SciELO - Scientific Electronic Library Online

 
vol.34 issue1 author indexsubject indexarticles search
Home Pagealphabetic serial listing  

Services on Demand

Article

Indicators

Related links

  • On index processCited by Google
  • On index processSimilars in Google

Share


SA Journal of Industrial Psychology

On-line version ISSN 2071-0763
Print version ISSN 0258-5200

SA j. ind. Psychol. vol.34 n.1 Johannesburg  2008

 

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

 

Coping with stress in the workplace

 

 

Janine D OosthuizenI; Burger Van LillII

IJopie van Rooyen & Partners, South Africa
IISchool of Management Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Correspondence

 

 


ABSTRACT

The researchers investigated a simplified process model, a so-called salutogenic approach, of coping with stress in the workplace. Two constructs of salutogenic functioning, namely sense of coherence and locus of control (three dimensions: internal, external locus and autonomy), as well as the stress levels of 240 employees from a parastatal organisation were measured. As expected, individuals with a stronger sense of coherence and a stronger internal locus of control experienced lower levels of stress and vice versa. Nevertheless, in a regression analysis only the sense of coherence and external locus of control variables contributed significantly to variance in the criterion variable stress.

Keywords: stress, workplace, salutogenic approach, sense of coherence, parastatal organisation


 

 

“Full text available only in PDF format”

 

 

REFERENCES

Adams, J. (2007). Managing people in organizations: Contemporary theory and practice. Houndmills, UK: Parlgrave Macmillan.         [ Links ]

Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, stress and coping. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.         [ Links ]

Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unravelling the mystery ofhealth: How people manage stress and stay well. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.         [ Links ]

Atkinson, W. (2004). Stress: Risk management's most serious challenge? Risk Management, 51, 20-26.         [ Links ]

Cilliers, F. & Kossuth, S. (2002). The relationship between organisational climate and salutogenic functioning. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 28, 8-13.         [ Links ]

Dhaniram, N. (2003). Stress,burnout and salutogenic functioning amongst community service doctors in Kwazulu-Natal hospitals. Unpublished master's thesis, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.         [ Links ]

Employment Equity Act No. 55. (1998, October 19). Government Gazette Vol. 400, No. 19370. Cape Town.         [ Links ]

Field, A. (2000). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS for Windows: Advanced Techniques for the Beginner. London: Sage.         [ Links ]

Flannery, R.B. & Flannery, G.J. (1990). Sense of coherence, life stress and psychological distress: A prospective methodological inquiry. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46(4), 415-420.         [ Links ]

Florian, V., Mikulincer, M. & Taubman, O. (1995). Does hardiness contribute to mental health during a stressful real-life situation? The roles of appraisal and coping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(4), 687-695.         [ Links ]

Fontaine, K.R., Manstead, A.S.R. & Wagner, H. (1993). Optimism, perceived control over stress and coping. European Journal of Personality, 7, 267-281.         [ Links ]

Hart, P.M. & Cooper, C.L. (2001). Occupational stress: Toward a more integrated framework. In N. Anderson, D.S. Ones, H.K. Sinangil & C. Viswesvaran (Eds.). Handbook of industrial, work and organizational psychology: Vol. 2. Organizational psychology (pp. 93-114). London: Sage.         [ Links ]

Jackson, L. & Rothmann, S. (2001). Sense of coherence, self-efficacy, locus of control as predictors of job satisfaction. Poster presented at the 10th European Congress on Work and Organisational Psychology, Prague, Czech Republic.         [ Links ]

Kobasa, S.C. (1979). Stressful life events, personality and health: An enquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(1), 1-11.         [ Links ]

Kossuth, S.P. & Cilliers, F. (2002). The relationship between leadership dimensions, cultural beliefs and salutogenic functioning. South African Journal of Labour Relations, 26(1), 65-95.         [ Links ]

Kravetz, S., Drory, Y. & Florian, V. (1993). Hardiness and sense of coherence and their relation to negative affect. European Journal of Personality, 7, 233-244.         [ Links ]

Le Feure, M., Matteny, J. & Kolt, G.S. (2003). Eustress, distress and interpretation in occupational stress. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18, 726-744.         [ Links ]

Lowe, G.S. (2004). Creating healthy productive organisations. The Journal of Employee Assistance, 34, 7-10.         [ Links ]

Luthans, F. (2002). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.         [ Links ]

Morris, B.A. (2004). Stress test 2004. Risk and Insurance, 14, 32-34.         [ Links ]

Oosthuizen, J. (2006). The relationship between stress and salutogenic functioning amongst employees in a state owned enterprise. Unpublished master's thesis, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa.         [ Links ]

Pretorius, W. (2004). Organisational factors influencing the transformational process of a financial institution. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.         [ Links ]

Recupero, C.M. (2003). Enhancing organisational safety through stress management. The Journal of Employee Assistance, 33, 26-28.         [ Links ]

Rosenbaum, M. (1980). A schedule for assessing self-control behaviors: Preliminary findings. Behavior Therapy, 11(11), 109-121.         [ Links ]

Rosenbaum, M. (1988). Learned resourcefulness, stress and self-regulation. In S. Fisher & J. Reason (Eds.). Handbook of life-stress, cognition and health (pp. 483-496). Chichester: John Wiley.         [ Links ]

Rosenbaum, M. & Jaffe, Y. (1983). Learned helplessness: The role of individual differences in learned resourcefulness. British Journal of Social Psychology, 22, 215-225.         [ Links ]

Rotter, J. 1966). Generalized expectations of internal versus external control of reinforcements. Psychological Monographs, 80(1), 1-28.         [ Links ]

Rotter, J. (1990). Internal versus external control of reinforcements: A case history of a variable. American Psychologist, 45(4), 489-493.         [ Links ]

Schepers, J.M. (2005). Technical manual: Locus of Control Inventory. Unpublished manuscript, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.         [ Links ]

Shevel, A. (2007, July 22). Work disability payouts in SA are all in the head. Sunday Times, Business Times, p. 11.         [ Links ]

Smith, D.F. (2002). Functional salutogenic mechanisms of the brain. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 45, 319-328.         [ Links ]

Van Zyl, E. & Bester, C. (2002). 'n Vergelykende studie na die vlak en oorsake van werkstres by 'n groep geletterde en ongeletterde swart werknemers (A comparative study of the level and causes of occupational stress among groups of skilled and unskilled black employees). South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 27(3), 19-23.         [ Links ]

Van Zyl, E.S. & Van der Walt, H.S. (1991). Manualfor the Experience of Work and Life Circumstances Questionnaire (WLQ). Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.         [ Links ]

Van Zyl, E.S. & Van der Walt, H.S. (1994). Manual for the Experience of Work and Life Circumstances Questionnaire (WLQ). Bloemfontein.         [ Links ]

Viviers, A.M. (1998a). Stress: Identifying non-copers and helping them. Management Today, 14(7), 38-39.         [ Links ]

Viviers, A.M. (1998b). Stress: Is there anything positive about it? Management Today, 14(7), 42-43.         [ Links ]

Viviers, A.M. & Cilliers, F. (1999). Die verband tussen salutogenese en werkoriëntasie (The relationship between salutogenesis and work orientation). South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 25(1), 27-32.         [ Links ]

 

 

Correspondence:
Burger van Lill
E-mail: burger.vanlill@uctac.za

Creative Commons License All the contents of this journal, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License