Antecedents and outcomes of work-related psychological well-being of staff members of the University of Namibia
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Date
2013
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the antecedents of work-related
psychological well-being and the individual and organisational outcomes thereof for
staff members of the University of Namibia. Psychological well-being was
conceptualized as an interrelated process between antecedent variables,
psychological conditions, burnout, and work engagement. Institutions of Higher
Education across the world have experience tremendous changes during the past few decades. Academics have been envied for their tenure, light workloads, flexibility and perks, such as overseas trips for study and conference purposes, and the freedom to pursue their own research interests. However, during the past two decades many of these advantages have been eroded and higher education institutions no longer provide the low stress working environment that it once did, thereby threatening the psychological well-being of staff members of these institutions. The potential costs of poor psychological well-being to organisations include low morale, low quality of services and products, and high absenteeism and turnover rates. A structured questionnaire comprising scales from various measuring instruments (Antecedents Scale, Psychological Conditions Scale, Work Engagement Scale, Organisational Commitment Scale, Turnover Intention Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire) was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. Research participants included all the employees (n = 306) of the University of Namibia. Making use of SPSS 20.0, the researcher carried out the following statistical analyses: descriptive analysis, factor analysis, correlation analysis, hierarchical regression analysis and indirect effects. Results from the quantitative analyses showed that emotional and physical engagement was significantly predicted by work-role fit (β = .30, p < 0.01), co-worker relations (β = .20, p < 0.01) and psychological meaning (β = .39, p < 0.01). Organisational commitment was significantly predicted by psychological meaningfulness (β = .50, p < 0.01) and emotional and physical engagement (β = .50, p < 0.01). The study further confirmed that work role fit (r = -.31, p < 0.01), psychological meaningfulness (r = -.40, p <0.01), emotional and physical engagement (r = -.41, p < 0.01), and organisational commitment (r = -.37, p < 0.01 are negatively related to turnover intention. The results further demonstrated the significant effect of qualifications (p < 0.01; η2 =0.08) on cognitive engagement. Content analysis of the qualitative data indicated that employment resources played a significant role in work engagement and turnover intention, both as contributing and restraining factors. Work overload and management style were identified as significant restraining factors which detracted from emotional and physical engagement. This study provides important knowledge pertaining to the antecedents and outcomes of engagement and turnover intentions which can be used to develop future intervention strategies to prevent burnout, detachment and withdrawal behaviour of staff members of the University of Namibia.
Description
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Keywords
Well-being, Work engagement, psychological meaningfulness, Psychological safety, Psychological availability, Higher education