“Investigating the negative impact of emotional labour on full-time permanent academic staff in the Social Sciences Departments at Rhodes University”
- Authors: Mumba, Lomadinga
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: College teachers -- Social conditions -- South Africa -- Makhanda , College teachers -- Psychology -- South Africa -- Makhanda , College teachers -- Mental health-- South Africa -- Makhanda , College teachers -- Job stress -- South Africa -- Makhanda , College students -- Attitudes , Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Makhanda -- Sociological aspects , Discrimination in higher education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Sex discrimination in higher education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Age discrimination in higher education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rhodes University. Department of Sociology , Corporate culture -- South Africa -- Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148740 , vital:38769
- Description: In investigating the prevalence of emotional labour among academics within the student/ academic staff relationship, this study expands from Arlie Hochschild’s theoretical orientation of ‘emotional labour’. Through this lens, this study documents the manner in which the adoption of neoliberal ideologies by higher education institutions have transformed it into the service industry and redefined students as consumers and academic staff as service providers. Drawing from previous research in academia, the central argument of the study is that the university system is now an increasingly corporatized and marketized institution that creates an expectation for academic staff to perform emotional labour. However, there is limited literature that looks at emotional labour in academia and more especially within the South African context. Therefore, the focus of this research is how academic work, particularly with students, has shifted to emotion work in an effort to provide quality services. The study was conducted at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape Province with academic staff who work in the social sciences department. The research methodology employed is qualitative and evidence was derived from semi structured interviews to establish the negative consequences of emotional labour on the wellbeing of academic staff. Data was analysed and thematically presented in line with the research objectives. The research finds evidence of increased emotional labour in academic staff, it argues that this is largely as a result of the effects of corporatization which included intensified workloads, entitled students, increasing pastoral care and discontentment from the transformations. It was revealed that emotional labour was differentially experienced for females, younger academics and those in lower/ initial positions in academia, it explored the gendered expectations and concluded that based on certain organizational and personal characteristics, emotion management differed in academics. Lastly, discussions regarding implications and recommendations for further research were made.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mumba, Lomadinga
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: College teachers -- Social conditions -- South Africa -- Makhanda , College teachers -- Psychology -- South Africa -- Makhanda , College teachers -- Mental health-- South Africa -- Makhanda , College teachers -- Job stress -- South Africa -- Makhanda , College students -- Attitudes , Universities and colleges -- South Africa -- Makhanda -- Sociological aspects , Discrimination in higher education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Sex discrimination in higher education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Age discrimination in higher education -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Rhodes University. Department of Sociology , Corporate culture -- South Africa -- Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/148740 , vital:38769
- Description: In investigating the prevalence of emotional labour among academics within the student/ academic staff relationship, this study expands from Arlie Hochschild’s theoretical orientation of ‘emotional labour’. Through this lens, this study documents the manner in which the adoption of neoliberal ideologies by higher education institutions have transformed it into the service industry and redefined students as consumers and academic staff as service providers. Drawing from previous research in academia, the central argument of the study is that the university system is now an increasingly corporatized and marketized institution that creates an expectation for academic staff to perform emotional labour. However, there is limited literature that looks at emotional labour in academia and more especially within the South African context. Therefore, the focus of this research is how academic work, particularly with students, has shifted to emotion work in an effort to provide quality services. The study was conducted at Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape Province with academic staff who work in the social sciences department. The research methodology employed is qualitative and evidence was derived from semi structured interviews to establish the negative consequences of emotional labour on the wellbeing of academic staff. Data was analysed and thematically presented in line with the research objectives. The research finds evidence of increased emotional labour in academic staff, it argues that this is largely as a result of the effects of corporatization which included intensified workloads, entitled students, increasing pastoral care and discontentment from the transformations. It was revealed that emotional labour was differentially experienced for females, younger academics and those in lower/ initial positions in academia, it explored the gendered expectations and concluded that based on certain organizational and personal characteristics, emotion management differed in academics. Lastly, discussions regarding implications and recommendations for further research were made.
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“Workers’ strikes and collective bargaining: a study of the SAMWU municipal worker strike of 2018, Port Elizabeth, South Africa”
- Authors: Gumbo, Eugene
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South African Municipal Workers Union , Strikes and lockouts -- Municipal government -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Collective bargaining -- Municipal employees -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Philosophy, Marxist , Labor unions -- South Africa , Labor unions -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Industrial relations -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146916 , vital:38576
- Description: The focus of this study centered on investigating the perceptions and opinions surrounding the eruption of strike action and its effectiveness during a collective bargaining process. The case study employed was the 2018 municipal strike in Port Elizabeth, organised by the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU). A Marxist theoretical framework was chosen for this study. It argues that strike action is a means through which workers communicate their dissatisfaction or enforce particular demands, with trade unions playing a protagonist’s role. Strike action, generally, is caused by a plethora of reasons ranging from disciplinary issues and conditions and hours of work, to be mention a few. However, the major force behind strike eruption is the wage agenda, as workers are always striving to get better wages while employers, on the other hand, attempt to reduce them so as to increase profits. South Africa has had its fair share of municipal strike action ever since the apartheid period, the early stages of democracy up to the contemporary times of the 21st century with various strategies, successes and losses being experienced. Democracy in South Africa also saw some developments in the labour sphere in relation to statutes surrounding strike action. The LRA and the Constitution of South Africa inform the right to strike and offer guidelines as well as consequences that steer strike action in a direction that does not jeopardize the workers, employers and the general public. The research found that workers do understand what strike action is, its causes and its various implications. Furthermore, it was discovered that this worker tool has been successful in putting pressure on the negotiation process as well as luring employers back to the negotiation table, for example. However, it was also uncovered that there are present, factors that hampered the impact of strike action during the bargaining procedure in focus. These are namely, the political institutionalization of trade unions, ill-equipped union leaders, a reluctance to implement strike agreements by employers, the use of violence by municipal workers during the strike, to mention but a few. Therefore, when looking at the strike in question, the effectiveness of strike action during the collective bargaining process was found to be easily contestable.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Gumbo, Eugene
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: South African Municipal Workers Union , Strikes and lockouts -- Municipal government -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Collective bargaining -- Municipal employees -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Philosophy, Marxist , Labor unions -- South Africa , Labor unions -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Industrial relations -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/146916 , vital:38576
- Description: The focus of this study centered on investigating the perceptions and opinions surrounding the eruption of strike action and its effectiveness during a collective bargaining process. The case study employed was the 2018 municipal strike in Port Elizabeth, organised by the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU). A Marxist theoretical framework was chosen for this study. It argues that strike action is a means through which workers communicate their dissatisfaction or enforce particular demands, with trade unions playing a protagonist’s role. Strike action, generally, is caused by a plethora of reasons ranging from disciplinary issues and conditions and hours of work, to be mention a few. However, the major force behind strike eruption is the wage agenda, as workers are always striving to get better wages while employers, on the other hand, attempt to reduce them so as to increase profits. South Africa has had its fair share of municipal strike action ever since the apartheid period, the early stages of democracy up to the contemporary times of the 21st century with various strategies, successes and losses being experienced. Democracy in South Africa also saw some developments in the labour sphere in relation to statutes surrounding strike action. The LRA and the Constitution of South Africa inform the right to strike and offer guidelines as well as consequences that steer strike action in a direction that does not jeopardize the workers, employers and the general public. The research found that workers do understand what strike action is, its causes and its various implications. Furthermore, it was discovered that this worker tool has been successful in putting pressure on the negotiation process as well as luring employers back to the negotiation table, for example. However, it was also uncovered that there are present, factors that hampered the impact of strike action during the bargaining procedure in focus. These are namely, the political institutionalization of trade unions, ill-equipped union leaders, a reluctance to implement strike agreements by employers, the use of violence by municipal workers during the strike, to mention but a few. Therefore, when looking at the strike in question, the effectiveness of strike action during the collective bargaining process was found to be easily contestable.
- Full Text:
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