Abstract
M.Phil. (Industrial Psychology)
Mental health disorders have been identified to be the most significant contributors towards the disease and disability burden globally. Moreover, the vast majority of mental health problems in the work place can be attributed to anxiety disorders. However, within the South African context there is a dearth of information with regards to the experience of individuals with anxiety in the workplace. In order to address this gap in the literature, the current study examined the moderating effect of the Big Five personality traits on the relationship between anxiety and work engagement. For the purposes of the current study, a quantitative research approach was adopted, and data were obtained from (N = 266) participants. Data was collected via the BTI short version, the UWES-9 and the anxiety subscale of the DASS-21. Correlation analyses were carried out with the aim of determining significant relationships among the variables. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses were performed to answer the research questions. The results obtained from the current study indicated that none of the Big Five traits acted as moderators on the relationship between anxiety and work engagement. The results did show, however, that anxiety, as well as the Big Five traits, had significant direct effects on work engagement. Although, the results of the current study showed direct significant relationships between the variables of the study however, there were some limitations to the study. Firstly, the majority of the participants of the study were female, which may have also skewed results. Additionally, the sample of the study was fairly homogenous and consisted predominantly of Black individuals who were highly educated. Therefore, it can be argued that the results of the study are sample-specific and cannot necessarily be generalised to the wider population. As the results of the current study suggest that the Big Five personality traits did not have a buffering or exacerbating effect on the relationship between anxiety and work engagement, it is therefore recommended that in future, researchers should consider replicating this study on a group of clinically diagnosed...