Masters Degrees (Industrial Psychology)

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Cultivating creativity: the relationship between inclusive leadership, psychological safety, vitality, openness to experience and creative work involvement
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Mavrokordatos, Amanda; Boonzaier, Michele; Stellenbosch University. Economic and Management Sciences. Department Industrial Psychology
ENGLISH ABSTRACT : Organisations are rapidly discovering the invaluable influence of creativity and innovation at work. An individual’s capacity to engage creatively with his or her work is becoming increasingly recognised as integral for organisational success and competitive advantage. The quest for an increase in creative output is driven by the following question: what causes variance in creative work involvement? The purpose of this study was to address the question of variance in creative work involvement across a variety of industries. In order to do so empirically, a structural model was developed after an interrogation of the literature to present the hypothesised relationships suggested through previous research. In essence, this study explored the significance of four relationships: (1) the effect of psychological safety on creative work involvement, (2) the effect of inclusive leadership on psychological safety, (3) the effect of openness to experience on creative work involvement, and (4) the moderating effect of vitality on the relationship between psychological safety and creative work involvement. The research approach was a quantitative study in which an ex post facto correlation research design was used. A total of 39 organisations participated in the study; they are located in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng provinces in South Africa. An electronic self-administered survey that consisted of six sections and 39 items was distributed to employees in varying roles and across different industries. Participation was voluntary; 519 employees engaged in the survey. Multiple regression analysis was used in order to evaluate the data collected. Creative work involvement, psychological safety and vitality were measured by utilising the measurement items presented by Kark and Carmeli (2009). Inclusive leadership was measured using nine items from Carmeli, Reiter-Palmon and Ziv (2010). Lastly, openness to experience was measured using the HEXACO-60 survey (Lee & Ashton, 2004), of which only the 10 items pertaining to this construct were included in the survey presented to the participants. The findings reveal that psychological safety had a significant effect on creative work involvement, and inclusive leadership was shown to have a significant effect on psychological safety. In addition, there was a significant positive relationship between openness to experience and creative work involvement. Moreover, vitality was shown not to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between psychological safety and creative work involvement. It also was found that the relationship between vitality and creative work involvement was significant. The discussions and implications of this research suggest a number of implementations with which managers can engage in order to stimulate creative behaviour and further encourage creative work involvement through strategic decision making at a variety of organisational levels. Greater levels of creative work engagement can be achieved for the overall success of the organisation, which could have an impact on the global community at large.
Exploring chronotype, conscientiousness, workplace flexibility and work overload within the job demands–resources model
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Meyer, Tanya; Boonzaier, Michele; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
ENGLISH SUMMARY : Modern organisations to survive and thrive in the economy, they need to obtain a competitive advantage. This can be achieved through various streams, such as better delivery of products and services that are also quick and efficient, together with better pricing and more flexible options. In order to achieve these goals, employees will have to be managed differently, as the manner in which they are managed will have a direct effect on their efficiency, productivity and general wellbeing, which in turn will influence whether these goals are being met. Two important well-being measures among employees are burnout and work engagement, which have a direct effect on the achievement of a competitive advantage by an organisation. Employee engagement is a known component of the attainment of a competitive advantage by organisations, while employees are the only component in this attainment that cannot be replicated or duplicated, therefore making people and their engagement the centre of the achievement of a competitive advantage. While employee engagement aids the achievement of a competitive advantage, a burned-out workforce leads to several negative consequences on an individual, organisational and social level that hamper the organisation’s ability to achieve such an advantage. While burnout was originally popularised as a condition that only affects employees in the helping professions, it has now become widely known that individuals from all occupational groups can be affected by burnout. Employees who hold tremendous value to the attainment of a competitive advantage and are known to work autonomously, namely the knowledge workers, are also experiencing burnout. Knowledge workers experience high levels of emotional and mental stress due to constant demands for creativity, innovation and superior problem-solving. The present study therefore aimed to answer the following research-initiating question: Why does variance exist in the work engagement and burnout levels of knowledge workers? To answer this question, a thorough analysis of the literature was done to determine the factors that could account for this variance in the work engagement and burnout levels of knowledge workers. Following the literature review, a conceptual model is proposed based on the job-demands resources theory, with work overload as a job demand, workplace flexibility as a job resource, conscientiousness as a personal resource and chronotype as a special variable. The model was tested using an ex post facto correlational research design. The snowball and convenience sampling methods were used to collect data through online questionnaires. The Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) was used to assess chronotype, work engagement was assessed using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-17), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) was used to test the burnout construct, conscientiousness was assessed using the Big Five Inventory (BFI), work overload was assessed using the Job Demands-Resources Scale (JDRS) and, finally, workplace flexibility was assessed with only two items from the recent literature. The final sample comprised 218 responses and statistical analysis were done to provide the findings for the current study. Various statistical analyses were conducted, the first to determine whether the construct was reliable and valid. Item analysis indicated good internal consistency, followed by a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which indicated that further investigation needed to be done. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was therefore conducted to determine the factor structure that best represents the data. A decision was made to retain the two-factor structure for burnout and the three-factor structure of work engagement. The univariate factor structure of workplace flexibility was supported, while conscientiousness and work overload, two univariate structures that originally were found to be two-factor structures, were maintained for the analysis. Work overload was split based on items indicating mental load and emotional load, while conscientiousness seems to be split based on positive and negative items. An additional CFA was done after the new factor structures of work overload and conscientiousness were determined, and the model displayed improved fit. The final analysis done was PLS-SEM to determine the path coefficients. The majority of the main path coefficients were found to be statistically significant. Three of the eight main hypotheses were found to be statistically insignificant. Of the three hypothesised moderating effects, two were found to be insignificant, while the moderating effect of work overload on the relationship between workplace flexibility and work engagement was found to tend towards significance. The study contributes to the body of literature on knowledge workers in South Africa by broadening knowledge regarding these workers. Furthermore, this study has several practical implications for recruiting knowledge workers and burnout interventions and provides insights and recommendations for future research.
Exploring the antecedents of extra-role behaviour : becoming an empowered consultant
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Nutt, Uanne; De Vos, Uanne; Boonzaier, Michele; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
ENGLISH SUMMARY : South African organisations are continuously challenged by fast-paced changes in their operating environments. Consulting firms are expected to be among the fastest adaptors, with their superior diagnostic and problem-solving skills. With the survival of organisations being threatened, consulting firms are presented with opportunities to provide innovative and forward-thinking solutions to their organisational clients. For them to prosper from these opportunities, they also must adapt to changing conditions and dynamically seek new competitive advantages in the value proposition that they offer to clients. In order to consistently provide tailor-made solutions to clients’ context-specific needs, consultants must deviate from prescribed roles and standard approaches. These necessary deviations, which enable consultants to add significant value to clients through a higher quality service, are referred to as extra-role behaviours. To unlock and elicit the potential value added by extra-role behaviours, organisations should appoint and develop leaders who enable consultants to engage in these behaviours. This study aims to explore the antecedents of extra-role behaviour, with a specific focus on the influence of empowering leadership and an empowered psychological state. The extra-role behaviours that are of interest in this study are organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and proactive behaviour (PB). The present study aimed to answer the following research-initiating question – what causes variance in the extra-role behaviours (i.e. OCB and PB) of South African consultants? Subsequently, an in-depth analysis was conducted of the existing literature on OCB, PB, psychological empowerment, and empowering leadership. Hypotheses were formulated from the extensive literature review, substantiating the relationships between the constructs of interest. An ex post facto correlational research design was used. A non-probability, snowball convenience sampling technique was utilised to recruit potential research participants (i.e. South African consultants who report to a manager). Quantitative data was collected by means of an online survey, which comprised the following measurements: a 24-item OCB scale, a 10-item taking charge PB questionnaire, a 12-item psychological empowerment scale, and a 38-item empowering leadership questionnaire (ELQ). The final sample comprised 174 responses. The empirical data was analysed by means of various statistical analyses. A reliability analysis was performed to determine whether the measurements that were used to collect the empirical data were valid and reliable. Based on the results of the PB scale, additional analyses were conducted, and it was found that PB has a two-factor structure. The revised PB structure was utilised for the subsequent analyses. The reliability analysis results indicated that each measurement model reproduced the empirical data reasonably well. Further analyses were performed to determine the goodness of fit between the hypothesised structural model and the empirical data. Path coefficients were found to be statistically significant (p < .001) for the hypothesised positive influence of psychological empowerment on OCB, the hypothesised positive influence of psychological empowerment on PB, as well as the hypothesised positive influence of empowering leadership on psychological empowerment. Furthermore, the structural model explained a significant portion of variance in the extra-role behaviours of consultants. An additional mediation analysis confirmed that psychological empowerment fully mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and OCB, and also fully mediates the relationship between empowering leadership and PB (p = .00). The present study has made a significant contribution to the available knowledge on extra-role behaviours in consultants, and thus offers important insight into South African industrial psychology.
How job demands and resources predict burnout, engagement and intention to quit in call centres
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Langenhoven, Anja; Boonzaier, Michele; Stellenbosch University. Economic and Management Sciences. Department Industrial Psychology
ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The industrial psychology literature related to call centres highlights the negative aspects of call centre work environments and the resultant adverse impact on workers’ well-being. Call centres have been labelled the “coal mines of the 21st century”, “assembly lines in the head” and “satanic mills” (Janse van Rensburg, Boonzaier, & Boonzaier, 2013, p. 2). High levels of stress, high staff turnover and burnout are all factors that are often experienced by call centre agents (Banks & Roodt, 2011). However, Van der Colff and Rothman (2009) report that some call centre agents, regardless of the high job demands, do not develop burnout. These agents cope better than others under highly demanding and stressful work conditions. To build on these findings, the present study took a detailed look at factors affecting the well-being of employees working in call centres. Specifically, the question was asked, “Why is there variance in work engagement, job burnout and intention to quit amongst the employees in call centres?” The job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014) was used as a framework to investigate the well-being of call centre agents employed in the outbound departments of two branches of a Cape Town call centre. The primary objective of this study was to develop and empirically test a structural model, derived from theory, explaining the antecedents of variance in work engagement, job burnout and intention to quit amongst call centre employees. The antecedents comprise transformational leadership (as a job resource), emotional intelligence and psychological capital (as employees’ personal resources), and emotional labour (as job demands) present in a call centre environment. An ex post facto correlational design was used to test the formulated hypotheses in this research study. Quantitative data was collected from 223 call centre agents by means of non-probability convenience sampling. A self-administered hard-copy survey was distributed to the two call centre branches, given that call centre agents agreed to participate in the research study. Measuring instruments consisted of (1) the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-17) questionnaire (Schaufeli et al., 2002), (2) the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS) (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001), (3) the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS) (Ding & Lin, 2006; Lee, 2000), (4) the Emotional Demands and Emotion-rule Dissonance scales (Xanthopoulou, Bakker, & Fischbach, 2013), (5) the adapted Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5x short) (Van Aswegen & Engelbrecht, 2009), (6) the Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory (Gignac, 2010) and (7) the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007). The data was analysed using item analyses and structural equation modelling (SEM). A PLS path analysis was conducted to determine the model fit. From the 21 hypotheses formulated in the study, six were found to be significant. It is noteworthy, however, that 12 of the non-significant paths were related to the moderating effects. Hypotheses 1, 3 and 8 were also found to be not significant. However, hypotheses 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 were all found to be statistically significant and therefore supported the JD-R theory (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014), which postulates that job demands are generally the most important predictors of job burnout, whereas job resources and personal resources are generally the most important predictors of work engagement. Also, it was found that call centre agents experiencing a high level of work engagement were less inclined to leave the organisation. The study’s findings shed light on the importance of developing interventions that can foster job and personal resources in the pursuit of optimising work engagement. In addition, the call centre agents can be bolstered in coping with existing job demands and cumulatively this also results in a decrease in the employees’ level of burnout and in their intention to leave the company.
The influence of HEXACO personality factors and job demands on counterproductive work behaviour
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Van der Westhuizen, Jani; Boonzaier, Michele; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
ENGLISH SUMMARY : Job performance consists of three equally important broad performance domains: task performance, organisational citizenship behaviour and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) (Viswesvaran & Ones, 2000). Thus, CWB is regarded as important for work effectiveness. Despite advances in clarifying what drives CWB, there is a lack of consensus in the literature on the extent to which specific personality traits are of potential use to predict CWB. Additionally, the role of certain job demands’ moderating effects has also received little attention. The objective of this study was, firstly, to determine which antecedents play a primary role in determining CWB. Through an investigation of the relevant literature it was determined that, although job characteristics play an important role, personality remains the main primary antecedent involved in explaining the occurrence of CWB. Consequently, the investigation revolved around finding evidence on whether certain personality traits have an impact on the likelihood of an individual resorting to CWB, which can be exacerbated by certain demands at work. More specifically, the honesty-humility personality factor was considered as the possible trait that can explain the tendency to display deviant behaviours more accurately than previously believed traits. Lastly, the roles of specific job demands, including work overload and job insecurity, were investigated in the proposed model. Based on the review of the literature, hypotheses were formulated. A conceptual model depicting the relationships was also developed and tested with an ex post facto correlation design. The sample consisted of 180 professional individuals from various industries in South Africa to ensure that different occupations and levels of job demands were considered. Furthermore, this was done to ensure a wide spread investigation into the importance of certain personality factors that can be identified in relation to an important part of job performance such as CWB. A self-administered web-based survey was used for collecting the data. Participation was voluntary. The data collected was strictly confidential and anonymous. Several valid and reliable measurement instruments were used to measure the specific latent variables. A series of Partial Least Square (PLS) Analyses was performed to test the antecedent model of CWB. Of the ten hypotheses formulated in the study, four were found to be significant. The reason for the non-significant hypotheses could be attributed to a multitude of reasons outside the scope of the present study. Of the direct relationships with CWB that were explored, honesty-humility, conscientiousness, and work relationship overload yielded significant results, in accordance with previous research. Conscientiousness was furthermore shown to buffer the relationship between work relationship overload and CWB. This study has contributed positively to the existing body of knowledge on CWB by having looked in-depth into and providing valuable understanding of the relationship between the identified personality traits, job demands, and CWB. In addition, this study focused on the implications for the human resources profession in dealing with CWB in the workplace and suggested various interventions that HR professionals, industrial psychologists, and leaders could apply to eliminate and minimise CWB. The limitations and recommendations for future research were discussed and suggestions were also made. This research study only commenced once ethical clearance was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Stellenbosch University (Appendix A).
The influence of job characteristics, psychological capital, work schedule and chronotype on the engagement, burnout and general health of shift workers
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Smith, Sophia; Boonzaier, Michele; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
ENGLISH SUMMARY: Shift work is an important aspect of working time that is often associated with many negative outcomes. Although there are economic, technical, and social benefits for organisations in the use of shift work schedules, these benefits are conflicted by the social and health impairments for workers. Since the use of shift work is escalating, it is increasingly important for organisations to understand what the impact of shift work on their workers is and to implement interventions that aim to prevent, eliminate, or manage the challenges associated with it. The purpose of this research study was therefore to explore salient variables that contribute to variance in burnout, engagement, and general health in South African shift workers. Using the framework of the Job Demands-Resources model, this quantitative study aimed to test the relationships between the five core job characteristics as described in the job characteristics model, psychological capital, non-standard work schedules and chronotype with the engagement, burnout, and general health of shift workers. An ex post facto correlational design was used, and data was collected from a non-probability sample of 175 South African shift workers using a survey method. Variables were measured using the MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (RAND-36), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), the Job Diagnostic Survey – Revised (JDS-R), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-12), three questions for work schedule and the Horne – Őstberg Morningness Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Data analysis made us of the PLS-SEM method. The findings indicated that job characteristics are antecedents of PsyCap. These personal resources in turn buffered against burnout and led to higher levels of engagement which fostered the psychological health of workers. Burnout was also found to be negatively related to both physical and psychological health. On the other hand, the relationship between non-standard work schedules and burnout, along with the moderating effect of chronotype on this relationship, was not found to be statistically significant. Furthermore, the relationship between job characteristics and engagement, as well as engagement and physical health, was also not found to be statistically significant. This study concluded that interventions aimed at developing PsyCap among employees could assist in transforming organisations to significant sources of happiness, satisfaction, meaningfulness, and general well-being.
Mental toughness, job demands and job resources: testing the effects on engagement and stress of South African emergency personnel
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Klette, Aileen; Boonzaier, Michele; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
ENGLISH SUMMARY : Literature related to emergency personnel in South Africa highlights an overwhelming need to study the extent of stress they endure on a daily basis. According to a South African 2008/2009 police report, 323 police officers were declared medically unfit due to stress and depression in that period (Subramaney, 2010). In 2012, a research study conducted among a small sample of paramedics showed that 30% of the participants “had total burnout” (Stassen, Van Nugteren & Stein, 2012). Very recently, a 2016 study on Bloemfontein registrars and medical officers stated that burnout is a severe crisis, as it was shown that only 3.4% of the sample reported no burnout (Sirsawya, Steinberga & Raubenheimerb, 2016). These statistics represent just a small drop in a large pond of critical problems in this sample group. The nature of the work of emergency personnel is embedded within South Africa’s characteristic high crime rate (Kaminer, Grimsrud, Myer, Stein & Williams, 2008; Schwab, 2015; Subramaney, 2010). Just within the last five years, this country has witnessed and suffered through some devastating events. Emergency services personnel, as a result of their occupation, are at an increased risk for trauma exposure. An important consideration is whether or not prevalence rates for stress are higher in these groups (Subramaney, 2010). Specifically, are their working conditions to blame for the levels of stress they endure? Or could optimal working conditions generate engagement? Could recruiting, retaining or growing mental toughness as a personal resource equip emergency personnel with the necessary coping strategies to avoid the stress caused by their work? Also, by reducing stress, could the level of emergency personnel’s engagement increase? The current study thus asks whether and why variance in work engagement and stress exists between the different emergency workers operating within the same and different environments. Due to the uniqueness of the emergency services’ work context, as well as the evident ill-health of the personnel, the well-accepted job demands–resources model (JD-R model) was used as a framework. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to test a proposed structural model (resulting from the theory) that illustrates how job demands, job resources and specific personal resources influence engagement and stress among emergency personnel within the South African health services context. A non-experimental ex post facto correlational research design was used to collect the required data for the purposes of this research study. Upon gaining ethical clearance from all respective parties, and upon receipt of informed consent, quantitative data was gathered from police officers, firefighters, nurses, paramedics and trauma personnel in Gauteng and the Western Cape to represent the emergency services population. A sample size of 173 emergency service personnel was obtained using a non-probability sampling technique. This data was collected using both electronic and paper-format surveys. The measurement instruments used for this research study include the 30-item Stress Overload Scale (Amirkhan, Urizar & Clark, 2015), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale 17- item version (UWES-17) (Rothmann & Rothmann, 2010), the Job Demands–Resources Scale, consisting of 48 items (Rothman, Mostert & Strydom, 2006) and the Mental Toughness Scale (MT48), a shortened eight-item version (Gucciardi, Hanton, Gordon, Mallett & Temby, 2015). Throughout the research process, the participants’ human rights were respected by adhering to basic research ethics. To statistically analyse the data and test the hypothesised relationships, item analysis and PLS SEM analyses were used. Eighteen hypotheses were formulated in this research study; ten being main interaction effects and eight moderating interactions. Of the eighteen hypotheses, a total of six were found to be significant. However, it is vital to note that eight of the non- significant paths were moderating effects. Hypotheses 2, 3, 6 and 8 of the main effects were found to be statistically insignificant. This contradicts previous research efforts, and the reasons for the insignificant relationships may be the result of many factors and warrant further thought and inquiry. Hypotheses 1, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10 were shown to be statistically significant and in accordance with existing literature on these interactions. To conclude, various managerial implications, recommendations and limitations were discussed in relation to the current study. These will assist industrial psychologists, unit managers and human resources personnel to identify problem areas within the health-care industry, but also to highlight strengths that can be capitalised on as a result of the research findings. Remedial strategies include interventions at the task, individual, team and organisational levels. The results were further linked to JD-R theory and, in so doing, the extent was gauged to which the current study’s findings support the theory. Various limitations of the present research study were acknowledged, and recommendations for future research ventures were discussed.
Workplace internet leisure browsing, recovery experiences and occupational well-being
(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Stander, Xander; Boonzaier, Michele; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
ENGLISH SUMMARY : Historically, major breakthroughs in technology have led to significant improvements in the productivity of organisations. These technological breakthroughs have also completely changed the way that organisations, as well as the people in them, function. The latest improvements in communication technologies, like the internet, are continuing with this trend. With an estimated 5 billion internet users globally on December 31, 2020, it would be difficult to overestimate the effect that the internet has had on both organisations and their employees (Internetworldstats, 2021). As with many things however, the improvements in internet access have brought about several benefits, but also many challenges. One of the most prevalent challenges that organisations are facing as a result of the internet, is the ease with which employees can now surf the internet for personal reasons during working hours. This is often referred to as workplace internet leisure browsing (WILB). It is estimated that employees on average spend between 9.4% and 13.3% of their worktime on WILB (Jandaghi et al., 2015; Lim & Chen, 2012). Traditionally WILB research, as well as the managerial practices that stemmed from it, was underpinned by the belief that any worktime spent on non-work activities will automatically lead to a loss of productivity. More recently however, research on the impact of WILB, as well as the effects and effectiveness of WILB countermeasures, has suggested that the way that we think about WILB might need to be reconsidered (Coker, 2013; Janicke et al., 2017; Sheikh et al., 2015). The disparities in the literature led to the genesis of the present study, which aims to gain a better understanding of the impact that WILB has on employees. The present study is centred around the following research initiating question: “Why is there variance in the occupational well-being amongst South African office workers?”. It attempts to answer this question by analysing the relationship between WILB, recovery experiences and occupational well-being. An ex post facto correlational design with a convenience sample of 101 office workers was utilised. The results revealed that two of the eight hypothesised paths in the structural model were statistically significant. These findings indicated that WILB has a substantial influence on the two recovery experiences variables that were employed in the study. The results of this research calls for further empirical studies on the included variables, especially under circumstances where the country isn’t in a state of a national lockdown.

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