Welcome

The mission of the Optentia Research Unit is to develop and organise knowledge for the optimal expression of individual, social and institutional potential, with a specific interest in the African context. The research unit utilises the inputs from multiple disciplines: Economics, Educational Sciences, Employment Relations, Human Resource Management, Information Technology, Philosophy, Psychology (Work and Organisational Psychology, Educational Psychology, Counselling Psychology, and Clinical Psychology), Risk Management, Social Anthropology, Social Work, and Sociology. We study the optimisation of the potential of people and institutions by focusing on pathways from precarity to capability and optimal functioning.

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Recent news

COVID-19 Corona Virus South African Resource Portal

For official information regarding COVID-19 and the Corona Virus please visit the COVID-19 Corona Virus South African Resource Portal. Visit Now.

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Work and Organizational Psychology: Some Challenges

Individuals and organizations find themselves in a rapidly changing environment. Social tension has grown in modern societies due to the worsening strain on the natural ecosystem, rising discontent with capitalism, and resulting i...Read article

Archive of Kindness proves all is not lost

Even though the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the ugly side of the country, including some unpalatable acts of thievery, it has also revealed another side of South Africans – generosity and kindness. In her book, Archive of ...Read article

New research project: Living and working in Coronavirus times

Six researchers, Prof. Ian Rothmann (Director Optentia), Prof. Llewellyn van Zyl (Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands), Dr Jeniboy Kimpah, Dr Ume Laila and Dr Rachele Paver (postdoctoral fellows - Optentia), and Dr...Read article

Newsletter, July 2021