scholarly journals Health challenges in South African automotive companies: Wellness in the workplace

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Meyer-Weitz ◽  
Friederike Baasner-Weihs ◽  
Martin Weihs
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Influencing Factor ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: In South Africa, workplace programmes in the automotive industry focus predominantly on occupational health and safety and HIV and AIDS. The implementation of focused workplace interventions might be hampered when companies are not convinced that the condition (i.e. HIV and AIDS) is the main negative health influencing factor responsible for increased production costs.Research purpose: The study investigated the health influencing conditions perceived to negatively impact company production costs and related interventions.Motivation for the study: Apart from HIV and AIDS, little information is available about the health challenges in the South African workplace and focused HIV and AIDS programmes might only partly respond to the key health challenges of workplaces. The inter-relatedness of various risky lifestyle factors linked to health conditions necessitates a comprehensive health promotion approach.Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst 74 companies selected through stratified random sampling. Non-parametric tests were conducted to investigate the health influencing factors perceived to impact production costs, the monitoring thereof, extent of containment and the implementation of interventions in terms of company size and ownership.Main findings: The health factors perceived to have a moderate to large impact were HIV and AIDS, smoking, alcohol use, stress, back and neck ache and tuberculosis, also reported to be better monitored and managed by medium and large organisations. Small organisations reported a smaller impact, fewer efforts and less success. HIV and AIDS programmes were more evident in large companies and those with wellness programmes (52%). Workplace programmes enabled better monitoring and managing of impacting health conditions. Smaller organisations were not convinced of the benefits of interventions in addressing health challenges.Practical/managerial implications: As the impacting health conditions seemed linked, comprehensive and integrated wellness programmes are required to address the health issues and ensure organisations’ competitiveness.Contribution: The results contribute to a better understanding of the perceived salient health influencing factors that impact on production costs. Data support the inter-relationships between the identified health concerns and call for more holistic wellness programmes.

scholarly journals Self-perceived employability among undergraduate students at a South African university

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doret Botha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
The Self ◽  
The South ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Perceived Employability ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: South Africa has been suffering from persistently high levels of unemployment since 2008. The youth is regarded as the most at-risk group in the South African labour market and unemployment amongst the youth is considered one of the most critical socio-economic problems in South Africa. Increasing one’s employability is essential to securing employment and enhancing one’s well-being.Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the self-perceived employability of undergraduate students at a South African university.Motivation for the study: Currently, there is a scarcity of published research on the self-perceived employability amongst undergraduate students at higher education institutions in South Africa.Research approach/design and method: The study was conducted within a positivistic research paradigm. A quantitative-based cross-sectional survey design was used. Convenience sampling was used to select the students who were included in the survey. Data were collected through a web-based survey, using a standardised coded questionnaire that consisted of a five-point Likert-type scale.Main findings: The results indicated that the respondents were relatively confident about their internal employability, but they were less confident about their opportunities in the external labour market.Practical/managerial implications: Understanding one’s employability and the accompanied issues creates awareness of one’s potential, skills and knowledge to become a successful citizen and employee.Contribution/value-add: The study shed light on the self-perceived employability of undergraduate students at a South African university and consequently contributes to the existing literature on employability in the South African context.

scholarly journals Measurement of Organisation-Professional Conflict in the industrial psychology profession

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colette Lourens ◽  
Leon J. Van Vuuren ◽  
Riëtte Eiselen
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Professional Associations ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Industrial Psychology ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Orientation: Professionals, employed in organisations, operate within professional and organisational contexts serving different stakeholders. Subsequently, professionals may experience tension or conflict between their role as professional and employee.Research purpose: To establish the measurement of the perceptions and experiences of industrial psychology (IP) professionals, employed in South African organisations, with regard to Organisation-Professional Conflict (OPC) as well as the antecedents associated with this phenomenon.Motivation for the study: Although the extent to which professionals experience OPC is well documented for medical and accountancy professionals, the extent to which IP professionals experience this phenomenon remains unclear.Research design, approach and method: A structured questionnaire was developed and applied as a cross-sectional survey to all registered South African IP professionals employed in organisations. Responses based on the N = 143 self-selecting respondents were captured and utilised for statistical analysis.Main findings: OPC in the IP profession can be considered as the incongruence between professional organisational roles and duties, and their responsibility to adhere to professional obligations. Professional autonomy and strategic alignment were found to mitigate the occurrence of OPC, whereas power tension and compromise of professionalism seem to exacerbate the occurrence thereof.Practical/managerial implications: The research might create an awareness of the existence of OPC amongst the respective stakeholders. Knowledge of OPC may have implications for professionals who render their professional services to organisations.Contribution/value-add: The findings may inform formal professional associations, industrial psychologists employed by organisations, their employing organisations, and the governing board, about the nature and extent of OPC.

scholarly journals Evaluating research recruitment strategies to improve response rates amongst South African nurses

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Khamisa ◽  
Karl Peltzer ◽  
Dragan Ilic ◽  
Brian Oldenburg
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Response Rates ◽  
Recruitment Rate ◽  
Recruitment Strategies ◽  
Participation Rates ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Research Recruitment ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Managerial Implications

Orientation: Nurse recruitment to and participation in empirical research is increasingly important in understanding and improving nursing practice. However, the low participation and recruitment rate amongst nurses is not well understood.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate three research recruitment methods for their impact on recruitment and participation rates amongst South African nurses.Motivation for the study: A limited number of studies exist that formally evaluates different recruitment strategies to improve participation in research amongst nurses within developing contexts, especially South Africa.Research approach, design and method: Participants were recruited using three different methods. Of the 250 nurses randomly selected and invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey, 201 agreed and 162 (81%) returned the questionnaires.Main findings: Nursing management participation in the recruitment and data collection process produces more favourable response rates. Reminders and the use of shorter questionnaires also aid higher response rates.Practical/managerial implications: Reminders as well as face-to-face recruitment strategies (especially by a familiar person) successfully improved participation rates amongst South African nurses in this study.Contribution/value-add: This study identifies some strategies that could be used more widely to increase the recruitment and participation of South African nurses in research whilst potentially improving their work situation.

scholarly journals Psychological ownership: Development of an instrument

2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Olckers
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Measurement Instrument ◽  
Psychological Ownership ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Psychological ownership emerged recently as a positive psychological resource that could be measured and developed and that could affect the performance of organisations.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure psychological ownership in a South African context.Motivation for the study: It was found that previous instruments for the measurement of psychological ownership lacked the ability to grasp the extensive reach of psychological ownership.Research design, approach and method: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted on a non-probability convenience sample of 713 skilled, highly-skilled and professional employees from various organisations in both the private and public sectors in South Africa.Main findings: Although a 69-item measurement instrument was developed in order to capture the proposed seven-dimensional psychological ownership construct, it became evident when analysing the data that a four-factor model comprising 35 items was suitable.Practical/managerial implications: If a sense of psychological ownership toward an organisation could be established amongst its employees by addressing the factors as measured by the South African Psychological Ownership Questionnaire, organisations could become enhanced workplaces and, as a result, sustainable performance could be promoted and staff could be retained.Contribution/value-add: The instrument for measuring psychological ownership in a South African context could serve as a diagnostic tool that would allow human resource professionals and managers to determine employees’ sense of psychological ownership regarding their organisation and to focus specifically on weak dimensional areas that could be improved.

scholarly journals Readiness for hospital discharge and influencing factors: a cross-sectional study on patients discharged with tubes from the department of hepatobiliary surgery

BMC Surgery ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingyu Qian ◽  
Miaofang Qian ◽  
Yanyan Ren ◽  
Linyan Ye ◽  
Fangfang Qian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hospital Discharge ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Hepatobiliary Surgery ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Discharged Patients ◽  
Discharge Teaching

Abstract Background To investigate the readiness for hospital discharge of patients discharged with tubes from the department of hepatobiliary surgery and to explore the influencing factors. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted for the 161 patients with tubes who were discharged from the department of hepatobiliary surgery of Shaoxing Second Hospital by using the modified Chinese version of Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS) and Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale (QDTS). General data of the patients, such as gender, age, BMI (body mass index), and educational level, were collected. Results According to the statistical results, the total score of the RHDS was 142.40 ± 23.98, and that of the QDTS was 148.14 ± 17.74. Multiple linear step-wise regression analysis revealed that the total score of the QDTS, residence and educational level were the independent influencing factors of the readiness for hospital discharge (p < 0.05). Conclusion The level of the readiness for hospital discharge of the 161 discharged patients with tubes from the department of hepatobiliary surgery was in the middle and lower level. For the patients who are far away from the hospital and have a low education level, we should pay more attention to health education and discharge teaching, so as to improve the readiness for hospital discharge of relatively vulnerable patients, reduce the incidence of adverse events after discharge with tubes, and ensure the health and safety of patients.

scholarly journals The influence of internationalisation of labour on the performance of small-scale rural-based agricultural firms: A South African perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patient Rambe
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
North West ◽  
Foreign Labour ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Northern Cape

Orientation: The main objective of this study is to determine the extent to which small-scale, rural-based agricultural firms in South Africa use foreign labour.Research purpose: South African business owners or managers’ perceived preference for labour from foreign nationals has heightened South African nationals’ concerns that these owners or managers are prejudicing local citizens under the guise of reducing overhead costs.Motivation for the study: There is a scarcity of studies on the influence of free movement of foreign labour on the performance of small-scale, rural-based agricultural firms in South Africa.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey research was conducted among 151 small-scale agricultural businesses’ (SSABs) owners or managers in Vryburg-Pokwani in North West and Northern Cape provinces of South Africa. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Furthermore, post hoc comparisons (Bonferroni) were conducted to establish the long-term performance expectations based on these firms’ utilisation of foreign labour.Main findings: The results showed that the majority (70.9%) of SSABs did not employ foreign labour. Moreover, despite the statistically significant differences in the performance of SSABs based on their usage of foreign labour, SSABs’ orientation towards internationalisation of labour increased with increased deployment of foreign labour.Practical and managerial implications: The study recommended the possibility of deploying highly skilled, value-adding and value-creating foreign labour, while rationalising the recruitment of semi-skilled and unskilled local labour.Contribution or value addition: The results are of significance to SSABs that need to consider the economic benefits of recruiting foreign labour even if that may increase their overhead costs.

scholarly journals A temperature reading of COVID-19 pandemic employee agility and resilience in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristy Leask ◽  
Shaun Ruggunan
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Temperature Reading ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
African Context ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Value Add

Orientation: Employee agility and resilience are central to the flourishing of employee and organisational life. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic amplified stressors and added new challenges for employees in South Africa. The study reported here provides a temperature reading of the agility and resilience of South African employees in the context of the pandemic.Research purpose: The aim of this study was to engage in a temperature reading of South African employees’ agility and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the need to understand how South African employees fare in terms of their agility and resilience levels in the context of profound social and economic disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used employing quantitative methodologies. A total of 185 permanently employed respondents from South Africa were conveniently sampled. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.Main findings: Whilst respondents reported high resilience and agility capacity, the findings also suggest that respondents’ gender, age, upskilling intentions, size of employer, organisational communication and individual renewal strategies influence their resilience and agility behaviours.Practical/managerial implications: The study prompts a discussion on how practitioners can better serve the wellness agenda of organisational life during sustained periods of organisational stress.Contribution/value-add: This study extends the theoretical and practical debate on employee agility and resilience in South African context.

scholarly journals Interference between work and nonwork roles: The development of a new South African instrument

2010 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Koekemoer ◽  
Karina Mostert ◽  
Ian Rothmann Jr
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Personal Life ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Tertiary Institution ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Value Add ◽  
Work Family

Orientation: The interference between work and personal life is a central issue in the 21st century as employees attempt to balance or integrate their involvement in multiple social roles.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to, (1) develop new items for a more comprehensive work−nonwork interference instrument, (2) evaluate the newly developed items to retain those items that accurately capture the different dimensions and (3) eliminate undesirable items from the different subscales in the instrument.Motivation for the study: Although the interaction between work and personal life has received extensive attention in the work−family fields of research, various theoretical, empirical and measurement issues need to be addressed.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data.Main findings: Initially, 89 items were developed. During the pilot study among mineworkers (n = 245), 41 poor items were eliminated on the basis of descriptive statistics, inter-item correlations, item-total correlations and the qualitative investigation of items highly redundant in terms of wording. Thereafter, the instrument (48 items) was administered to 366 support and academic personnel at a tertiary institution. Using Rasch analyses and item correlations, 18 additional items were eliminated, resulting in a 30-item instrument (15 items were retained to measure work-nonwork interference and 15 items to measure nonwork-work interference).Practical/managerial implications: A major theoretical limitation to the measurement of work−family interference relates to the dimensionality and inconsistent measurement of the directionality of interference.Contribution/value-add: With the development of this new instrument, several of the theoretical and measurement limitations voiced by previous researchers have been addressed, providing this instrument with distinct advantages over previous work−family instruments.

scholarly journals Prevalence and risk factors of worry among teachers during the COVID-19 epidemic in Henan, China: a cross-sectional survey

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e045386
Author(s):  
Yanqing Wang ◽  
Quanman Li ◽  
Clifford Silver Tarimo ◽  
Cuiping Wu ◽  
Yudong Miao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Educational Status ◽  
Henan Province ◽  
Anxiety Level ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
School Location ◽  
Fear Level ◽  
Attention Level

ObjectiveTo evaluate the level of worry and its influencing factors during the COVID-19 epidemic among teachers in Henan Province in China.Study designA cross-sectional study was conducted.MethodsWe designed a cross-sectional survey that included 88 611 teachers from three cities in Henan Province, China between 4 February 2020 and 12 February 2020. Level of worry was measured using a five-item Likert scale, with 1 being ‘not worried’ and 5 being ‘very worried’. The OR and 95% CI of potential influencing factors for level of worry among study participants were estimated using ordinal logistic regression models.ResultsAbout 59% of teachers reported being ‘very worried’ about the COVID-19 epidemic. The proportion of female teachers was higher than of male teachers (60.33% vs 52.89%). In all age groups considered in this study, a ‘very worried’ condition accounted for the highest proportion. The age group 40–49 years had the lowest proportion of participants who were very worried, 52.34% of whom were men and 58.62% were women. After controlling for potential confounding factors, age, education level, type of teacher, school location, attention level, fear level, anxiety level and behaviour status were all related to level of worry (all p<0.05).ConclusionDuring the COVID-19 epidemic, there was a high proportion of teachers who were ‘very worried’ about the situation in Henan Province, China. Our study may remind policymakers to consider factors including age, educational status, type of teacher, school location, source of information on COVID-19, attention level, anxiety level, fear level and behaviour status to alleviate worry.

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