Mental Health and Professional Identity of I/O Psychologists
Project Team
Prof. L.E. van Zyl; Prof. M.W Stander
Description
The purpose of this project is two-fold. First, to develop a clear understanding of the professional work identity of industrial/organizational psychologists (IOPs) within South Africa. Here the focus is on investigating how IOPs construct their own professional identities through looking at the tasks, functions, priorities and roles which these individuals perform in their day-to-day work. The aim is to understand what IOPs are, how they fit into the proverbial bigger organizational picture and value they add to the bottom line. Second, the project aims to provide a framework through which the mental health of IOPs could be investigated. In this project, the aim is to determining how positive psychological constructs such as affect balance, work-role fit, meaningfulness (in and of work), engagement impact on IOPs emotional-, psychological and social wellbeing.
Specifically, the current subprojects are being worked on:
- Work-role fit, psychological meaningfulness, work engagement and flourishing of IOPs in SA
- Work-role fit, psychological meaningfulness, work engagement and Life Satisfaction of IOPs in SA
- Socio-constructivist approach towards professional identity formation of IOPs during internships
