The psychological well-being manifesting among master’s students in Industrial and Organisational Psychology

Abstract

Orientation: Psychological well-being among master’s students is seen as a contributing factor towards having a meaningful, enjoyable and productive experience as a student.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide a qualitative description of the psychological well-being experiences of first-year students in a part-time coursework master’s degree in Industrial and Organisational Psychology (IOP) in order to foster an empathetic understanding of their experiences.Motivation for the study: The understanding of their master’s students’ psychological wellbeing experiences will assist university IOP departments in facilitating the appropriate psychological containment to students and the optimisation of their resilience towards meaningfully completing their first year and perhaps also their master’s degree.Research design, approach and method: Qualitative research was conducted within a hermeneutic interpretive stance. Data were gathered from a focus group with 10 conveniently chosen participants. Thematic content analysis provided eight themes, which were interpreted and linked to the literature on psychological well-being.Main findings: Student distress caused by job demands leads to languishing and feeling overwhelmed. In contrast, student eustress resulting from job resources leads to flourishing, consisting of self-efficacy, locus of control and optimism.Practical implications: University IOP departments can use the information towards understanding their master’s students’ psychological well-being experiences, which could assist in the students’ successful and timeous completion of their studies.Contribution: The study contributes to the literature on master’s students’ real negative and positive experiences and psychological well-being, which university departments often deny or dismiss as idiosyncratic.Keywords: positive organisational behaviour; job demands; job resources; multiple roles; support system; self-efficacy; hope/optimism

Social Study Resources and Social Wellbeing Before and During the Intelligent COVID-19 Lockdown in The Netherlands

“…Firstly, all participants in this study were first-year master students . Master students are more autonomous, agile, and resourceful than their undergraduate peers (Cilliers and Flotman 2016 ; El-Ghoroury et al 2012 ). Master students have pre-established (functional) social support networks within the university and know how/when to access the necessary social resources required to perform academically (Cilliers and Flotman 2016 ).…”

“…Master students are more autonomous, agile, and resourceful than their undergraduate peers (Cilliers and Flotman 2016 ; El-Ghoroury et al 2012 ). Master students have pre-established (functional) social support networks within the university and know how/when to access the necessary social resources required to perform academically (Cilliers and Flotman 2016 ). These students are also known to present with higher levels of academic self-efficacy and may have crystalised coping mechanisms to manage both study-related- and environmental demands (Jorgensen et al 2016 ; Nor and Smith 2019 ).…”

“What Contributes to Family Therapist Trainees’ Health?” An Investigation into the Context of Professional and Workplace Health and Well-Being

“…Frequencies were compared across the 3-year research period. Categorization and coding led to elaboration and interpretation, text analysis, possible re-categorization, and, finally, the development of clusters, which were translated into themes in terms of health (Cilliers and Flotman 2016). Intersubjective evaluation processes within the team were used to develop categories and codes over the 3-year investigation period (Yin 2009).…”

Psychosocial Characteristics, Training Attitudes and Well-being of Students: A Longitudinal Study

“…Not only was the demands-resources model used among organisational workers to explain job characteristics and their relation to wellbeing, this model was also applied among university students [87][88][89]. It was revealed that students who encounter high study demands (e.g., study conditions that trigger stress reactions) and feel that they lack study resources eventually will become exhausted and cynical, and in turn experience negative psychological well-being [88].…”

“…Similarly, Cilliers and Flotman [89] emphasised that postgraduate students who experience distress produced by job/study demands (e.g., role demands, being responsible for others, interpersonal demands) have feelings of languishing and being overwhelmed. Meanwhile, those who experience eustress caused by job/study resources (e.g., support from lecturers, interpersonal relationships) also eventually experience a feeling of flourishing (high selfefficacy, locus of control, and optimism).…”