Enhancing the well-being of support services staff in higher education: The power of appreciation
SA Journal of Industrial Psychology
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Enhancing the well-being of support services staff in higher education: The power of appreciation | |
| Creator | van Straaten, Laurika du Plessis, Annelize van Tonder, S.P. Fanus | |
| Description | Orientation: A literature search for studies on the well-being of support staff of higher education institutions (HEIs) produced very little results. Appreciation was then used to identify elements that might enhance the well-being of a selected HEI’s support staff.Research purpose: The aim was to explore the strengths of a selected HEI that might serve as driving forces for enhancing its support staff’s well-being.Motivation for the study: The lack of research on the well-being of support staff motivated the study. A need was identified to explore driving forces that might enhance their well-being.Research design, approach and method: A literature review guided by theoretical perspectives and theories on staff well-being was conducted. Subsequently, a qualitative action research design involving an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) workshop with support staff of an institution was followed.Main findings: The following strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of the institution’s support services staff were identified: hard-working and dedicated support staff, positive relations among colleagues, a willingness to adapt to change,good remuneration and benefits, job security and a supportive work environment. Appreciative Inquiry was found to be well suited for identifying such strengths, as opposed to methods that focus on identifying problems or weaknesses of an organisation. As a result of this study, the relevant institution might react and build on these identified strengths towards promoting the well-being of its support staff.Practical/managerial implications: Institutions should make an effort to enhance staff well being. The results of the study could also be used to encourage HEIs to use AI to establish optimal staff well-being.Contribution/value add: The study confirmed the power of appreciation to identify the strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of support staff of an HEI. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2016-07-28 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/sajip.v42i1.1301 | |
| Source | SA Journal of Industrial Psychology; Vol 42, No 1 (2016); 10 pages 2071-0763 0258-5200 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1301/1941
https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1301/1942
https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1301/1943
https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1301/1936
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