The general aim of the study was to assess the relationship between the graduateness, employability and satisfaction with retention factors of individuals and whether graduateness moderates the relationship between employability and satisfaction. The study used a quantitative, cross-sectional research design on a purposive, non-probability sample (N = 100) of predominant black (93%), male (49%) and female (51%) trainees between the ages of 17-29 years (early career). Presenting/applying information skills significantly and negatively predicted compensation while ethical/responsible behaviour significantly and positively predicted satisfaction with job characteristics and organisational commitment. Graduateness related positively to self-perceived general employability. General employability did not significantly predict the participants’ satisfaction with retention factors. Graduate skills and attributes did not significantly moderate the relationship between self-perceived employability and satisfaction with retention factors. Males had significantly stronger perceptions of employability compared to females while females had higher levels of work–life balance satisfaction compared to males. Overall, the results suggest that general self-perceived employability is more a function of graduateness than of retention, while graduateness positively relates to retention factors. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The objective of this study was: (1) to determine the relationship between job embeddedness (measured by the Job Embeddedness Scale), work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale), and turnover intention (measured by the Turnover Intention Scale); and (2) to determine whether employees from different groups, namely age, race, gender, marital status and tenure differ significantly in their levels of job embeddedness, work engagement and turnover intention. A quantitative survey was conducted on a non-probability purposive sample (N = 153) of staff in a higher education institution. Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships between job embeddedness, work engagement and turnover intention. Multiple regression analyses showed that organisation links and dedication negatively predicted the participants’ turnover intention. Significant differences between age, race, gender, marital status and tenure were also found. The findings contribute valuable knowledge to the field of Career Psychology and can be applied in the retention of employees in the higher education institution. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and practice. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Professional nurses comprise the largest number of health care professionals in South Africa. High turnover rates contribute to shortages of nurses in South Africa, aggravated by the emigration of nurses, inadequate recruitment of student nurses, and the expected retirement of many baby boomer nurses by 2016. This study addressed factors influencing the retention of professional nurses in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. In phase 1, postal questionnaires were completed by 101 registered nurses while semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 nurse managers in phase 2. Personal, organisational and managerial factors influenced the retention potential of the professional nurses. In terms of Maslow' Hierarchy of Needs Theory, most factors influencing nurses' retention operated on the lowest (physiological) level and concerned remuneration. Safety needs were compromised by the lack of equipment and supplies, the shortage of nurses and unsafe working places. Esteem needs included respect from doctors, managers and colleagues as well as recognition for outstanding performance. In terms of Vogt et al's Theory of Nurse Retention Theory, the constrictions caused by inadequate remuneration and safety aspects should be addressed. Lewin's Force-Field Analysis Theory recommends that the factors that influence nurses' retention negatively should be unfrozen, changed and refrozen, including communication. Based on these results guidelines were compiled for enhancing the retention rates of professional nurses (Annexure G). / Health Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

The aim of this research was to understand the main factors that explain turnover and retention at DOA Ukhahlamba District and to recommend to the District and Provincial management the appropriate strategy for retaining staff. To be able to achieve this aim, the following research objectives have been visited, namely: a) turnover trends, b) analysis of primary and external turnover factors and c) primarily retention factors. Data for analysing turnover trends was collected from the 2004 to 2007 DPSA and DOA annual reports. Primary data on labour turnover and retention factors was collected from 41 employees across different sections at DOA Ukhahlamba District by means of a questionnaire survey. The data was analysed using statistical methods, including frequency distribution, chi-square test and Pearson product-moment correlation. The findings have revealed that there is no clear pattern of turnover trends at DOA and DPSA, and DOA percentage turnover figures are low in comparison with those of the DPSA. In terms of organizational-specific factors, the top three primary turnover factors were identified, namely: a) communication within the organisation, b) leadership and the organisation and participation in decision making. The research results further revealed that communication within the organization had a significant impact with regard to race, but division, location, and grades did not. With regard to the external factors, research results identified the following most important external labour turnover factors arranged according to their importance, namely: lack of availability and quality of health care services and infrastructural development; lack of available sport and recreation facilities; crime in the area and people living in the neighbourhood; lack of educational opportunities available for the family, and geographic location of place of employment. The findings further revealed the top three retention factors, were strongly significantly correlated to each other, namely: resource availability, use of discretion in handling customer complaints, and the impact of the job on society. These are positively related to intention to stay. The implications these results to the management would require the review of the organisational Human Resource Management Policy and the introduction of Attraction and Retention Policy because at present its is non existence at DOA Eastern Cape. Research limitations: the study did not fully explore ethnicity when analysing the communication within the organisation as a labour turnover factor despite having an organisation that is diverse in nature, future academic research should focus more on labour turnover at management level and moderating variables to external labour turnover factors as there is little research done in this area. The factors identified for labour turnover and retention should be treated with caution as it may not be applicable to all sector Departments in the Eastern Cape and may be limited to Ukhahlamba District due to its geographic location. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge as it will serve as a guide to Eastern Cape DOA and other sector Departments in choosing factors to consider when designing their retention strategy in order to reduce labour turnover. To the academic researchers, the first three primary retention factors identified in the survey have not been seen before, grouped and rated amongst the top three retention factors which therefore means that the management support becomes more important than looking more on salary package as the first priority factor as revealed by most of the research literature consulted (Gustafson, 2002; Mobley, 1982; Mobley, 1979; Herzberg, 2003). This shows that labour turnover and retention factors will not be the same to all organisations, the location of the business and surrounding environment should be considered carefully when designing the appropriate policy and retention strategy of the organisation.

Midwifery is the backbone of women and child healthcare. The shortage of staff in maternity units is a crisis faced by many countries worldwide, including South Africa. This study aims to investigate and explore the perceptions of midwives on the shortage and retention of staff in a public institution. An explorative, descriptive generic qualitative design method was followed. Non-probability, purposive sampling technique was used. The study was conducted at one tertiary hospital in the district of Tshwane, Gauteng Province. A total of 11 midwives were interviewed. Thematic coding analysis was followed in analysing data. Midwives are passionate about their job, despite the hurdles related to their day-to-day work environment. They are demoralised by a chronic shortage of staff, and feel overworked. Staff involvement in decision-making processes is a motivational factor for midwives to stay in the profession. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

The objective of this study was: (1) to determine the relationship between job embeddedness (measured by the Job Embeddedness Scale), work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale), and turnover intention (measured by the Turnover Intention Scale); and (2) to determine whether employees from different groups, namely age, race, gender, marital status and tenure differ significantly in their levels of job embeddedness, work engagement and turnover intention. A quantitative survey was conducted on a non-probability purposive sample (N = 153) of staff in a higher education institution. Correlational analyses revealed significant relationships between job embeddedness, work engagement and turnover intention. Multiple regression analyses showed that organisation links and dedication negatively predicted the participants’ turnover intention. Significant differences between age, race, gender, marital status and tenure were also found. The findings contribute valuable knowledge to the field of Career Psychology and can be applied in the retention of employees in the higher education institution. The study concludes with recommendations for future research and practice. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The objectives of the study were firstly to determine the relationship between employability attributes (measured by the Employability Attributes Scale), career adaptability (measured by the Career-Adapt Abilities Scale) and retention factors (measured by the Retention Factor Scale), and, secondly, to determine whether employees from different age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups differ significantly in their levels of employability attributes, career adaptability and retention factors. A cross-sectional quantitative, correlational research design was followed. The non-probability sample consisted of 321 permanently employed salaried employees in a South African automotive manufacturing company. Descriptive statistics, correlations, structural equation modelling and regressions were used for data analysis. The data analysis revealed significant associations between the career metacompetencies and retention factors. In addition, significant differences were found between age, gender, race, tenure and job level groups. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The general aim of the study was to assess the relationship between the graduateness, employability and satisfaction with retention factors of individuals and whether graduateness moderates the relationship between employability and satisfaction. The study used a quantitative, cross-sectional research design on a purposive, non-probability sample (N = 100) of predominant black (93%), male (49%) and female (51%) trainees between the ages of 17-29 years (early career). Presenting/applying information skills significantly and negatively predicted compensation while ethical/responsible behaviour significantly and positively predicted satisfaction with job characteristics and organisational commitment. Graduateness related positively to self-perceived general employability. General employability did not significantly predict the participants’ satisfaction with retention factors. Graduate skills and attributes did not significantly moderate the relationship between self-perceived employability and satisfaction with retention factors. Males had significantly stronger perceptions of employability compared to females while females had higher levels of work–life balance satisfaction compared to males. Overall, the results suggest that general self-perceived employability is more a function of graduateness than of retention, while graduateness positively relates to retention factors. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study investigated the impact of intrinsic motivation and job involvement, with employee retention acting as a mediating variable. As most organisations want to retain their best employees and sustain their organisational performance, this study strives to add to the body of knowledge on motivation, job involvement and employee retention, with specific reference to selected departments within the Eastern Cape Provincial Government in the South African context. Intrinsic motivation and job involvement were used as the independent variables. Employee retention is the dependent variable, which was measured using the cumulative Michigan Organisational Assessment Two-item Questionnaire (Camman, Fichman & Klesh, 1979) and a third assessment item from Landau & Hammer (1986). A quantitative relational design was employed to investigate the degree to which intrinsic motivation and job involvement predict an employee’s intention to quit their job. The data were collected through a self administered questionnaire from a convenience sample of 160 employees within the selected government departments in the study. The empirical results obtained from the data; using the Pearson correlation coefficients, indicated significant relationships between intrinsic motivation, job involvement and employee retention. Evidence was further found that employees’ intrinsic motivation and job involvement influenced the extent of employees’ intention to quit. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis of the data indicated that intrinsic motivation is the strongest predictor of employee retention, followed by job involvement.

Wendel (1994, p. 91) defined perceived organizational support (POS) as “organization support in terms of all things that relate to assistance and relationships amongst working peers and colleagues, which involve the feeling of need between superiors and subordinates . Rothbard (2001, p. 656) in defining job engagement (JE) listed two components which he thought were critical for its effectiveness on organizational functioning: (i) attention and (ii) absorption, with the former referring to “cognitive ability and the amount of time one spends thinking about the role”, while the latter “means being engrossed in a role and means the intensity of one’s focus on a role”. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) was first introduced by Organ in the 1980s and he defined the concept of organizational citizenship behavior “as discretionary behaviors by individuals (employees) that do not form part of formal requirements of a job, but are necessary and promote effective functioning of the organization (Organ, 1988)”. The objective of study was to explore the relationship between perceived organizational support and job engagement and their effect organizational citizenship behavior. Other relationships that were tested were first, the direct relationship between POS JE. Secondly, the combined effect of POS and JE on OCB. The study was conducted amongst nurses at Victoria hospital, in Alice within the Nkonkobe district municipality. The results showed a significant relationship between JE and OCB, whilst the relationship between POS and OCB was not accepted. The results for the other two hypotheses that were tested; (i) relationship between POS and JE, (ii) combined effect of POS and JE on OCB also showed that they were not accepted. The consistency scores for these variables were of international level (n=106). The Pearson correlation coefficients were used for hypothesis testing.