This study investigated the relationships between student burnout, intention to drop out, and satisfaction with studies, considering their self-reported social support from parents and significant ...others. First-year black African students from a peri-urban South African university campus (n = 452; females = 58.63%; mean age = 20.08 years, SD = 2.70 years) completed burnout, intention to drop out, satisfaction with studies, and social support measures. Regression analyses showed students with higher burnout symptoms (i.e. exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of professional efficacy) to have a higher intention to drop out from university and to be less satisfied with their studies. Social support from parents and significant others moderated certain relationships between burnout, intention to drop out, and satisfaction with studies. Understanding the role of social support on quality of student life could assist academic development and support services to provide better-targeted interventions with first-year university students.
In an international research climate of increasingly demanding ethical review, based on a biomedical model, reflection on best practices in social, behavioural and economic science research is ...necessary. It is widely believed that these sciences cannot be held to the same practical requirements as those for biomedical research, although the principles of ethical research are surely universal. This article considers the ethical requirements, principles and guidelines directing research in the social, behavioural and economic sciences, recognised in the national and international arena. By means of a systematic review of available best practices, it is anticipated that general guidelines for social, behavioural and economic science research could be developed and offered to researchers in these fields. Specific consideration is given to the unique characteristics of social, behavioural and economic science research.
Orientation: It is of theoretical and practical interest to establish the sequential relationship between work engagement and positive organisational behaviour, as represented by the psychological ...capital (PsyCap) construct.Research purpose: The main aim of this study was to conceptualise and investigate the causal relationship and temporal order in the relationship between PsyCap and engagement by means of longitudinal data.Motivation for the study: The rationale for establishing the sequence of engagement and psychological capital lies in the fact that training interventions to enhance the organisational well-being of employees may need to be focused on either one or the other.Research design, approach and method: A longitudinal study with a cross-lagged panel design was conducted; data was gathered by means of a survey that was constructed for the purpose of the study. The survey contained the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), and a measure of PsyCap. All employees within a chemical factory (N = 1003) were approached to provide data; 163 employees participated.Main findings: Results revealed that PsyCap at Time 1 (T1) did not significantly predict engagement at Time 2 (T2). Evidence does however exist that initial levels of employee engagement predict subsequent PsyCap.Practical/managerial implications: Results suggest that employee interventions aimed at protecting and fostering employee engagement may have implications for subsequent employee psychological capital.Contribution/value-add: As an empirical, longitudinal study to address the temporal order between PsyCap and work engagement, this study makes a contribution especially to theory, but also with practical implications by indicating that engagement precedes employee psychological capital.
Orientation: Boredom at work has been shown to be a concern for individuals and organisations. At the time of this research, no validated scale was available to measure and investigate workplace ...boredom within the South African context.Research purpose: To determine the psychometric properties of the Dutch Boredom Scale (DUBS) within the South African context. Motivation for the study: No reliable and valid scale for workplace boredom was available in South Africa at the time of the current research. Boredom at work has been found to affect organisations negatively in other countries. Insights are needed into workplace boredom and how it affects the outcomes of organisations in South Africa. Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional research approach was utilised. A random convenience sample (N = 490) was obtained from organisations within the manufacturing and logistics sector. In order to validate the DUBS, the factor structure, construct validity (convergent and discriminant validity) and scale reliability were investigated. A mediation model was also tested with structural equation modelling to ascertain predictive validity.Main findings: The results showed that the one-factor structure of the DUBS could be confirmed and that this factor had acceptable reliability. In terms of convergent validity, all of the item indicators loaded significantly on the workplace boredom construct, and the relationship between workplace boredom and work underload revealed that they were positively correlated with medium effect size. Furthermore, work engagement and organisational commitment were correlated negatively in terms of practical significance with workplace boredom. A structural mediation model showed that work underload was significantly and positively associated with boredom, which in turn had significant negative relations to both work engagement and organisational commitment. No significant direct relations were found from work underload to either work engagement or organisational commitment. Instead, bootstrapping showed that there was an indirect-only relationship from work underload to work engagement and organisational commitment through workplace boredom – indicating full mediation.Practical/managerial implications: Management should not neglect workplace boredom, as results indicate that it may adversely impact work engagement and organisational commitment. Therefore, workplace boredom should be a concern not only for individuals, but also for the organisation at large.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the limited research available on workplace boredom in South Africa by providing evidence of acceptable psychometric properties for a workplace boredom scale.
In this review article, we present an overview of the results of longitudinal studies on the consequences of job insecurity for health and well-being. We discuss the evidence for normal causation ...("Does job insecurity influence outcomes?"), reversed causation ("Do specific outcomes predict job insecurity?"), and reciprocal causation. We also review the various theories used to develop the hypotheses and whether theory has been used at all.
Scientific and scholarly databases were searched to find all existing articles. We found 57 longitudinal studies published since 1987 in a variety of countries throughout the world. All articles were summarised in an encompassing table.
The results show strong evidence for normal causation, in which job insecurity influences both psychological well-being and somatic health over time. The results were somewhat dependent on the type of outcome variable analysed, with clear evidence regarding exhaustion (burnout), general mental/psychological well-being, self-rated health, and a variety of somatic complaints. For aspects such as job satisfaction, work engagement, and psychosomatic complaints, the results suggested normal causation in one half to two thirds of the studies only. Reversed or reciprocal causation was rarely studied, and when studied, rarely found.
Job insecurity influences health and well-being over time, rather than the other way round. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Orientation: The study of work stressors, job insecurity and union support creates opportunity for iron ore mining organisations to manage job satisfaction and safety motivation and behaviour more ...effectively. Motivation for the study: The mining industry in general is often faced with hazardous and physically demanding working environments, where employees work under constant pressure. Work stressors, job insecurity, union support and job satisfaction are considered key variables when investigating effective means of managing safety. Main findings: Work stressors and job insecurity were found to be negatively associated with job satisfaction. Conversely, perceived union support was positively associated with job satisfaction and safety motivation and behaviour. Furthermore, job satisfaction mediated the relationship between union support and safety motivation and behaviour.
Orientation: Reversed causality is an area that has not commanded major attention within the South African context, specifically pertaining to engagement, burnout and job demands resources. ...Therefore, this necessitated an investigation to elucidate the potential effects.Research purpose: To investigate the reversed causal hypotheses of burnout and engagement in job demands-resources theory over time.Motivation for the study: Organisations and researchers should be made aware of the effects that burnout and engagement could have over time on resources and demands.Research design, approach and method: A longitudinal design was employed. The availability sample (n = 593) included participants from different demographic backgrounds. A survey was used to measure all constructs at both points in time. Structural equation modelling techniques were implemented with a categorical estimator to investigate the proposed hypotheses.Main findings: Burnout was found to have a significant negative longitudinal relationship with colleague support and supervisor support, whilst the negative relationship with supervisor support over time was more prominent. Engagement showed only one significant but small, negative relationship with supervisor support over time. All other relationships were statistically non-significant.Practical/managerial implications: This study makes organisations aware of the relationship between burnout and relationships at work over time. Proactive measures to promote relationships at work, specifically supervisor support, should be considered in addition to combatting burnout itself and promoting engagement.Contribution/value-add: This study provides insights and information on reversed causality, namely, the effects that engagement and burnout can have over time.
Orientation: This article focuses on how South African organisations manage their employees’ wellness through their Employee Wellness Programmes (EWPs). Research purpose: The objective of this ...research is to describe employee wellness in South Africa by investigating the types, foci and perceived success of EWPs.Motivation for the study: Despite the growing awareness of the importance of EWPs in South Africa, the nature, content, context, participants, role-players and anticipated benefits as well as the possible drawbacks of these programmes in the South African context are unclear.Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional design. The first author developed the Employee Wellness Survey, consisting of quantitative and qualitative questions, to collect data from 16 organisations, four service providers and seven labour unions in South Africa.Main findings: The results showed that organisations, service providers and labour unions define employee wellness differently and that these role players give different reasons for introducing EWPs. Almost half of the participating organisations have no baseline measurement with which to compare the effectiveness of their EWPs. Generally, all the organisations present the results of their programmes reasonably. However, the programmes involve little overall expenditure to the organisations.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should monitor the state of their employees’ wellness in order to manage it effectively. This will only become possible when information about employee wellness improves.Contribution/value-add: This study provides new information about the nature, content, context, participants, role-players, anticipated benefits and possible drawbacks of EWPs in the South-African context.
Orientation: Safety compliance remains a major issue in the South African mining industry. This article explores the roles of specific work-related job and attitudinal variables in predicting ...compliance.Research purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of work stress, job insecurity, satisfaction and commitment to safety compliance in a mine.Motivation for the study: The study aims to predict safety compliance through work-related variables in order to manage safety better.Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional survey design with a convenience sample (n = 158). They distributed a survey booklet. It included a biographical questionnaire, scales for job insecurity, satisfaction, affective organisational commitment, workplace accidents and safety compliance as well as a work stress measure that comprised dimensions of role clarity, conflict and overload.Main findings: The results showed that work stress and job insecurity had a negative relationship with safety compliance. The researchers found that only job satisfaction was a significant predictor of safety.Practical/managerial implications: Although exploratory, this study suggests that promoting job satisfaction may improve safety compliance whilst job stress and job insecurity also relate negatively to safety compliance.Contribution/value-add: This study shows that job satisfaction is more important than organisational commitment, job security and work stress for predicting safety compliance.
Background and Objectives: The study reported here investigated the causal relationships in the health impairment process of employee well-being, and the mediating role of burnout in the relationship ...between work overload and psychological ill-health symptoms, over time. The research is deemed important due to the need for longitudinal evidence of the health impairment process of employee well-being over three waves of data. Design: A quantitative survey design was followed. Participants constituted a longitudinal sample of 370 participants, at three time points, after attrition. Methods: Descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling methods were implemented. Results: Work overload at time one predicted burnout at time two, and burnout at time two predicted psychological ill-health symptoms at time three. Indirect effects were found between work overload time one and psychological ill-health symptoms time three via burnout time two, and also between burnout time one and psychological ill-health symptoms time three, via burnout time two. Conclusions: The results provided supportive evidence for an "indirect-only" mediation effect, for burnout's causal mediation mechanism in the health impairment process between work overload and psychological ill-health symptoms.
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