| 1. |
-
Cases on professional distance education degree programs and practices : successes, challenges and issues
- 2013
-
Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although internet technologies have transformed the concept of professional development by providing the opportunity for virtual learning environments in a non-traditional setting, the implementation of professional distance education programs still poses a challenge.Cases on Professional Distance Education Degree Programs and Practices: Successes, Challenges, and Issues examines the best practices for executing technology applications and the utilization of distance education techniques. This publication will serve as a reference for academics and instructors coordinating distance education programs, initiating distance education courses, and implementing such programs for those earning professional degrees.
|
|
| 2. |
- Pienaar, J., et al.
(författare)
-
The cognitive/affective distinction of job insecurity : validation and differential relations
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Southern African Business Review. - 1998-8125. ; 17:2, s. 1-22
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Job insecurity as a work-related stressor is well established through three decades of research. It has been related to outcomes such as decreased job satisfaction, organisational commitment and performance as well as increased ill-health and organisational turnover. However, some important conceptual and theoretical issues are still under discussion, with implications for the measurement of the construct. We administered a short version of the measure of job insecurity originally devised by De Witte (2000), which distinguishes between cognitive and affective job insecurity. Data on job satisfaction, commitment, psychological ill-health and emotional exhaustion were also gathered from employees in a variety of South African organisations (N=1925) by means of anonymous surveys. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the cognitive and affective dimensions of job insecurity could be distinguished in this sample of South African employees, and the two dimensions evidenced adequate reliability. Equivalence analyses showed that the measurement properties of the scale were invariant across various demographic groups. The relationships with outcome variables were investigated by means of correlations and regression analyses. Cognitive job insecurity was predictive of all outcome variables, whereas affective job insecurity primarily played a role for emotional exhaustion. Norm data concerning levels of cognitive and affective job insecurity are presented to guide future South African studies.
|
|
| 3. |
- Sverke, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
-
Job insecurity and absenteeism : Cross-lagged analysis
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Occupational Stress and Health, Washington, DC, March 5-8, 2008.
-
Konferensbidrag (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Job insecurity can be defined as a perceptual phenomenon, reflecting the fear of involuntary job loss. One important characteristic with respect to this worry about the future of the employment situation is that it is involuntary. Another distinguishing feature about job insecurity is that it concerns an uncertainty regarding future events. A growing number of studies, including a meta-analysis, have documented that job insecurity is related to job dissatisfaction, impaired organizational commitment, increased turnover intention, and physical as well as mental health complaints. There are also indications that the worry of job loss may be related to factors such as impaired compliance with safety procedures, ischemic heart disease occurrence, and absenteeism.However, most studies have been cross-sectional and therefore unable to control for initial levels of the outcome variables and examine temporal precedence. Only a few studies have explicitly addressed the issue of direction of relation between job insecurity and such outcomes. The aim of the present study is to shed light on the issue of causality in the relationship between job insecurity and potential outcomes that have attracted comparatively limited research attention – sickness absenteeism and presenteeism. Drawing upon the literature on work stress, it is reasonable to suggest that job insecurity, because of its associations with mental and somatic symptoms, may lead to increased absenteeism from work. Equally plausible, however, would be to assume that individuals with high absenteeism records would feel more at risk in organizations where there is a threat of layoffs. In terms of presenteeism, job insecurity may lead workers to feel a pressure to go to work even when they are unhealthy. In contrast, it may also be that sickness presenteeism is a way to show that one is valuable to the organization, as an attempt to minimize the risk of being seen as redundant in the future.Longitudinal questionnaire data collected among white-collar workers in a Swedish organization, with a one-year time interval, served as input to cross-lagged analysis. In an attempt to rule out the alternative hypothesis that job insecurity as well as absenteeism and presenteeism are caused by third variables, we controlled for factors such as demographics and well-being. Preliminary analyses reveal that job insecurity was positively associated with subsequent absenteeism, but not with presenteeism, and there was no support for reverse causality. The results suggest that absenteeism may be an important, albeit hitherto rather neglected, outcome of job insecurity, and contribute to the understanding of the development and consequences of job insecurity by shedding light on the issue of sickness absenteeism/presenteeism in this process.
|
|
| 4. |
- Sverke, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
-
Job insecurity and absenteeism: Cross-lagged analysis.
- 2006
-
Ingår i: The 7th Conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology.
-
Konferensbidrag (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Organizations in most industrialized countries have engaged in various adaptive strategies in order to remain competitive in a gradually more unpredictable environment. Restructurings, privatizations, mergers and acquisitions have become more frequent, and typically involve personnel reductions through layoffs, offers of early retirement, and increased utilization of subcontracted workers. Although these reorganizations differ in many ways, they usually have at least one thing in common – they lead to the workforce being permeated with worries regarding the future. Job insecurity can be defined as a perceptual phenomenon, reflecting the fear of involuntary job loss. In the literature, job insecurity is often considered a classical work stressor, and it has been linked to several negative outcomes. A growing number of studies have documented that job insecurity is related to job dissatisfaction, impaired organizational commitment, increased turnover intention, and physical as well as mental health complaints. There are also indications that the worry of job loss may be related to factors such as impaired compliance with safety procedures, ischemic heart disease occurrence, and absenteeism. However, whereas previous research has concluded that job insecurity has psychological, behavioral as well as health-related consequences, there is insufficient evidence to draw any causal inferences. The aim of the present study is to shed light on the issue of causality in the relationship between job insecurity and a potential outcome that has attracted comparatively limited research attention – absenteeism. Drawing upon the literature on work stress, it is reasonable to suggest that job insecurity may lead to increased absenteeism from work. Equally plausible, however, would be to assume that individuals with high absenteeism records would feel more at risk in organizations where there is a threat of layoffs. The study also aims at ruling out the yet alternative hypothesis that both job insecurity and absenteeism are caused by third variables, by controlling for factors such as seniority and well-being. Longitudinal data for this study are currently being collected using mail questionnaires among white-collar workers in a Swedish organization. The second wave of data collection, conducted a year after Time 1, is currently being completed. Preliminary analyses based on cross-sectional Time data indicate a positive association between job insecurity and absenteeism. The longitudinal design will make it possible to test various alternative models of causality. Latent variable cross-lagged analysis will contribute to the understanding of the development and consequences of job insecurity by shedding light on the issue of absenteeism in this process.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
