Assessing the impact of the Employment Equity Act on the employee satisfaction in the manufacturing sector

It has been observed that the workplace environment affects the performance and job satisfaction of employees. Employees are more than the most important asset for an organisation, they play an essential role in current operational performance and future competitive advantage. Employees spend a major part of their life in the organisation within which they work. Managing the diversity of human capital in an organisations is key towards organisational sustainability in the manufacturing sector. The main objective of this study was to determine the degree of employees’ job satisfaction towards the implementation of Employment Equity Act in the manufacturing sector. One of the most important and broad-based challenges currently facing organisations in various sectors is adapting to people who are different. The term used for describing this challenge is workforce diversity. Workforce diversity means that organisations are becoming a more heterogeneous mix of people in terms gender, age, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. The main aim of the Employment Equity Act is the creation of a diverse workforce within South African organisations. If the organisation wants to remain competitive in the environment that its operating, it requires an effective management of diversity. The South African manufacturing sector is facing a major challenge regarding the attainment of workforce diversity in terms of implementing Employment Equity Act legislation, hence this study was an exploratory field study with the aim of understanding what impact the implementation of Employment Equity has on the employee job satisfaction in manufacturing sector. The study further investigated whether variables such as, workplace diversity, organisation culture, change management, leadership style and employee engagement do affect employee job satisfaction. A detailed questionnaire was distributed to a convenience sample of employees who are working in the manufacturing organisations. The data collected from this study was analysed by the statistician consultant provided by the Nelson Mandela University. In this iv study, the collected data was analysed using the latest Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) which reflects the data as graphical representations. The results of the study revealed that over 60% of organisations in the manufacturing sector, and represented in the study are creating a ‘great place to work’ and their employees are satisfied with their jobs. Although, overall results of the study illustrate that employees in the manufacturing sector are satisfied with their organisations and which results in job satisfaction, an interesting finding was discovered in the study and which might have implications for manufacturing organisations in the way change management processes are carried out. The study findings revealed that the level of involvement as perceived by respondents was limited to adequate information and not necessarily total participation in the decision process. The study recommends that change management processes should include the participation of all employees in the organisation. Conclusions and recommendations were drawn from the literature and the findings of the study