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Faculty of Management Sciences

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/13

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Occupational stress

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    Roots and causes of occupational stress amongst female academics in Universities of Technology in South Africa
    (Sciedu Press, 2022) Mathews, Mercillene; Khumalo, Njabulo; Dlamini, Bongani Innocent
    tress and stress-related problems have negative human resource and financial implications for Universities of Technology (UoT) in terms of absenteeism, productivity, organizational effectiveness, employee morale and medical aid subsidies. For tertiary institutions, the impact of stressed academics on core business activities relating to students and examinations are far-reaching. The paper assessed the roots and causes of occupational stress amongst female academics in a UoT in South Africa. The paper adopted a qualitative research approach with a focus group of selected female academics in the UoT. The paper revealed that workload and performance management, as well as family life and personal life; teaching vs research and administration; Covid-19 and online teaching and learning; holidays and leave and lack of leave; meetings and support deficiency; resources and lack of care and empathy, as well as poor HR, bullying and imposition and a lack of professionalism; nepotism and favouritism; retrenchments and instability, along with poor recognition and appreciation, were the roots that contribute to occupational stress in the UoT in SA. The paper recommends that effective interventions be implemented by the UoT in order to manage the stress of these female academics, thereby reducing the negative impact thereof on themselves and the institution. University policy-makers should devise a variety of solutions in a well-balanced package that places responsibility on both the university and staff to manage occupational stress.
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    Exploring perceptions of occupational stress amongst female academics in the Faculty of Management Sciences at the Durban University of Technology
    (2022) Mathews, Mercillene Perrene; Dlamini, Bongani Innocent; Khumalo, Njabulo
    Stress and stress-related problems have severe human resource and financial implications for organizations in terms of absenteeism, productivity, organizational effectiveness, employee morale and medical aid subsidies. For a tertiary institution like the Durban University of Technology (DUT), the impact of stressed academics on core business activities relating to students and examinations are far-reaching. The study established that female academics at the institution perceive themselves to be experiencing occupational stress and consequently defined the types of stressors that these academics are facing. Furthermore, the researcher attempted to establish the role of DUT, if any, in the management of stress amongst its female academics. A qualitative research methodology was adopted with a focus group of purposely selected female academics from the Faculty of Management Sciences. The findings of this study demonstrated that female academics in the Faculty of Management Sciences at the Durban University of Technology are indeed experiencing high stress levels as defined in the background to the study. Recommendations on possible effective interventions were also made in order to manage the stress that these female academics are experiencing, thereby reducing the negative impact thereof on themselves and DUT.