The manufacturing industry today is seen as a demanding world of work where employees
are constantly exposed to high demands. This may have an influence on their work
engagement levels and their organisational commitment. It seems that in these industries,
employee turnover and absenteeism levels are high, while employees also seem to be
demotivated in their work.
The objective of this study was to investigate the levels of work engagement among
employees in a manufacturing organisation and to assess which job demands and resources
would predict work engagement. A random sample of 83 employees in a manufacturing
organisation was taken. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWJ3S) and Job Demands-
Resources Scale (IDRS) were used as measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics were used
to explore the data Cronbach alpha coefficients were used to assess the internal consistency /
reliability of the measuring instruments. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to specify
the relationships between the variables. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine
the effects of job demands and job resources on work engagement.
The results of the Pearson Correlations showed that two job resources, namely organisational
support (i.e. relationship with supervisor, role clarity, information, communication, and
participation) and growth opportunities (i.e. variety in the job, opportunities to learn, and
autonomy) were strongly related to the levels of work engagement. Social support (from
colleagues) and advancement (i.e. remuneration, training and advawement opportunities)
were moderately related to work engagement. The results of the regression analyses further
indicated that an increase in two job resources, organisational support and growth
opportunities, will probably increase the overall work engagement level of employee in a
manufacturing organisation. The results also indicated that job demands (i.e. pace of work,
quantitative workload, and emotional load) had a weak relationship with work engagement. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/1312 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Coetzer, Michiel Frederick |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
Page generated in 0.0076 seconds