource practitioners and
their internal customers regarding expected and actual contributions of human resource
practitioners towards business performance in a global petrochemical company. It was found
that human resource practitioners and their line customers are in agreement concerning the
importance of the human resource roles that enable business performance, indicating that
human resource practitioners have a good understanding of their job requirements. Both
human resource practitioners and their line customers perceived the performance of human
resource practitioners as average, which is lower than the expected level of performance as
indicated by importance scales.
In Article 2, a correlation study revealed that burnout (Exhaustion, Professional Efficacy and
Cynicism) statistically significantly predicted the perceived level of performance of human
resource practitioners in the organisation. It was found that Cynicism was a statistically
significant predictor of the perceived level of performance of human resource practitioners in
the organisation in terms of all the human resource roles (Strategic Partnering, Administrative
Support, Employee Support and Change Management). Vigour and Dedication statistically
significantly predicted perceived performance on the Administrative Support role.
In Article 3, a three-factor model of workaholism (consisting of Compulsiveness,
Involvement and Overwork) was found which showed positive relationship with burnout
factors. Statistical analysis indicated that workaholism factors of the Workaholism Scale
practically significantly correlate. Multiple regression analysis showed that burnout and
workaholism factors can explain perceptions of human resource practitioner performance.
Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/1435 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Pieterse, Ferdinandus Lukas Johannes Bartholomeus |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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