The purpose of the present study was to explore the experience of subjective career success among an understudied population such as blue-collar workers (BCWs) in a South African context. Employing a qualitative approach, a nonprobability, purposive voluntary sample of 20 workers were drawn from a manufacturing industry. Semistructured interviews were conducted and examined through a comprehensive thematic analysis. The analysis revealed that BCWs experience career success when certain needs are fulfilled in their careers. According to the findings, participants highlighted specific aspects in their work (e.g., support from the organization, aspiration for progression, working to provide, responsibility toward others, and work-related preferences). For BCWs, these aspects fulfill particular needs that lead to specific feelings of career success (e.g., recognition and value, competence and skills, performance, purpose and meaning, working in a conducive environment, and financial gain).

Orientation: Technology has become part of society’s everyday functioning, changing rapidly and providing widespread mobility. Employees are moving towards a continually connected lifestyle, a situation in which information and communication technology (ICT) seem to have become omnipresent.Research purpose: The overall objective of this research was to investigate the influence of ICT on employees’ work and personal lives.Motivation for the study: The impact of ICT on the work and personal lives of employees has never been researched before, which motivated the current study.Research approach, design and method: A qualitative research design, with a sample of 25 employees, was followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data, and the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and processed through thematic analyses.Main findings: Five themes with sub-themes were extracted: The positive and negative experiences of ICT both within the work and personal lives of employees, the increased expectations brought about by ICT usage, and the role of ICT on relationships. Findings highlighted that although ICT are generally perceived as positive, employees should make a conscious decision in managing their ICT to decrease the negative impact thereof on their work and personal lives.Practical/managerial implications: Overall, the general positive experiences of ICT outweigh the negative experiences, and findings almost suggest that as the quantity of communication increased, the quality of conversations decreased.Contribution/Value add: This study provides a holistic understanding of the impact of ICT on the work and personal lives of employees.Keywords: Information and communication technology (ICT); constructivism paradigm; work lives; personal lives; employees

Orientation: An instrument based on a theoretical model is necessary to measure the positive side of the work-family interface.Research purpose: To develop items for measurement of work-family enrichment based on the elements contained within a theoretical model and to evaluate the latent trait functioning of these items.Motivation for the study: Major limitations exist regarding the conceptualisation and scale development of the positive side of the work-family interface.Research design, approach, and method: A quantitative research approach using scale development procedures was employed to develop the 95-item instrument. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data randomly from selected employees; data were processed using Rasch analysis.Main findings: The five-category scale works well for the most part, although a four-category scale could be considered. Thirty-five items either over-fitted or under-fitted the work-family enrichment model. Person ability was measured in the low to middle ranges of work-family enrichment. Participants’ experience of work-family enrichment could be represented accurately. Sub-scale items displayed misfit, bias or both.Practical/managerial implications: The developed instrument can be investigated further to identify work-family enrichment factors that can measure workers’ experience of enrichment in their work and family domains.Contribution/value-add: This study furthers theory building and empirical research in industrial psychology, by developing a new theory-based measuring instrument for the positive side of the work-family interface in the South African context. This study expanded on the model proposed by Greenhaus and Powell, by including all five categories of resources gains. Furthermore, the total of the resources was diversified, since some of the content of these resources encompasses multiple meanings

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