Development and evaluation of an engagement/burnout structural model within the mining and construction equipment supplier industry

Thesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2019.ENGLISH SUMMARY : The mining and construction industries in South Africa are currently facing great uncertainty and volatility due to the decline in commodity prices and an uncertain political climate, as well as increased global competition and continuous change. This has led to retrenchments and downsizing, impacting thousands of employees. The construction and mining equipment suppliers have consequently also been affected and reported a R1 billion loss in sales revenue annually due to these conditions. Employee wellbeing (engagement and burnout) within the construction and mining equipment supplier industry will undoubtedly be affected by the shifting trends in and economic performance of the sector. Employees within this industry face increased pressure to shoulder greater workloads and increased threats of retrenchment. The job demands placed on employees and the job and personal resources they have available to meet these increased demands therefore will unquestionably affect their wellbeing and in turn have an influence on performance and overall organisational success. This study examined the factors contributing to perceived job burnout and employee engagement within a South African organisation by utilising the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model as a framework to consider the relationship between job demands, job resources, personal resources, job burnout and employee engagement. This study aimed to provide further theoretical and empirical evidence that job demands (work overload, job insecurity), job resources (learning organisation) and personal resources (emotional intelligence) affected the level of job burnout and employee engagement of individuals within an organisation in the mining and construction equipment supplier industry. The research-initiating question asked why there is variance in engagement and burnout amongst employees within the mining and construction equipment supplier industry. In an attempt to answer the research-initiating question, the objective of this study was therefore to empirically test the existing theoretical JD-R Model, and the proposed relationships between the constructs, via structural equation modelling. Substantive hypotheses were formulated in order to determine the validity of the arguments in the literature review. An ex post facto correlational research design was employed to test the various substantive hypotheses. Convenience sampling was used to obtain the sample, which consisted of 210 employees who worked for the South African operations of a mining and construction equipment supplier. The variables in the proposed structural model were measured by means of an electronic questionnaire that contained the various measurement instruments (UWES-15; MBI-HSS; GENOS EI; JDRS; DLOQ) and was sent via email to the employees to be completed. Additional biographical information (age, gender, race, education) was also obtained via the questionnaire. Sixteen proposed hypotheses were tested via item analysis and partial least squares analysis (PLS) and reported on. Of the 16 hypotheses formulated, only seven were found to be statistically significant, namely the relationship between employee engagement and job burnout; between job burnout and employee engagement; between employee engagement and emotional intelligence; between employee engagement and learning organisation; between emotional intelligence and learning organisation; between learning organisation and emotional intelligence; and between job burnout and work overload. Of the nine statistically non-significant paths, eight were moderating effects. The non-significant results may be attributed to various factors and are alluded to. This study highlights various aspects of employee engagement and job burnout and their antecedents. Possible interventions are suggested based on the results obtained to assist human resource managers and industrial psychologist in reducing the levels of job burnout and in promoting employee engagement within the organisation. In addition, limitations and recommendations for future research are detailed.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Geen opsomming beskikbaar.Master