Browsing by Author "Joseph, Debbie"

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    Perceived contributing factors impeding job satisfaction of social workers in non-government organisations
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Joseph, Debbie; Engelbrecht, Lambert; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Despite repeated attempts by the South African government to increase retention of social workers, it is apparent there is seepage of attrition at various junctures, namely low output of graduates, emigration and exiting the profession for a career in the private sector. In order to successfully increase retention, it is essential to gain an understanding of the push and pull factors of retention and attrition within the profession, and specifically those that provide the essential service of working within the NGO sector. Thus, the overall objective of the study was to discover and unearth a detailed understanding of the perceived factors impeding job satisfaction among social workers, specifically pertaining to those working within the NGO sector. The research approach was qualitative, positioned largely within the domain of an exploratory, phenomenological paradigm. An exploratory, descriptive design was utilised, as the variables of job satisfaction have been largely unexplored within the milieu of the South African social work setting. A purposive, sampling technique was utilised and a total 20 participants were included in the study. A pilot study, which included 2 participants, was conducted. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview, audio recorded and transcribed. The sample was sourced from 5 organisations within the Roodepoort, Tshwane, Sasolburg and Kagiso areas. Two literature chapters are presented, focusing on the generic theories of job satisfaction and subsequently placing these theories within the ambit of contributing factors to job satisfaction of social workers in South Africa, specifically those working primarily in the NGO child and family protection arena. Chapter four included the presentation of the empirical study. Data was collated and analysed into themes, sub-themes and categories that followed on from the findings of the literature study. Participant narratives were used to corroborate the main findings. The findings showed that ultimately the concept of job satisfaction is a complex symbiotic relationship between situational, dispositional and social information processing factors. There is a significant interplay of positive and negative factors that play out against each other but often feed off each other. It was clear that a myriad of negative influences such as poor working conditions, large caseloads, poor remuneration, erratic and irregular supervision, lowly image of social workers play a significant role in antecedent factors to dissatisfaction within the workplace. However, despite the fact that South African social workers face the direst circumstances, many still obtain a level of satisfaction from helping others; profound satisfaction is obtained from a dispositional predilection towards a desire to help others. Compassion satisfaction remains a powerful and overarching contributor towards satisfaction within the workplace, but this can only be achieved if key role players make every effort to decrease the negative influences as much as possible. Chapter five included the main conclusions and recommendations. The recommendations were varied but often highlighted the fact that often small, seemingly inconsequential actions could go a long way to increase job satisfaction levels among social workers and ultimately increase retention.