Orientation: Stress is a social reality which does not exist in isolation, but in many social situations, especially work-related environments. Police officers in particular suffer from highly negative stress related outcomes.Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine how Moos's hypothesised stress and coping model (1994) fitted a sample of police officers.Motivation for the study: The study was an attempt to understand police officers' unique needs and how the frequency and/or intensity of perceived stress could be reduced so that they would be able to cope more effectively with stress.Research design, approach and method: A non-experimental survey design, following the quantitative tradition, was used in pursuit of the research objectives. A random sample of 505 participants was extracted from a population of serving male and female police officers reflecting the typical South African ethnic groups. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to establish the adequacy of between the hypothesised Moos model and the sample.Main findings: The hypothesised theoretical framework was disproved. A respecified model and inter-correlations confirm that some officers experience burnout, while, paradoxically, others continue to be unaffected because of the buffering effect of social support, personality factors and other resilience factors not revealed in this study.Practical/managerial implications: The study calls on police management for awareness of the negative health consequences of prolonged stressors. Simultaneously, employee assistance programmes could be directed to problem-solving strategies, perceived self-efficacy and learned resourcefulness to improve control over prolonged negative stress consequences among members.Contribution/value-add: This research provides a theoretical framework to understand, describe and assess individual well-being in the police work context.

Our aim was to determine whether personality and ability measures can predict job performance of call centre operators in a South African communications company. The predictors were personality variables measured by the Customer Contact Styles Questionnaire, Basic Checking and Audio Checking ability tests. These measures were completed by 140 operators. Supervisors completed the Customer Contact Competency Inventory for the operators as a measure of job performance. Additional criterion data were utilised by obtaining performance statistics regarding call handling time and quality of responding. Correlations and multiple regression analyses revealed statistically significant small to medium effect size correlations between the predictors and criteria.

The aim of this research is to integrate the theoretical personality profile of the salutogenic functioning person, drawn from the literature on Salutogenesis, with the personality orientation profile of the optimal functioning employee, as documented in the literature on Organisational and Personnel psychology. The integration is done according to intra- (cognitive affective, conative and physical characteristics) and interpersonal characteristics. The two profiles could be integrated, according to these characteristics, into a profile of the salutogenic functioning person who handles life and work stressors effectively and functions optimally in his daily existence. This integration shows a theoretical relationship between the two constructs and confirms a meaningful relationship found in empirical research. Opsomming Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om die teoretiese persoonlikheidsprofiel van die salutogenies-funksionerende mens vanuit die literatuur oor Salutogenese met die persoonlikheidsorientasieprofiel van die optimaal- funksionerende werknemer soos deur die Organisasie- en Personeelsielkunde-literatuur voorgehou, te integreer. Die integrasie word volgens intra- (kognitiewe, affektiewe, konatiewe en fisiese eienskappe) en interpersoonlike eienskappe gedoen. Daar is bevind dat die twee profiele volgens die eienskappe geïntegreer kan word tot 'n profiel van die salutogenies-funksionerende mens wat die stressors van die lewe en werk effektief kan hanteer en sodoende optimaal in sy daaglikse bestaan funksioneer. Die integrasie bevind 'n teoretiese verband tussen die twee konstrukte. Dit bevestig empiriese navorsing wat 'n beduidende verband tussen die twee konstrukte bevind het.

A decline in institutional research activity, like that attributed to most South African universities, is alarming because it jeopardises a country's ability to take advantage of world-wide advances in science and technology as well as its capacity to absorb and use new knowledge. However, criticism like this might not be applicable to all areas of research at higher education institutions. The purpose of this article is to highlight pioneering and fundamental contributions by South African researchers to establishing a new paradigm in psychology, namely positive psychology. The article provides an overview of the national and international historic development of this field. Current and completed South African research within this field was analysed, and results reflect the type of research as well as contributing institutions from higher education.