Browsing by Author "Middleton, Melissa"

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    The impact of job demands and job resources on the burnout and engagement of trade union representatives
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Middleton, Melissa; Cillie, Gawie; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : In South Africa, trade union representatives, more commonly known as shop stewards, face the difficulty of having to fulfil two roles. Currently trade union representatives are elected and expected to perform their trade union duties over and above their duties and responsibilities as full-time employees of the organisation for which they work. Bearing this in mind, the aim of this study was to investigate whether or not job demands, job resources and personal resources have an impact on the engagement and burnout of trade union representatives. The primary objective of the study was to develop and empirically test a structural model that describes and explains the nature of the relationships between job demands, job resources and personal resources (exogenous latent variables), and the engagement and burnout (endogenous latent variables) of trade union representatives. For the purpose of this study, emotional intelligence was used as personal resource for trade union representatives. The study made use of partial least squares (PLS) analyses to test the hypothesised relationships between the latent variables. Using an electronic questionnaire, quantitative data was collected from 60 trade union representatives from various South African trade unions. In order to qualify to participate in the study, trade union representatives had to be full-time employees of an organisation as well as elected trade union representatives actively playing the role of trade union representative. The data collected was collected specifically for this study and participation was voluntary. The questionnaire-link was distributed via email by the trade union correspondents to the qualifying trade union representatives. The data was kept confidential and the participants were anonymous. The questionnaire consisted of six sections. The first was an informed consent template, in which participants were provided with information about the study and the implications of their participation were explained. There were no negative consequences from participation; however, the contact details of a professional clinical psychologist were provided should any of the participants have felt the need to talk to a professional after completing the survey. The informed consent was followed by questions on the biographical details of the participant and four sections that contained the measurement tools used to measure the various latent variables. These instruments were the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner & Schaufeli, 2001), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2003), the Job Demands-Resources Scale (JDRS) (Jackson & Rothmann, 2005) and the Genos EI concise version (Gignac, 2008; Gignac & Ekermans 2010; Palmer, Stough, Harmer & Gignac, 2009). The data was subjected to a range of statistical analyses. The study was able to identify a significant relationship between job resources and engagement for trade union representatives in South Africa. Through the proactive management of job resources, trade unions may be able to significantly increase the engagement of their trade union representatives and therefore increase the impact of the trade unions in the workplace on behalf of their members.