The relation of work stressors to work/life balance and health In a transforming higher education institution

Abstract

Across the world, transformation plays a critical role in organisations. Many organisations have embarked on programmes to transform the workplace to remain competitive, and higher education institutions in South Africa have not been excluded from this. These institutions have experienced pressure to change, mainly due to the political transformation following the transition to a new political dispensation and the resulting change in government policy. Social transformation has, in turn, led to mergers, acquisitions and structural reorganisation in these institutions. In addition, the market economy, privatisation, technological advancement, innovation, and cultural influences have all contributed to transformation at higher education ins ti tuti on s. The general objectives of this study were twofold, and were investigated in two separate articles. The first article studied the relationship between qualitative and quantitative role overload, work/life balance and life/work imbalance and social support. A further objective was to determine whether social support from different sources (supervisor, co-workers and family) moderated the effect of role overload on work/life- and life/work balance. The second article studied the relationship between job autonomy and centralisation, work/life balance and life/work imbalance and employee health. A further objective was to determine whether work/life- and life/work balance moderated the effect of job autonomy and centralisation on employee health. A cross-sectional design was used. The study population (n=207) comprised all staff of a higher education institution in South Africa. The measuring in struments of quantitative role overload, qualitative role overload, social support (supervisor, co-workers and family) and work/life balance, life/work imbalance were administered in order to meet the research objectives of the first article. For the second article, measuring instruments of job autonomy, centralisation, work/life balance, life/work imbalance and employee health were employed. For both articles, descriptive statistics (e.g. means, standard deviations, skewness and kurtosis) were used to analyse the data. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses was used to test for the hypothesized moderating effects. In the first article, the results of the regression analyses showed that quantitative role overload proved to be a predictor of work/life imbalance, however, employees experiencing quantitative role overload are also likely to experience qualitative role overload, both quantitative- and qualitative role overload relating to conditions that require more of an individual than what he/she possesses, impacting on work/life imbalance. Social support from supervisors, co-workers and family proved that only social support from co-workers moderated the effect of role overload on work/life imbalance, whereby co-workers serve as a buffer and outlet sharing knowledge and advice. 1n the second article, the results of the regression analyses proved that job autonomy, as a job characteristic, related to better general health. Job autonomy proved to be consistently the more important determinant of job satisfaction whereby the employee experiences a greater degree of decision-making authority, impacting on the job. Work/life imbalance also showed a positive correlation with general health thus moderating the effect on employee general health. By way of conclusion, the limitations of the study are noted and recommendations for the organisation and future research are made.