Female academics in higher education institutions face numerous challenges
in the continuously ch~nging landscape of South African Higher Education.
Numerous mergers between different institutions, increasing job demands,
ever increasing class sizes and the unique demands of role conflict, inherent
to the female role, contribute to the manifestation of stress and burnout (80)
in this population group.
The research is conducted from a salutogenic paradigm, seeking to find ways
of avoiding the negative consequences of 80 and contributing towards the
positive experience of Work Engagement (WE) for the female academic. The
research also explores the effect of the individual academics' Sense of
Cohrence (SOC) on the experience of BO and WE.
The research is quantitative in nature. A psychometric instrument was sent to
all the permanently employed female academics employed by Unisa and TUT,
measuring their levels of 80, WE and SOC. The completed questionnaires
were statisticaily analysed.
The findings included average levels of 80, with definite signs that the
experience of 80 is on the increase. The Cy sub-dimension of BO showed
increased levels. The WE scores of the female academics were just above
average. The SOC scores of the female academics were low.
The main recommendations were that University management need to take
cognisance of the symptoms of BO that are present in this population.
Strategies need to be put in place to address these issues and the experience
of WE need to be treasured and grown through definite actions from
Management. Female academics also need to take personal responsibility for
their own wellness and act on the initial signs of 80, rather than dismissing it
as mere tiredness or lack of energy. There are also a number of
recommendations on actions to be taken to experience WE in the academic
work that the population undertake on a daily basis / Industrial and Organizational Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Industrial & Organizational psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/3082 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Bezuidenhout, Adéle |
| Contributors | Cilliers, Frans |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xxii, 373 leaves) |
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