Masters Degrees (Industrial Psychology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Industrial Psychology) by Author "Abrahams, Zerelda"

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    Illegitimate tasks, personal resources and job resources as antecedents of job crafting
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-12) Abrahams, Zerelda; Boonzaier, Billy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Science. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the modern world of work, there has been growing concern regarding the adequacy of traditional job redesign approaches in serving the changing nature of work. It has specifically been argued by Frese and Fay (2001) that in the modern world of work, jobs require a higher degree of initiative due to factors such as global competition, faster rate of innovation, new production concepts, and changes in the job concept. The modern world of work poses a number of challenges which include increased levels of initiative by employees in order to develop their knowledge and skills in order to remain ‘current’, creative ideas, and an increased need for employees to make more and more decisions on their own. In order to survive in today’s challenging market place, employees thus should show high levels of proactivity and initiative. Job crafting is the process by which individuals make physical and cognitive changes to the task or relational boundaries of their work (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001). It is proactive behaviour requiring adaptation to challenges and constraints presented by the working environment. It thus would be useful to be aware of the most important factors that contribute to the occurrence of such proactive behaviours. The objective of this research study therefore was to test whether salient job and personal resources, and job demands as depicted by the Job Demands-Resources model account for the variance in job crafting for a sample of employees working within the financial services industry. A literature review was conducted and hypotheses were formulated, and tested by means of an ex post facto correlation design. Data was collected from a sample of 236 employees employed by a company within the financial services industry. A self-administered web-based survey was used for the purpose of collecting the data and participation in the study was voluntary. The data collected was strictly confidential and anonymous. A number of separate measurement instruments to measure the specific latent variables were carefully selected for inclusion in the survey based on their reliability and validity. The research findings specifically illustrate that employees who receive feedback on their performance as well as those who are engaged in their jobs, are more likely to craft their jobs. The results also show that engagement mediates the relationship between autonomy and job crafting, as well as the relationship between feedback and job crafting (the latter being mediated only partially by engagement). Finally, it was found that proactive personality was positively related to job crafting. The research findings therefore illustrate the importance of specific job- and personal resources in fostering job crafting behaviours. The results, together with the managerial implications and practical interventions suggested, provide South African managers and industrial psychologists with valuable insight into managing and encouraging job crafting within the workplace. This research study commenced only once ethical clearance was received from the Research Ethics Committee of Stellenbosch University.