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    Factors related to the cognitive appraisal of workplace health and safety change : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2019) Hurley, Matt Raymond
    Health and safety change is a critical and ongoing factor in New Zealand workplaces today, aiming to contribute to the enhanced health and safety performance of both organisations and society. There is a gap in the literature surrounding how and what factors relate to individual's responses to specific organisational change, such as safety-oriented change; the majority of literature focuses on restructuring and predominantly negatively experienced changes (Biggane, Allen, Amis, Fugate, & Steinbauer, 2017). We utilise the theory of cognitive appraisal (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) integrated with a job demands and resources approach (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001; Hobfoll, 1989) to explain why certain factors, such as Safety Climate, Role type, Perceived Scale of change, and Perceived Favourableness of change may relate to how individuals cognitively appraise change. Through the participation of 178 employees of various New Zealand organisations, within a multitude of industries and occupations, measures targeting the Perceived Scale at the personal and work unit level and Perceived Favourableness of change outcomes experienced, alongside measures of safety climate, challenge appraisal and threat appraisal with a number of demographic questions were distributed. Results demonstrated that Perceived Favourableness of change outcomes and Perceived Personal Scale of change played a key role in the appraisal process acting as situational factors predicting appraisal and emphasising the relevance of resource gain and its extrinsic and intrinsic value in change. Safety climate was found to not mediate responses to health and safety change, such as cognitive appraisal. Role type did not moderate appraisal. Findings indicated that organisations do not need to focus on developing a safety climate before implementing safety change and need to focus on perceptions of the scale and the favourable nature of change, utilising participation and involvement to achieve both desirable and functional change, and positive responses to the changes.
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    The three E's of occupational wellbeing : a study of New Zealand veterinary nurse's workplace engagement, exchange, and exhaustion : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2014) Kimber, Stafford W
    Occupational wellbeing is an ongoing concern for most employees and their organisations. Occupational stress research has been conducted for more than three decades, however its antipode, occupational eustress, has been present for half the time. Commonly researched manifestations of occupational distress and eustress are burnout and workplace engagement respectively, and both have been shown to occur in a range of roles and professions. Therefore, the goal of this research was to investigate work–related wellbeing among veterinary nurses, a relatively un–researched group, using the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model. A cross–sectional approach was used. Structural equation modelling was used to ascertain the JD-R model’s motivational and health pathways among veterinary nurses. Data were collected by online survey, with the help of eight New Zealand tertiary providers and the New Zealand Veterinary Nurses Association. One hundred and eighty–two participants provided data. The results show that a large proportion of participants displayed high levels of workplace engagement and high quality relationships among team members. In addition, most also saw their work as being of benefit to their family life, and reported feeling engaged with their work. However, the relatively high levels of reported job demands could be of concern, as high demands can lead to emotional exhaustion over time. This research identified reasons to expand the JD-R conceptualisation of job resources and provided a guide towards healthier workplace practices such as identifying ways to increase work–family balance, build solid team–member relationships, and provide adequate job resources to address times of high demand.
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    Plateau and transition : career dynamics in a changing world of work : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1999) Cable, Donald Alfred James
    This research investigated a number of hypotheses relevant to employee attitudes towards career plateau and career transition. The impact of job satisfaction, education, and the life balance orientation of individuals on career plateau and career transition, and the relationship between the two, was explored. As well as demographics, data pertaining to occupation, education, career status, career intentions, job satisfaction and life interests were examined. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 234 managerial and supervisory employees from four major organisations. Within the study a subjectively based measure of career plateau was found to have greater explanatory power than an objectively based measure in many of the hypotheses investigated. Multiple regression analysis was utilised to explore the relationship between career plateau and career transition. Subjective career plateau contributed significantly to variability in career transition with 18% of the variance being explained. Subjective career plateau and years since last promotion, an objective measure of career plateau, were found to contribute significantly to variability in overall job satisfaction. Altogether 25% of the variance in overall job satisfaction was explained by knowing scores on these variables. Subjective career plateau contributed significantly to variability in satisfaction with promotion opportunities explaining 51% of that variance. Whilst overall job satisfaction was significant in its relationship with career transition, satisfaction with promotion opportunities was not significant due to a suppression effect. In this relationship 58% of the variance in career transition was explained by overall job satisfaction. Overall job satisfaction was found to not moderate on the relationship between career plateau and career transition or on the relationship between life balance orientation and career transition. A significant moderating effect of satisfaction with promotion opportunities was found on the relationship between career plateau and career transition with 27% of the variance being explained A t test analysis indicated that career plateaued individuals were not more likely to be involved in current education nor were they more likely to state an intention to pursue further education. Univariate analysis indicated that whilst lower levels of education were associated with longer job tenures this association was not strong. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant moderating effect of education attained on the relationship between career plateau and career transition with 31% of the variance being explained. The limitations of the study are discussed. Primary amongst these are the difficulties imposed by the cross-sectional design.
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    An uneasy symbiosis : a grounded theory of virtual organisation : a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology, Massey University
    (Massey University, 1998) Young, Nicholas J
    In the organisation of work, significant change is afoot. Due to recent advances in Communication and Information Technology (CT/IT), new forms of organisation are now possible, and increasingly advantageous. These new forms of organisation are 'enabled' by advanced CT/IT, most notably the Internet and its associated software. The use of advanced CT/IT extends the possibilities for the way in which activities may be organised over time, geographic space and across organisational boundaries. For this reason the new organisations are often called Virtual Organisations (VO). From an Organisational Psychology perspective the VO is relatively unique. It potentially presents social psychological issues significantly different to those experienced in conventional forms of organisation. Using a case-study approach, the present thesis develops a theoretical conceptualisation of some of the basic social processes involved in a VO. The Grounded Theory method is used as the primary methodology. This inductive approach is supplemented and enriched by a quantitative assessment of organisational culture within the participating VO. The central concepts yielded by the analysis are "Maintaining Independence", "Collaboration", "Formalising the Informal", "Self Management", "Regression towards the Conventional", and "Independence Overload". The ensuing theory centers around the process of "Achieving Symbiosis" which emerged as the core category of the Grounded Theory. This refers to the process whereby those involved in VO must accomplish a balance between two competing motivations intrinsic to the virtual mode of organisation: The "Maintenance of Independence", and "Collaboration".