Volume 1, Issue 1,
28 February 2007
From Distress to Eustress ...
During February 2007, Prof.
Ian Rothmann presented a
paper on distress and eustress at the SA Chapter of
the ASTD. According to Prof.
Rothmann, distress occurs
when the demands placed
on the body exceeds its capacity to expend energy.
Eustress is the positive discrepancy between perceptions and desires, provided
that the discrepancy is important to the individual.
In the past, there was a
tendency to define health as
the absence of the negative
(distress) rather than the
presence of the positive
(eustress). A search on the
PsychInfo database showed
97705 citations for the word
“stress”, and only 45 citations for the word “eustress”.
A common misconception
propagated in many management books, is that (dis)
stress should be increased
to an optimal level. This idea
is based on the YerkesDodson law.
In 1908 Yerkes and
Dodson conducted research on the relationship
between task demands
and performance of mice.
The Yerkes-Dodson law
was formulated, which
states that stress is beneficial to performance until an
optimal level of stress is
reached. However, it
should be noted that
Yerkes and Dodson studied
the relationship between
the risk of electrical shock
and choosing the right box
in mice. The words stress,
arousal and performance
never occurred in their
work. It is not clear whether
Yerkes and Dodson’s findings with mice should be
applied to human work
environments.
Eustress is not the
same as good distress.
Therefore one should not
try to induce stress in workers to “get the level of
stress at an optimal level”.
Eustress is indicated by
hope (the belief that one
has the will and the way
to succeed), meaningfulness (the extent to which
work is worth investing
in), and positive affect
(energy and enthusiasm).
Distress is indicated by
negative affect, anger, job
alienation, and frustration. Both “negative” and
“positive” aspects of
health and well-being
should be regarded as
focus areas for diagnosis
and intervention. While
intervention programmes
often focus on empowering employees to manage
stress, organisations
should also be regarded
as a focus area for diagnosis and intervention.
Source: Nelson, D.L. &
Simmons, B.L. (2003).
Health psychology and work
stress: A more positive
approach. In J.C. Quick &
L.E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health
psychology. Washington:
APA.
Research Fellow at UN University
Prof. Wim Naudé, director of WorkWell: Research
Unit for People, Policy and
Performance has been
appointed as a senior research fellow at the World
Institute for Development
Economics Research
(WIDER) at the United Nations University, located in
Helsinki, Finland.
Wim is currently on
leave from WorkWell to
take up this appointment.
At WIDER, Wim plans to
further the research on
economic development
started at WorkWell, in
particular, to broaden the
scope of his research to
encompass a range of developing countries, and to
focus on the poorest nations. Currently, more than
a fifth of the world’s population lives in absolute poverty, facing significant material and psychological
challenges in coping from
day to day.
Wim’s research at
WIDER is meant to contribute, specifically from an
African perspective, towards the design of appropriate global policies to
improve human wellbeing
across its various dimen-
sions in these poor regions.
Wim has been joined by his
wife Valerie, and their four
sons, who have now taken
up ice-skating during the
Finnish winter.
Prof. Wim Naudé in Helsinki
Inside this issue:
Meet WorkWell researchers
2
Chinese PhD student worked
well
3
SAPI Project: Where are we?
4
Training for Wellness Practitioners
4
PhD defense at Tilburg University
5
Dean’s dream for the Faculty
7
The WorkWell Calendar
8
Special points of
interest:
• During 2006, researchers in
WorkWell produced 33,87
article equivalents (the highest since the establishment of
the focus area).
• WorkWell initiated a short
course in research methodology from 2007.
• Prof. Ian Rothmann is the
Acting Director of WorkWell
from Jan. 2007 to Dec. 2008.
DOWell Newsletter
How Do People Cope with Stress?
Dr. Jaco Pienaar, focuses on
stress and coping in his
research
Jaco Pienaar, a Senior Lecturer in Industrial Psychology and the leader of a research
project on stress, coping and dysfunctional behaviour in WorkWell is interested in how
people cope with stress. Jaco started his studies in Industrial Psychology in 1996 and
completed a PhD in 2003. In his PhD, Jaco studied personality, coping, occupational
stress, and suicide ideation in the South African Police Service. He registered as an
Industrial Psychologist at the Health Professions Council of South Africa in 2004. Jaco
was appointed as a researcher at the WorkWell Research Unit and a lecturer in Industrial Psychology in 2003. He was promoted to senior researcher/lecturer in 2006. He
successfully supervised 22 master’s dissertations and 1 PhD thesis from 2003 to
2006. Jaco is author and/or co-author of 14 peer-reviewed national and international
articles. Furthermore, he presented 22 papers at national and international conferences.
Work/life Balance Research Flourishes
Prof. Karina Mostert, focuses
on work/life Interaction and
work-related well-being in her
research
Karina Mostert, an Associate Professor
in Industrial Psychology and the leader
of a research project on work/life interaction and well-being in WorkWell completed various studies on work/life
balance in South Africa. She started
her studies in Industrial Psychology in
1997 and completed a PhD in 2003.
In her PhD, Karina studied the workrelated well-being of police officers in
South Africa. She registered as an Industrial Psychologist at the Health Professions Council of South Africa in
2004. Karina was appointed as a lec-
turer in Industrial Psychology in 2003, and
was promoted to senior lecturer in 2005.
She was promoted to an Associated Professor in January 2007. She successfully supervised 20 master’s dissertations and 2
PhD theses from 2003 to 2006. Karina is
author and/or co-author of 14 peerreviewed national and international articles.
Furthermore, she presented 29 papers at
national and international conferences.
Staff Member Performs...
Nico van der Merwe obtained the degree B.Com in 2002 (cum laude) at the
North-West University. In 2003 he passed the Honours B.Com degree
(Chartered Accountancy). He completed his internshiip at Deloitte & Touche
in Johannesburg in 2006. During this period, he passed both part 1 and 2 of
the qualifying examinations of the SA Institute for Chartered Accountancy.
He also completed a master’s degree in Management Accounting with an
average of 82%. In his master’s dissertation he focused on performance
management in the vehicle manufacturing industry of South Africa.
Page 2
Nico v.d. Merwe
Volume 1, Issue 1
Chinese PhD Student Worked Well!
More than three years ago, when Sha Ran decided to come to study in South Africa,
she never imagined how important this decision would be in the journey of her life.
Even up to now, she is still sometimes amazed and bewildered what has happened
to her. When she thinks back over the past three years, she expressed her experiences as follows:
“It is in South Africa that I have met two special people, my promoters Prof. Wim
Naudé and Prof. Wilma Viviers. It is with their great help and brilliant guidance that
my dream has come true. During the three years from 2004 to 2007, I have managed to finish both my Master’s and PhD degrees. Now, I have been appointed as a
post-doctoral researcher in the School of Economics at the North-West University. It
is in South Africa that I have made many life-long friends from different countries.
Living in a foreign country far away from home is tough, very tough. But thanks to
the support of these friends I have been able to make the transition. They have
shared in my every joy and sorrow and their supports have carried me through
many difficulties. I owe a special debt of gratitude to them!
“This year, it is my
fourth year in
South Africa. In my
heart, I already
regard South Africa
as my second
home country. I
deeply love this
land and the
people who live
here.“
It is in South Africa that I have blossomed, become confident and independent!
It is in South Africa that I have experienced so many different languages and cultures!
It is in South Africa that I have enjoyed South African sunshine and “braai”!
It is in South Africa that I have given hugs to adult men in public!
This year, it is my fourth year in South Africa. In my heart, I already regard South
Africa as my second home country. I deeply love this land and the people who live
here. One day when I leave this beautiful country, I will take a handful of South African soil back with me to China! “
Sha Ran (Helen) - postdoctoral student in WorkWell
How to Deal with Psychological Contracts ...
Prof René Schalk from Tilburg University visited the
North-West University in September 2006. The visit had
various purposes, including the final preparations of
Bennie Linde’s PhD thesis, of which he is the promoter.
Bennie and René also presented a workshop at Fidentia
in Cape Town, where research feedback was given to the
institution and new research areas were discussed. During his visit, René assisted master’s students at the
North-West University with their dissertations. Bennie
recently submitted his PhD thesis for examination at Tilburg University and will defend his thesis in June 2007.
Bennie Linde and Prof. Rene Schalk at Table Mountain in Cape Town
Page 3
DOWell Newsletter
SAPI Project: Where are We?
The team who participates in the development of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) will meet in March 2007 to consolidate the findings of the
first phase of the research and to plan the next phase. The team members
include Prof. Fons van de Vijver (Tilburg University), Prof. Ian Rothmann
(North-West University), Prof. Deon de Bruin (University of Johannesburg), Dr.
Deon Meiring (North-West University), Mr. Alewyn Nel (PhD student), and Ms.
Crizelle Swanepoel (PhD student). Master’s students from North-West University and the University of Johannesburg and fieldworkers completed the first
phase of the project in December 2006. A total of 120 individuals from 11
language groups in South Africa were interviewed to gather personality descriptive terms. Data was captured and translated by language experts. More
than 5000 personality descriptive terms were identified in each of the language groups in South Africa. After clustering the terms, about 140 personality traits for each language group remained. During the next few months commonalities among the terms in the language groups will be identified. The 11
developed personality taxonomies will be presented at a workshop on 22-23
March 2007 to a number of cultural and language experts.
PhD students Crizelle Swanepoel
and Alewyn Nel are working on the
SAPI project
Training for Wellness Practitioners
Charlotte Sieberhagen, Training
Coordinator: Employee Health
and Wellness
The shift in employee health and wellness provision in the workplace to evidence-based practices in support of the
business, legal and moral case for wellness, requires a new set of skills from
employee health and wellness practitioners. WorkWell, The Research Unit for
People, Policy and Performance in collaboration with Afriforte is proud to announce the implementation of five short
courses, developed specifically to enhance the skills of employee health and
wellness practitioners in rendering evidence-based employee health and wellness services. The short courses address the principles of managed well-
ness care, wellness and health promotion in the workplace, dysfunctional
behaviour, and employee health and
wellness information management.
The short courses are presented as
self-paced, distance learning embracing practical and interactive learning
material. The short course on Managed Wellness Care will be available in
March 2007. For more information
contact Ms Charlotte Sieberhagen at
018 299 1347 (office hours), or email: info@afriforte.co.za, or visit
www.afriforte.co.za.
Did you know?
In the UK 22.2 work days per year were lost per person suffering from illness. 28.5
days per year were lost per person suffering from stress, anxiety, and depression.
Page 4
Volume 1, Issue 1,
Multiple Regression Analysis Workshop
Prof. Ian Rothmann and Dr. Deon Meiring were invited to a weekend with Prof.
Gert Roodt, Prof. Deon de Bruin
(University of Johannesburg) and Prof.
Herman Aguinis (University of Denver).
The “mean green team” spent four exciting days at the Madikwe Hills Lodge.
From 5-7 February 2007 all PhD students in the Work Wellness Research
Programme joined staff members to
attend a multiple regression analysis
workshop presented by Prof. Aguinis at
the University of Johannesburg. Prof.
Aguinis is an expert on moderated regression analysis.
WorkWell participants with Prof.
Herman Aguinis at the multiple
regression workshop at the University of Johannesburg
Full-time PhD
Students Take
Over ...
In 2007 a record number of 10
full-time students registered for
PhD studies in the Work
Wellness Research Programme.
The picture shows Lelani Brand,
Charlotte Sieberhagen, Alewyn
Nel, Madeltyn Strydom, Runel
Biela, Eileen Koekemoer, Crizelle
Swanepoel, Lizelle Wentzel, and
Chenell Buys.
PhD Defense at Tilburg University
On 20 February 2007 Deon Meiring will be defending his PhD thesis titled “Bias
and equivalence of psychological tests in South Africa” in Tilburg,. According to
Deon, psychological assessment can be seen as a product of the history and the
dynamics of the South African society where Apartheid had played a major role in
influencing testing practices. Democratization brought along new legislation in
the form of the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998 that set out new rules
whereby psychologists using psychological measures have to comply with. Deon
was interested in the question of whether the test battery used by the South African Police Service to select police officials complies with the Employment Equity
Act, according to which psychological tests can only be used if they are unbiased.
Prof. Fons van de Vijver and Prof. Ian Rothmann were the promoters of the study.
A big after party has been planned to take place at the famous “Het Dorstige
Hert” in Tilburg.
Deon Meiring who will defend
his PhD thesis at Tilburg University in the Netherlands on
20 February 2007
Page 5
DOWell Newsletter
,
What is Psychological Fitness?
According to the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993 all employees who are
required to work or to be supported on a suspended platform should be physically
and psychologically fit to work safely in such an environment. Seeing that this act
holds major implications for construction companies, the WorkWell Research Unit is
currently conducting research on the development and validation of a tool to measure psychological fitness. In order to develop this measure, Lelanie Brand (PhD student) will conduct a literature review and interviews with various stakeholders in
construction companies to conceptualise psychological fitness and to identify the
constructs that this measurement will comprise of. We are planning to conduct the
first assessment on the target group by August 2007.
Lelani Brand, a PhD student who is conducting
research on psychological fitness
Promote Work/life Balance!
Lizelle Wentzel is a PhD
Student in WorkWell
The work-life integration construct as a business imperative has been of growing
concern in organisations outside South Africa, particularly given the pressure to create a sustainable global competitive advantage through human capital. Furthermore, it seems that a large amount of work is covered in other countries regarding
work-family integration research, practice and organisational policies. However, the
same initiatives seem to be lacking in South Africa. Considering this, it would be of
utmost importance to create an intervention programme applicable to South African
companies. Lizelle Wentzel will focus on work/life balance interventions in her PhD.
The objective of this study will be to develop and test the effectiveness of a work-life
integration intervention programme for multi-cultural companies in South Africa.
Can We Measure Work/life Interaction?
One of the major Work/life Interaction (WLI) projects focus on the development and
validation of a WLI instrument that measures WLI in the South African context and to
test a structural model of WLI for different ethnic groups. The first phase of the project
was to investigate the experiences of WLI across different culture groups within South
Africa from a phenomenological perspective. Data was gathered by means of 95 qualitative interviews with different language and occupational groups. This information will
be used to develop the measuring instrument and to test a structural model including
main characteristics of the job, WLI and health-related outcomes.
Eileen Koekemoer, PhD
student is conducting
research regarding work/
life interaction in South
Africa
Page 6
Volume 1, Issue 1,
Dean’s Dream for the Faculty ...
Prof. Theuns Eloff, newly appointed Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University, obtained a doctoral degree in Management Accounting at the Potchefstroom University for CHE. In January 1970 he was appointed as a lecturer in Managerial
Accounting and was promoted to a senior lector in 1976. In 1980, Theuns was
promoted to Associate Professor, and to Professor in 1984. He served as the
Head of Department of Managerial Accounting since 1986 and became Director of the School for Accounting four years later. In 2006 Theuns was appointed
as Dean. His vision is that the Faculty should deliver competent undergraduate
and postgraduate students, quality education, as well as research. Theuns is
dedicated to promote research in all disciplines in the faculty. According to him
no resources will be spared to reach these goals within his term as Dean. His
wishes for all affiliated to the faculty are to become more community-oriented,
to enjoy what they are doing, and most of all to be happy in their day-to-day activities.
Prof. Theuns Eloff, Dean of the
Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the
Potchefstroom Campus of
Researching Emotions
Prof. Johnny Fontaine of Ghent University recently
presented a workshop on “Challenges on crosscultural emotions research” at the North-West University. The workshop was attended by PhD students and staff members of the WorkWell Research
Unit, Stellenbosch University, Unisa and the private
sector. Research about emotions are of special
interest in South-Africa. There is a huge debate in
the emotion literature between universalists and
relativists. According to the universalists, emotions
are biologically driven processes that are typical for
the human species and are therefore universal.
According to the relativists, emotions are intimately
tied with the social and cultural context in which
they emerge, with the biological underpinnings playing at best a background role. While both universalists and relativists have each reported convincing
data to justify their position, the interesting scientific question is not any more whether one or the
other is right, but at which stage universal aspects
of emotions become culturally specific. South-Africa
forms and ideal context to investigate the impact of
culture on emotions, because of its cultural diversity. Many psychological interventions, often developed in the West, can only be successfully applied if
they focus on universal processes and will not work
or even have adverse effects if they focus on culture-specific aspects.
Prof. Johnny Fontaine (above) and participants in the
study (below)
Page 7
Workwell Research Unit
North-West University
Potchefstroom
2520
Tel: +27-(0)18-299-1397
Fax: +27-(0)18-299-1360
e-mail: Ian.Rothmann@nwu.ac.za
The mission of the WorkWell Research Unit is to a) provide original,
interesting and rigorous research aimed at a broader scientific understanding, from an economics and management view of the world
of people’s work, and of the ways in which people in the working
environment interact through markets to create value for households, organisations, countries and regions; b) focus in this on economic development and work wellness as key areas of the world of
work; c) enhance the transfer of knowledge from research through
postgraduate training that contributes to economic performance
and people’s development and advance science in Africa, and d)
Share expertise in the key areas of work with organisations, government and households to contribute to the sustainability of the research programme and to improve policies for economic and organisational performance in Africa.
Good thinkers are always in demand...
A person who know how, may always have a job.
But a person who knows why, will
We’re on the Web!
www.workwell.co.za
always be the boss
~John Maxwell~
The WorkWell Calendar
The WorkWell
Support Team
26-28 February 2007: Prof.
L. Cuyvers visits the School
for Economics.
18-24 March 2007: Prof. Fons
van de Vijver visits the WorkWell Research Unit.
1 March 2007: Prof. Ype
Poortinga presents a workshop titled: “Towards a Culture-Informed Industrial Psychology”.
19 March 2007: Prof. Fons van
de Vijver presents a workshop
on Equivalence and Bias.
6-7 March 2007: Certificate
in Research Methodology.
Melanie Matthews, Mariana
Kleynhans and Elize Grimbeek
7 March 2007: Meeting —
Work Wellness Research
Programme.
14 March 2007: Meeting —
WorkWell Research Committee.
16 March 2007: Workshop
with School of Accounting.
22-23 March 2007: SAPI workshop with cultural experts.
22-28 April 2007: Prof. Hans
de Witte visits the WorkWell
Research Unit.
23 April 2007: Prof. Hans de
Witte presents a workshop on
Job Insecurity.