Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37990
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item Exploring the relationship between job demands, resource, and psychological well-being: A study in the hospitality and tourism industries(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Marks, Joshua Blaine; Donald, FionaIdentified as a key factor contributing to elevated levels of individual performance and thus organisational performance, ensuring ideal levels of individual psychological well-being has grown increasingly important within organisations, especially following the onset and recession of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic having receded, its initial impact left lasting effects on various industries, particularly the tourism and hospitality industries as these industries saw a drastic reduction in workforce size and revenue generated. This has prompted the implementation of nationwide recovery efforts; however, these have been found to be primarily aimed at addressing the financial and economic impacts of the pandemic with minimal consideration for addressing the psychological impacts of the pandemic. This study aimed at evaluating the current state of individual psychological well-being of individuals working in the tourism and hospitality industries in South Africa. Given the broad nature of the psychological well-being construct, attempts to evaluate it in the work context have proved difficult. Hence it is for this reason that this study evaluated psychological well-being with reference to the experience of work engagement and burnout, as these constructs have been conceptualised as indicators of psychological well-being. Therefore individual psychological well-being was assessed through the exploration of the potential relationships between various job characteristics and the experience of work engagement and burnout. The sample consisted of 65 participants from organisations within the tourism and hospitality industries in South Africa. Participants were required to complete a questionnaire that comprised of a demographic information section, the Job-Demands Resources Scale (JDRS), the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Health Services Survey (MBI-HSS), and the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). The results generated indicated the presence of significant, weak to moderate relationships between the variables of interest, with few exceptions. Furthermore, the significant regression models generated by the analysis provided insight into the relative contributions of the chosen job characteristics to the experience of work engagement and burnout. The results were discussed within the broader literature on the concepts of job demands and job resources, and the experience of work engagement and burnout.Item A Systematic Review Examining the use of Neurofeedback as an Intervention in the Management of Burnout(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024-05-30) Patron, Daniella; Besharati, Sahba; Beukes, JohannaBackground: Burnout is highly prevalent and has a long-lasting impact on health and well-being. However, a lack of formal diagnosis and standardised definition criteria has resulted in vague measurement standards and uncertainty regarding appropriate interventions. Neurofeedback training has shown the potential to modulate patterns of stress and produce long -lasting changes in the brain. However, the efficacy of neurofeedback training and its application to burnout is still in question. Work related stress is highly prevalent and has a serious and long-lasting impact on health and well-being. One ‘occupational phenomenon’ known as burnout has affected people in a multitude of professions and across a variety of societal domains. However, burnout is not currently recognised as a formal diagnosis and has no universally applied definition criteria. Aim: This systematic review aimed to determine if neurofeedback training is an appropriate intervention for the management of burnout. The secondary aim of the study was to evaluate the methodological, procedures and practical standards by which the neurofeedback training intervention was implemented as well as how the various burnout measures and populations were represented. Methods: This review (pre-registered on PROSPERO CRD42023448860) adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Six databases (Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, ProQuest, PsycINFO and Ebscohost) and one search engine (Google Scholar) were searched according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Exclusion criteria: unpublished material, studies published before 2003, published in languages other than English, comorbidities with other disorders, use of other EEG interventions, no mention of burnout characteristics. Findings: The search strategy yielded a total of N = 6 studies included in the final review. Study results showed neurofeedback training improved negative characteristics associated with burnout, especially when combined with other intervention methods. However, vag ueness and omission were found in most study designs and intervention protocols with inconsistent burnout measures and sampling bias. Conclusion: In conclusion, neurofeedback training has shown the potential for managing certain burnout characteristics. However, due to the inconsistent study designs and vague methodological protocols, it remains uncertain whether it is entirely effective as an intervention for burnout. Thus, there is a need for more studies to be conducted in this area with the employment of stringent and standardised study designs, clearer reporting of methodological protocols, universally applied burnout definitions and regulated measures, more ethnically diverse samples, and a focus on more representative populations from diverse domains other than adults in healthcare professionsItem Does it matter where I work? Examining the effect of Remote Work on employees’ Work Engagement and Burnout(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Tau, Lebogang Tlotlo; Pitman, MichaelThe global COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant shift in how and where work is conducted. Governments around the world initiated national lockdowns to enforce certain restrictions to curb the spread of infection and keep society functioning as normal. Businesses and institutions had to adopt flexible, remote working arrangements to achieve their ends during the pandemic. This study examined if remote work had any effect on employees’ work engagement and burnout, and if this relationship would be moderated or mediated by work overload and organisational support in South African organisations. A cross-sectional questionnaire design was utilized to obtain data from the sample. A sample of 103 employees from different organisations in South Africa participated in the study. Work overload and organisational support was measured using their respect subscales on the Job Demands-Resource scale. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory were used to measure the work engagement and burnout respectively. The results indicate that remote work does not predict both work engagement and burnout, nor was this relationship moderated by work overload and organisational support.