Doctoral Degrees (Industrial Psychology)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Industrial Psychology) by browse.metadata.advisor "Görgens, Gina"

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    Development and evaluation of a longitudinal dynamic needs-action model of employee well-being : a psychological perspective
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Marsburg, Angela; Görgens, Gina; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: The importance of well-being cannot be denied. Psychological well-being is a prerequisite to physical health, and is fundamental to an employee’s effective cognitive functioning, maintaining successful interpersonal relations, earning a living, and living a good life. Building on a recently proposed model of well-being, namely the eudaimonic activities model, that emphasises ‘doing well’ within the process of ‘feeling well’, this research study set out to explore the latent variables that interact to characterise employee well-being, from a dynamic intra-individual psychological perspective. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of self-determination theory and psychological ownership theory, inspired by the eudaimonic activities model, a generic theoretical dynamic needs-action model of employee well-being, from a psychological perspective, was developed. Through theorising, five specific needs-based models, which replicate the dynamic well-being process suggested in the generic dynamic needs-action model, per specific need, were presented and tested longitudinally. The generic dynamic needs-action model presented certain predictions, namely the influence of basic psychological needs (self-identity, autonomy, competence, relatedness and beneficence) on motivation to pursue the route of self-investment, the effect of motivation on route pursuit (investing the self in the job, in task crafting behaviours, in optimally challenging tasks, in positive relations and in altruistic acts), and the subsequent influence of route pursuit on need satisfaction. Moreover, it was predicted that need satisfaction would influence the respective positive psychological state (psychological ownership, self-esteem, self-efficacy, psychological safety and meaning), which would in turn predict subjective well-being experienced by employees, over time. A three-wave quantitative, non-experimental research design, executed with a longitudinal online survey, incorporating a planned missing data design, was followed, using a convenience sample (Time 1: n = 290; Time 2: n = 229; Time 3: n = 195), to test the five specific needs-based cross-lagged panel models, with Mplus version 8.4. Three of the five specific needs-based models, namely the need for self-identity (Model 1), the need for relatedness (Model 4), and the need for beneficence (Model 5) obtained acceptable fit. However, statistical support was only found for certain paths within each of these models. The models pertaining to the need for autonomy (Model 2) and the need for competence (Model 3), failed to obtain acceptable fit and further investigation was halted for these two models. The results therefore revealed somewhat limited, partial, evidence to support the proposed generic theoretical dynamic needs-action model of employee well-being, from a psychological perspective. Conclusions pertaining to the overall predictions, presented in the generic theoretical model, were based on trends and insights garnered from the three models that obtained statistical support. Therefore, this research study found empirical support for the inclusion of both need salience and need satisfaction, within a model of employee well-being, from a psychological perspective. Moreover, the results suggest that only individuals who were motivated to feel well, experienced the benefits of their efforts (route pursuits) in terms of improved subjective well-being. The active role of the individual within the well-being process was additionally supported by the data, since route pursuit predicted need satisfaction, and need satisfaction influenced the respective positive psychological outcomes ten weeks later. No empirical support was found for the well-being gains argument inspired by Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory, and Hobfoll's conservation of resources theory. Methodological and theoretical effects that may have potentially influenced the results are suggested. Lastly, practical implications, limitations and future research areas are presented.