Towards positive institutions: Positive practices and employees’ experiences in higher education institutions

SA Journal of Industrial Psychology

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Towards positive institutions: Positive practices and employees’ experiences in higher education institutions
 
Creator Janse van Rensburg, Christine Rothmann, Sebastiaan
 
Subject Industrial psychology; organisational behaviour positive organisational practices; job demands and resources; person–environment fit; well-being; organisational behaviour.
Description Orientation: Positive organisational functioning is a paradox. Both positive and negative tendencies could enable positive functioning. While an overemphasis on either the positive or the negative aspect is dysfunctional, positive factors must be given extra emphasis for positivity to occur because negativity usually dominates.Research purpose: This study aimed to investigate how positive organisational practices relate to job demands and resources, person–environment fit and well-being.Motivation for the study: Work in organisations and experiences thereof are not always positive. However, focussing on positive practices even when the context and experiences thereof are negative might facilitate positive functioning of individuals and their institutions.Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample of 339 academic employees from three higher education institutions in South Africa. The Positive Practices Questionnaire, the Job Demands–Resources Scale, two perceived person–environment fit scales and the Flourishing-at-Work Scale – Short Form were administered.Main findings: Results from latent profile analyses provided evidence of four latent profiles. Analysis showed that a perceived lack of positive practices in institutions was associated with perceptions of overload, lack of role clarity, poor supervisor and co-worker relationships, lack of person–environment fit, and reduced emotional, psychological and social well-being.Practical/managerial implications: Interventions should be employed by leaders to address positive practices in higher education institutions.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to scientific knowledge regarding the relations between positive organisational practices and experiences of job demands and resources, person–environment fit and well-being of academics.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2020-02-25
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Survey; latent profile analysis
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/sajip.v46i0.1733
 
Source SA Journal of Industrial Psychology; Vol 46 (2020); 11 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/1733/2769 https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1733/2771 https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1733/2770 https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1733/2767
 
Coverage Gauteng, Free State 2014 24-74 years; 53.7% females
Rights Copyright (c) 2020 Christine Janse van Rensburg, Sebastiaan Rothmann https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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