University of South Africa: M.Th Pastoral Therapy (2003)

University of Pretoria: D.Phil Psychology (1995)

University of the Free State: Industrial Psychology – cum laude (1985)

University of the Free State: B.Soc.Sc Industrial Psychology Honours (1983)

University of the Free State: B.Soc.Sc (1981)

Oranje Girls’ School: National Senior Certificate with Matriculation Endorsement (1978)

Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA): Registered Psychologist – Category: Industrial Psychology (1988 – to date)

British Psychological Society – UK: Chartered Psychologist – Category: Occupational Psychology (1997 – 2015)

British Psychological Society: Full membership (1997 – 2020)

South African Industrial and Organisational Psychology Association (SIOPSA): Full membership (2005)

National Research Foundation (NRF): C3-Rated Researcher (2014)

University of the Free State – Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences: Senior Top Achiever – Research Award (2011)

Kilimanjaro: Summited Kilimanjaro (2011)

University of Pretoria: Honorary Academic Colours (1995)

University of the Free State: Honorary Academic Colours (1985)

Volkswagen (SA): Achiever of the Quarter (June 1993, and June 1991)

University of the Free State – Bloemfontein, Free State (Jan 1994 – date):

Professor: UFS Business School (Jan 2014 – date)

Head of Department: Industrial Psychology (Jan 2012 – Jan 2014)

Associate Professor (Jan 2004 – Dec 2013)

Head of Department: Industrial Psychology (Jan 2001 – Dec 2003)

Senior Lecturer (Jan 1996 – Dec 2003)

Duties at UFS Business School (Part-time since 1999; currently: full-time)

• Development and presentation of various modules and workshops in the Business School, as well as the Centre for Business Dynamics (situated within the Business School) such as the MBA program, the Management Development program, the Preparatory Management Development Program, the Adult Education Program (BML Degree in Management/Leadership
• Main focus of courses and workshops relate to management of diversity, creating high-performance teams, organisation change and transformation, organisation behaviour, self-development, leadership development, interpersonal communication, and interpersonal skills
• Deliver professional services to the UFS Business School: Responsible for the development and application of the psychometric assessment process of the MBA and BML selection processes, as well as other ad hoc selection processes for certificate programmes
• Research:
  • Conceptualisation and execution of research projects
  • Reporting of research in academic journals
  • Postgraduate study guidance (MBA, Master’s and Doctoral levels)

    Duties at UFS Department of Industrial Psychology (Associate Professor and Head of Department):

• Lecturing: Responsible for the development and facilitation of various postgraduate and undergraduate modules in the Department of Industrial Psychology,
• Research:
  • Conceptualisation and execution of research projects
  • Reporting of research in academic journals
  • Postgraduate study guidance (Honours, Master’s and Doctoral level)
  • Supervision of interns (for registration as psychometrists at the HPCSA)
• Previously employed as Head Department – Industrial Psychology (2000 – 2003; 2012 – 2014)

  Duties at UFS Department of Industrial Psychology (Senior Lecturer):

• Lectured Consumer Psychology and Organisation Psychology (post and undergraduate levels)
  • Including: Individual behaviour, Team and Group behaviour and processes (leadership, communication, team development, management of diversity), and behaviour at Organisational level: Organisation Development, Organisation transformation, organisation culture, organisation structure and design and organisation effectiveness)
• Post-graduate research supervision to Honours, Master’s, and PhDstudents

   Achievements:

• Delivered 19 papers at international and national conferences (2005 – date)
• Published 45 articles in 16 international and 17 South African journals
• Delivered 20 Master’s and Doctoral theses
• Externally evaluated over 40 Master’s and Doctoral theses (from universities such as the University of Johannesburg, UNISA, University of the Western Cape, University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of the Witwatersrandand the North-West University)

  Professional Services to public and private organisations – Bloemfontein, Free State (Jan 1995 – date)

  Industrial Psychologist

  Duties:

• Service public and private sectors
• Design and facilitate interventions for various organisations in the private and public sector, as well as academic institutions
• Interventions include work profiling and job design, psychometric evaluation for selection and development purposes, evaluation of selection processes, organisation development, leadership development, organisation diagnosis through action research, team development, management of diversity, personal development, and strategic planning
• Served over 40 client organisations in the Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng and the Western Cape
• Delivered professional services to the UFS at various levels, including Top Management, UFS Human Resources Department, and Faculty of the Humanities, Department of Finance, Information and Communication Technology Services, Strategic Communication, Faculty of Law, UFS Business School and many others

  University of the Free State – Bloemfontein, Free State (Jan 1994 – Dec 2003):

  Lecturer (Jan 1994 – Dec 1995)

  Duties:

• Lectured Consumer Psychology and Organisation Psychology (post and undergraduate level)
  • wIncluding: Consumer behaviour, Individual behaviour, Team and Group behaviour and processes (leadership, communication, team development, management of diversity), and behaviour at Organisational level: Organisation Development, Organisation transformation, organisation culture, organisation structure and design and organisation effectiveness)
• Post-graduate research supervision to Honours and Master’s students

   

  Senior Lecturer (Jan 1996 – Dec 2003)

  Duties:

• Lecturing: Organisation Psychology (post and undergraduate level)

  Including: Individual behaviour, Team and Group behaviour and processes (leadership, communication, team development, management of diversity), and behaviour at Organisational level: Organisation Development, Organisation transformation, organisation culture, organisation structure and design and organisation effectiveness

• Post-graduate research supervision to honours, Masters, and PhD students

    Volkswagen (SA): Midrand, Gauteng (Jan 1990 – Jan 1994)

  Senior Consultant: Organisation and management development

  Duties:

• Served Volkswagen (SA) dealer network in the field of organisation development and management training and development
• Stationed at Midrand Conference Centre
• The dealer network included 200 dealers across SA and Namibia
• Responsible for the design and presentation of organisation development and management interventions in SA and Namibia
• Responsible for the marketing and coordination of training and development programs in the Western Cape and Namibia
• Responsible for the training and development needs analysis
• Achievement: Awarded the “Achiever of the Quarter” Award twice

  SA Department of Health: Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria, Gauteng (1983 – 1989)

  Chief Community Liaison Officer – Pretoria (September 1988 – Dec 1989)

  Senior Community Liaison Officer – Port Elizabeth (Jan 1987 – August 1988)

  Community Liaison Officer – Bloemfontein (Jan 1983 – Dec 1986)

  Duties as Chief Community Liaison Officer:

• Responsible for the national management of organisation development and management development programs at regional offices
• Main focus: Design and presentation of organisational and management development programs at head office level, as well as acting as a consultant to regional offices with regard to organisational development and management training and development

  Senior Community Liaison Officer:

• Responsible for the provincial management of a National Health and Development program for the Eastern Cape, situated in Port Elizabeth
• Responsible for the recruitment, selection and induction of liaison officers, the training and development of liaison officers, the handling of all human resources functions pertaining to staff, as well as the marketing of Health Programs to academic-, agricultural and women’s organisations, including the employers
• Liaised with community and political leaders in order to ensure the involvement of all major stakeholders in different community projects

  Community Liaison Officer:

• Responsible for the management of a health program in the Southern Free State, and later in the Free State area
• Responsible for the management of health workers, including the recruitment, selection, induction, training, planning and evaluation of staff and the termination of services
• Conducted the marketing of health programs to mines and other companies in the area in order to implement specific health programs in these companies
• Responsible for liaising with community organisations and community leaders in this area in order to ensure their involvement and support

   

el, P., Chapters in Books

Kotze, T, Boitumelo, J., Magadzu, M.  & Cloete J. 2024. Mine closure: Mine workers lives after retrenchment. In: S Matebesi, L Marais & V Nel eds. Social aspects of mine closure in South Africa (in press)

Nel, P., Kotze, M., 2022. Work and life satisfaction of mining employees. In: L. Marais, P. Burger & M. Campbell, S.P. Denoon-Stevens & D, van Rooyen eds. Coal and Energy in South Africa: Considering a Just Transition (pp. 61-72), Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-coal-and-energy-in-south-africa.html

Nel, P., Kotze, M., 2021. Work and life satisfaction of mining employees. In: L.Marais, P. Burger & D, van Rooyen eds. Coal and Energy in Emalahleni, South Africa: Considering a Just Transition forthcoming Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, forthcoming

Kotzé, M., Nel, P., 2018. The work-related psychological well-being of a mineworker. In L. Marais, P. Burger, & D. van Rooyen (Eds.), Mining and Community in South Africa: From Small Town to Iron Town, pp. 199-214. Routledge, New York. 

Publications in Accredited International* and South African Journals

Badarai, E., Kotze, M. & Nel, P. 2023. Performance of state-owned enterprises in Zimbabwe: A transformational leadership-organisational performance model, SA Journal for Business Management,   54(1), a3148. https://doi.org/10.4102/ sajbm.v54i1.3148

Nel, P., Kotze, M. & Badarai, E. 2023. Psychometric properties of an adapted organizational effectiveness measure for state-owned enterprises, Acta Commercii 23(1), a1049. https://doi. org/10.4102/ac.v23i1.1049

Kotzé, M. 2022. The relationship between public service employees’ personal resources and psychological well-being, International Review of Administrative Sciences, 88(3): 774-792 https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852320985926

Kotzé, M., Nel, P., Smith, P. 2022. Psychometric properties of a workplace spirituality measure, SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 48(0) a1923, https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v48i0.1923.

Griessel, L. & Kotze, M.  2022. The Psychological Pattern and Types of the Puella Aeterna in Post-modern Women, Psychological Studies, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-021-00637-4

en, J.R., Kotze, M., Nel, P., Cloete, J., & Lenka, M.  2021. Determinants of place attachment among mineworkers: evidence from South Africa, Extractive Industries and Society, Accepted for publication

Kotzé, M. 2021. The relationship between public service employees’ personal resources and psychological well-being, International Review of Administrative Sciences, 89 (2): Published online: https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852320985926

Kotzé, M. 2020. Components of burnout as mediators of the influence of work-home conflict on organisational commitment and satisfaction with life, Management Dynamics, 29(1): 17-29

Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2020. The influence of job resources on platinum mineworkers’ work engagement and organisational commitment, Extractive Industries and Society, Vol 7: 146-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2020.01.

Kotzé, M. & Massyn, L. 2019. The influence of employees’ cross-cultural psychological capital on workplace psychological well-being, SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 45(0),a1661. https:doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v45i0.1660

Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2019. Job and personal resources as mediators in the relationship between iron-ore mineworkers’ job demands and work engagement, SA Journal of Human Resource Management/SA Tydskrif vir Menslikehulpbronbestuur, 17(0), a1183. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v17i0.1183

Kotzé, M. & Massyn, L. 2019. Predictors of academic performance in an adult education degree at a Business School in South Africa, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 56(5): 628-638 doi. 10.1080/14703297.2018.1463862

Kotzé, M. 2018.  How job resources and personal resources influence work engagement and burnout, African Journal of Economic and Management Studies (IBSS), Vol 9(2): 148-164. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-05-2017-0096

Kotzé, M. 2018. The influence of psychological capital, self-leadership and mindfulness on work engagement, South African Journal of Psychology (ISI) (accepted for publication: Issue 2, 2018)

*Nel, P. & Kotzé, M. 2017. The influence of psychological resources on mineworkers’ levels of burnout in a remote and isolated mining town in South Africa, Extractive Industries and Society, (in press) (Scopus)

 *Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2017. Personal factor effects on authentic leadership, Journal of Psychology in Africa, 27(1):47-53 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2017.1268291 (IBSS)

*Kotzé, M. & Kruger, Y. 2016. Decision support for farmers in Africa: Analysis of the roles and competencies of data scientists in the grain industry. Africa Insight, 46(3): 131-152 (IBSS)

Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2016. The psychometric properties of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) as measures of mindfulness and their relationship with burnout and work engagement. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology/SA Tydskrif vir Bedryfsielkunde, 42(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v42i1.1366 (Scopus)

*Kotze, M. 2016. Self-Leadership as an antecedent of authentic leadership: An empirical study among public sector employees, African Journal of Public Affairs, 9(2): 87-101 (IBSS)

*Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2015. Factorial Invariance of the Rahim Emotional Quotient Index, Journal of Psychology in Africa,           25(6):  522-527.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2015.1124604  (ISI).

Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2015. The influence of trait-emotional intelligence on authentic leadership, SA Journal of Human Resource Management/SA Tydskrif vir Menslikehulpbronbestuur, 13(1), Art.#716, x pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v13i1.716 (DHET)

Kleynhans, R. & Kotzé, M. 2014. Die verandering van houdings teenoor persone met fisieke gestremdhede: ‘n vernuwende intervensie vir die werksplek/ “Changing Attitudes towards People with Disabilities: An Innovative Workplace Intervention”, Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 54(4): 835-853 (ISI).

*Boshoff, E., Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2014. The Development and Validation of the Work Convictions Questionnaire, African Journal of Business Ethics, 8(2): 15-30 (IBSS).

*Kotzé, M. & Steyn, L. 2013. The Role of Psychological factors in workplace safety, Ergonomics, 56(12):1928-1939 (ISI).

*Kotzé, M. & Kleynhans, R. 2013. Psychological resource capacities (hope, optimism and resilience) as predictors of burnout in first-year students in higher education, International Journal of Learning in Higher Education, 19 (2):31-50.

Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2013. The Psychometric properties of the South African developed Adult Resilience Indicator (ARI), South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 39(2): 11 pages. doi: 10.4102/sajip.v39i2.1132 (DHET).

*Kotzé, M. & Kleynhans, R. 2013. Well-being (burnout and engagement) and resilience as predictors of the academic performance of first year students, Journal of Psychology in Africa, 23(1), 51–60 (ISI).

Kotzé, M. & Niemann, R. 2013. Psychological resource capacities (hope, optimism and resilience) as predictors of the academic performance of first-year students in higher education, Acta Academica, 45 (2): 85-121 (DHET).

*Kotzé, M. & Lamb, S. 2012. The influence of personality traits and resilience on burnout among customer service representative in a call centre, Journal of Social Sciences, 32(3): 295-309. (IBSS).

Kotzé, M. & Griessel, L. 2012. A Post-Jungian Perspective on the Psychological Developmental Patterns underlying the White Afrikaner Cultural Identity in South Africa, Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship, 77(2), Art #54, 10 pates. http://dx.dol.org/10.4102/koers.v77i2.54. (DHET).

*Boshoff, E. & Kotzé M. 2011. The conceptualisation and measurement of philosophical approaches that influence ethical decision-making in the work context, African Journal of Business Ethics, 6(1): 36-49 (IBSS).

*Kotzé, M. & Venter, I. 2011. Differences in Emotional Intelligence between Effective and Ineffective Leaders in the Public Sector: An Empirical Study, International Review of Administration Sciences, 77(2): 397 - 427. (ISI & IBSS).

Steyn, L., Bester, CL, & Kotzé, M. 2010. Psychological factors that is likely to influence a person’s attitude towards workplace safety, 2010 Annual SIOPSA Conference, The Forum/The campus, Bryanston, Johannesburg, 29-30 July 2010.

*Kotzé, M. & Venter, I. 2010. Differences in Self-Monitoring between Effective and Ineffective Leaders in the Public Sector: An Empirical Study, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 5(2):1-16.

*Kotzé, M. & Venter, I. 2010. Emotional intelligence as predictor of leadership effectiveness: An Empirical Study, International Journal of the Humanities, 8(2):31-50.

Kotzé, M & Venter, I. 2010. Perceptions of Leadership Effectiveness in the Public Sector: An Empirical Study, Journal of Public Administration, 45(3): 413-435 (DHET).

Kotzé, M & Venter, I. 2010. Emotional Intelligence of Leaders in the Public Sector: An Empirical Study, Administratio Publica, 18(4):16-45. (DHET).

Kleynhans, R. & Kotzé, M. 2010. Managers and employees` attitudes towards people with physical disabilities in the workplace, Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 50(3):404-416. (ISI & DHET).

Griessel, L. & Kotzé, M. 2010. The cultural identity of white Afrikaner women: a post-Jungian perspective, Acta Academica, 42(2):63-87. (DHET).

*Griessel, L. & Kotzé, M. March 2009.The Feminine and the Masculine in the Development of the Self in Women – A post-Jungian perspective, Women Studies 38(2):183-212 (IBSS).

*Kotzé, M. 2008. Indicators of the Quality of Work Life (QWL) of People with and without Physical Disabilities: A Comparative Study, The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, 8 (2): 155-170.

* Kotzé, M. & Griessel, L. 2008. Predicting the Academic Performance of MBA Students: A South African Study, The International Journal of the Humanities, 6(1):147-156.

*Kotzé, M. & Griessel, L. 2008. An Exploration of the Formation and Development of the White Afrikaner Cultural Identity in South Africa Using Hill’s Post-Jungian Model of the Self, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 3(2):77-86.

 *Kotzé, M. & Griessel, L. 2008. Influence of the Patrivalent Nature of the White Afrikaner Culture on the Psychological Development of White Afrikaner Women in South Africa, International Journal of the Humanities, 6(3):166-174.

Kotzé, M. & Griessel, L. 2008. The Prediction of the Academic performance of MBA students by means of specific aptitudes and competencies, Journal for New Generation Sciences, 6(2):60-79. (DHET).

Kotzé M. 2007. The quality of work life of people with disabilities in the public sector, Journal of Public Administration, 42(2):87-104. (DHET).

Niemann, R. & Kotzé M. 2006. The relationship between leadership practices and organisational culture: an education management perspective, South African Journal of Education, 26(4):609-624. (IBSS & DHET).

Kotzé, M. 2005. The nature and development of the construct Quality of Work Life, Acta Academica, 37(2):96-123 (DHET).

Kotzé, M. 2005. M. Quality of work life: what do people with physical disabilities expect from the work place? Social Work Researcher/Practitioner, 17(3):295-316. (DHET).

Kotzé, M. July 2004. Quality of work life: What managers need to know, Management Today, 20(6):38-41.

Kotzé, M. 1999. Die identifisering van topbestuursparadigmas: ’n Kwalitatiewe analise. Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, 39(2):145-157. (ISI & DHET).

Papers Presented at International and national Conferences

Kotze, M. 2017. The influence of personal resources on work engagement. DOP Annual Conference, Hilton Hotel Liverpool, United Kingdom, 4-6 January 2017.

Kruger, Y. & Kotze, M. 2016. The Role and competencies of data scientists in the grain industry, 3^rd International Conference on Social sciences, Bali, Indonesia, 19-20 September.

Nel, P. & Kotze, M. 2016. Factorial invariance of the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) in a group of Business School applicants, 2016 Annual SIOPSA Conference, Johannesburg, Gauteng, 19-20 July.

Kotze, M. & Nel, P. 2016. Presentation at workshop: “The psychological well-being of mineworkers in Postmasburg”, Mining and communities in the 21^st century: The Postmasburg Case Study, UFS, 31 October – 01 November 2016, Dutch Reformed Church, Uitsig, Bloemfontein.

Kotzé, M. & Nel, P. 2015. Antecedents of Authentic Leadership, 2^nd Annual International Conference on Social Sciences (ATINER), Athens, Greece. 27-30 July 2015.

Boshoff, E., Nel, P., & Kotzé, M., 2014.  The development and initial validation of the work convictions questionnaire (WCQ) (Three factor structure), ICAP (International Conference of Applied Psychology), Paris, France, 8 -15 July 2014.

Kotzé, M. & Kleynhans, R. 2012. Psychological resource capacities (hope, optimism and resilience) as predictors of burnout in first-year students in higher education, 19^th International Conference on Learning, The Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK.,14-16 August 2012.

Niemann, R. & Kotzé, M. 2012. Researching Resilience as Psychological Resource Capacity as Possible Predictor of Students` Academic Experience at a South African University, European Conference on Research Methodology, Bolton (UK): 27-29 June 2012.

Kotzé, M. & Venter I. 2010. Differences in Self-Monitoring between Effective and Ineffective Leaders in the Public Sector: A South African Study, 8^th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey, 29 June-02 July 2010.

Kotzé, M & Venter, I. 2010. Emotional Intelligence as Predictor of Leadership Effectiveness in the Work Place: A, Empirical Study, 5^th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, The University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, 02-05 August 2010.

Markham, L.G, Bester, C.L. & Kotzé, M. 2009. The levels of quality of work life and mental health of employees in a service organisation, The European Applied Business Research Conference (EABR), 08 June-11 June 2009.

Kotzé. M & Griessel, L. 2008. The Influence of the Patrivalent Nature of the White Afrikaner Culture on the Psychological Development of Afrikaner Women in South Africa, 6^th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, 15-18 July 2008, Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Kotzé. M & Griessel, L. 2008. Predicting the academic performance of MBA students: A South African case study, 6^th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities, Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey, 15-18 July 2008.

Kotzé. M & Griessel, L. 2008.  The Exploration of the Formation and Development of the White Afrikaner Cultural Identity in South Africa using Hill’s Post-Jungian Model of the Development of the Self, Third International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Monash University Centre, Prato, Italy, 22-25 July 2008.

Griessel, L & Kotzé M. 2008. The Development of the Self in Women: A Post-Jungian perspective, Third International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, Monash University Centre, Prato, Italy, 22-25 July 2008.

Kotzé M. 2008. Indicators of the Quality of Work Life of People with and without disabilities: A South African study, 8^th International Conference on Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, Montreal, Canada, 17-20 June 2008.

Kleynhans, R., Kotzé, M & Bester, L.C. 2008. Changing Attitudes Towards People with Physical Disabilities Using Interactive Drama, 8^th International Conference on Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, Montreal, Canada, 17-20 June 2008.

Papers Published in International Conference Proceedings

Niemann, R. & Kotzé, M., 2012. Resilience as Psychological Resource Capacity as Possible Predictor of Students` Academic Experience at a South African University Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods and proceedings (Proceeding

 See orcid link:

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3838-3313

 See below

Quality of Work Life/Work well-being of People with and without Psychical Disabilities in the workplace

My research career started with exploring the topic of quality of work life (QWL)/work well-being, due to my own quest for finding meaning and purposes in the workplace.  I conducted in-depth qualitative studies in both the private and public sectors, as well as with academics and entrepreneurs to create a better understanding of what QWL means for employees within the South African context. I identified several indicators of QWL relating to employees` social integration into the work place.

In the execution of the above research I had an interview with a person with a physical disability (PWD) and became intensely aware of the obstacles these people have to overcome in the work place when employed in the open labour market. Subsequently, I have extended the QWL/well-being research to include PWDs and was able to show how the indicators of QWL for people with and without physical disabilities are basically identical, except for a few additional indicators needed for people with physical disabilities due to their specific disabilities.

During the period of conducting this research I became aware of two issues: First, of how the lack of QWL in general seems to have an effect on employees mental health and second, that people with physical disabilities are often treated differently in the work place than people without physical disabilities - often due to ignorance or possible negative and indifferent attitudes towards people with disabilities. In order to investigate these issues further, I conceptualised and undertook two studies in collaboration with three research partners (two post-graduate students and a colleague) relating to these topics. The first study investigated the effect of QWL on mental health in the work place and the second study focused on the development of interventions in order to change managers and employees’ attitudes towards employees with physical disabilities in the work place by means of interactive drama. The research relating to people with physical disabilities (PWD) in the work place, has led to several publications in international and South African journals, as well as papers in international conferences, and has attracted unexpected world-wide interest from both academics and practitioners.

The Role of Psychological and Cognitive factors in Performance; Leadership effectiveness and Work Well-being

My interest in QWL has evolved towards researching the reasons for the prospering of people at work. Although it seemed from my previous research that the QWL of employees was significantly influenced by the managerial and work environment of employees, the question arose what role individual factors play in well-being, performance and leadership effectiveness in work and academic settings.

For this purpose several quantitative studies were conceptualised, focusing on psychological factors such as emotional intelligence, personality, resilience, hope, engagement and optimism as well as cognitive factors, such as cognitive developmental levels and abilities.

I started off this research by conceptualising a study relating the emotional intelligence and self-monitoring abilities of managers to their effectiveness as leaders. I discovered that there was a gap in this area of research in specifically the public sector. The reporting of this research was positively received internationally and I was informed in 2012 by SAGE that the article published in the International Review of Administrative Sciences was one of the 5 top downloaded articles in the IRAS (Impact factor: 0.848) during 2011. 

Other completed studies related to the role of individual factors showed the important role that verbal and numerical ability, emotional intelligence, resilience and certain other selected personality traits respectively played in both performance and well-being in work and academic settings. These results were reflected in several articles in international and South African journals.

My research vision for the next five years is to expand my research in this area to also include constructs such as mindfulness, authentic leadership and self-leader

MBA programme at UFS Business School: Personal Development module and Leadership module