Occupational Stress in South African Work Culture: Examining the Work Locus of Control of Managers

This book explores avenues for organisations to better understand the origins of occupational stress so as to enable their managerial employees to effectively manage stress levels. By way of the work locus of control as a personality variable, the book identifies stressors both within and outside the organisation that underpin high stress levels in organisational culture. In grappling with what is required in the new workforce of ‘Generation Y’ millennials in a hyper-networked and mobile age, the authors present examples from everyday professional situations in South Africa to contribute to critical understanding of today’s working world. By applying neuroscientific principles developed from a foundation of empirical research, the authors introduce the concepts of a 'red zone’ and ‘blue zone' to explain differences between the brain areas controlled either by its stem-limbic areas, or the limbic-cortical cortex areas, respectively. This becomes a psychological shorthand for describingand applying knowledge to encourage practitioners in leadership and management roles to achieve desired behaviour outcomes, and to establish a framework for understanding employee values and worldviews. The book is relevant to practitioners, postgraduate students and researchers interested in industrial psychology, personality psychology, business management and human resources.

About the Author

Nasima MH Carrim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Pretoria. Her research focuses on gender in management, culture, religion and minorities in the workplace from an intersectionality and identity perspective. She was the recipient of the Emerald African Management Research Fund Award in 2014 for her study of  Indian male managers’ upward mobility in corporate South Africa. In 2014, she also received the Certificate of Merit for Teaching Excellence and Innovation from the University of Pretoria for her undergraduate course in diversity management. In 2017, Prof Carrim received the 2016 Best Junior Researcher in Management Sciences in the Economic and Management Sciences Faculty at the University of Pretoria.

J. Alewyn Nel is a Professor and Head of the Human Resource Management Department at the University of Pretoria. He serves as an editorial board member at two journals: the South African Journal of Industrial Psychology , and the South African Journal of Economics and Management Sciences . He holds various professional memberships nationally and internationally. His main research focus is centered towards the cross-cultural implications for assessment of personality, social desirability, and identity.

Riana Schoeman completed a Master's degree in Human Resource Management at the University of Pretoria in June 2017. She is currently employed as a human resources practitioner at a South African firm.