| dc.description.abstract | With the introduction of positive psychology the aim with organisational psychology
shifted to finding the 'happy/productive' worker and focusing more on work wellness.
Working as an engineer has generally been considered challenging, but tough demands
on today's engineers can cause exhaustion, which is due to a combination of personal
stressors, job and organisational stressors. However, recently the world of work has
started to change drastically - which also holds true for the engineering profession. One
of the focus areas of redress is the work-related well-being of engineers, and specifically
burnout, stress and work engagement.
This research focused on the total spectrum of wellness - from unwell-being (e.g.
burnout and stress) to well-being (e.g. work engagement). The moderating effects of
organisational commitment and dispositional optimism were investigated in order to
establish a causal model for burnout and engagement. The objectives of this research
were to standardise the MBI and the UWES for engineers, to determine the occupational
stressors of engineers and to develop and test a causal models of work-related well-being
of engineers.
The research findings are set out as four separate articles, each consisting of a brief
literature overview and an empirical study. A cross-sectional research design with a
survey as technique of data collection was used to achieve the objectives of this research.
The study population consisted of 369 engineers. A biographical questionnaire, the
Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey WI-GS), the Utrecht Work Engagement
Scale (UWES), the Job Characteristics Scale (JCS), the Organisational Stress Screening
Tool (ASSET), the Health subscales of the ASSET, the Organisational Commitment
subscale of the ASSET, and the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) were used.
Descriptive statistics, correlations, analysis of variance, factor analyses, multiple
regression analysis and structural equation modelling were used to analyse the data.
A three-factor model of burnout, comprising exhaustion, cynicism and professional
efficacy was confirmed. The internal consistencies of the scales were acceptable. The
results obtained from comparing burnout levels of various demographic groups showed
that practically significant differences existed between burnout of engineers with
different levels of job satisfaction, age, years of experience and self-rated performance.
Compared to normative data, participants reported lower levels of physical ill-health and
psychological outcomes of stress. The most important stressors identified were work-life
balance, work demands and work overload. The results do not support previous findings
that commitment has a protective effect against the negative consequences of workplace
stress. The buffer hypothesis of organisational commitment is not supported by the data.
Structural equation modelling confirmed a model of work engagement, consisting of
Vigour, Dedication and Absorption. These three factors had acceptable internal
consistencies. The results showed that the self-rated performance and job satisfaction of
engineers varied depending on their levels of work engagement. No demographic
differences regarding engagement levels could be found between the different age
groups, engineering environments, job levels and years of experience.
A good fit was found for a model in which exhaustion mediated the relationship between
job demands and ill-health, and work engagement (vigour and dedication) mediated the
relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. The results
suggested that the effect of a lack of job resources on exhaustion and the effect of job
resources on work engagement depends on the level of dispositional optimism.
Recommendations for future research were made. | |
