Browsing by Author "Vermooten, Nicola"

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    Job crafting, proactive personality and meaningful work : implications for employee engagement and turnover intention
    (AOSIS, 2019) Vermooten, Nicola; Boonzaier, Billy; Kidd, Martin
    Orientation : Jobs in the financial services industry are in constant flux because of the ever-changing nature of the products and services provided to customers. This could result in employee disengagement and turnover intention. Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the role of job crafting, proactive personality and meaningful work in predicting employee engagement and turnover intention among employees in the financial services industry based on the central tenets of the Job Demands-Resources theory. Motivation for the study: Organisations or incumbents may redesign jobs. The self-initiated proactive behaviour that incumbents exhibit to shape the meaning of their work is known as job crafting. The relationships that exist among job crafting, proactive personality, meaningful work, employee engagement and turnover intention were, therefore, investigated. Research design, approach and method: A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used to gather primary data in service-providing firms across South Africa (n = 391). Main findings: Results demonstrated that job crafting, proactive personality and meaningful work significantly predict variance in employee engagement and turnover intention. Practical and managerial implications: Specific human resource practices and interventions are proffered to foster job crafting, proactivity and meaningful work and, in doing so, address employee disengagement and turnover intention. Contribution or value-add: The study highlights the importance of encouraging employees to craft their jobs as it has specific implications for prominent work-related outcomes, such as employee engagement and turnover intention, among employees in the financial services industry.
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    Variance in employee engagement : a qualitative analysis amongst public school teachers in the Cape Winelands education district
    (AOSIS, 2020) Vermooten, Nicola; Malan, Johan; Boonzaier, Billy
    Orientation: The Global Competitiveness Index Report 2017 – 2018, which ranks the quality of 124 countries’ education system, positioned South Africa 114th. Challenges with the quality of basic education offered in many public schools across South Africa are attributed to the lack of employee engagement amongst teachers. Research purpose: The aim of this study was, firstly, to identify the most salient antecedents of variance in employee engagement amongst teachers and, secondly, to explore the relational dynamics that exist amongst these antecedents. Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the intention to inform human resource practices and interventions that can be adopted to facilitate optimal teacher engagement and subsequently performance. Research approach/design and method: A modified version of the interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) methodology was adopted to generate and collect primary qualitative data, but the data analysis was performed in accordance with the prescribed methodology. Initial (n = 37) and follow-up (n = 28) individual interviews were conducted amongst teachers from 12 mainstream public schools in the Cape Winelands education district. Main findings: Teacher-level, school-level, community-level and societal-level determinants were identified that explain variance in employee engagement amongst teachers. Practical/managerial implications: Human resource practices and interventions that may nurture employee engagement amongst teachers are recommended. Contribution/value-add: This study identified the most salient antecedents of variance in employee engagement amongst teachers in the Cape Winelands District and the findings allow for a number of recommendations regarding interventions to facilitate teacher engagement and ultimately performance.
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    Variance in employee engagement among public school teachers in the Western Cape province : an exploratory study
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Vermooten, Nicola; Malan, Johan; Boonzaier, Billy; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In 2011, the National Planning Commission identified poverty and inequality as the most significant burdens facing South Africa. Today, this reality remains unchanged. Abject poverty and high levels of inequality are still noticeable in many aspects of the South African society. Based on a review of the extant literature, the researcher contends that the provision of quality education for all South Africans offers a long-term, sustainable solution to these challenges, especially in public schools. Regrettably, the quality of basic education in South Africa engenders concern. Even though multiple factors contribute to the efficiency and performance of an education system, the researcher claims that teacher quality is one of the most salient determinants. She proposes that well-functioning teachers, who are able and motivated to perform their job optimally, are required to provide quality basic education for all South Africans. For this reason, the study was intended to gain an in-depth understanding of the engagement phenomena among public school teachers. A mixed-methods research design was used to guide the study. It comprised of a qualitative phase (i.e. Parts 1 and 2) and a quantitative phase (i.e. Part 3). During Part 1 of the qualitative phase, initial interviews were conducted with 37 teachers from fee schools (n = 20) and no-fee schools (n = 17) in the Western Cape Province to identify the most salient contextual, organisational, job and individual antecedents of variance in employee engagement. During Part 2 of the qualitative phase, follow-up interviews were conducted with 28 teachers from fee schools (n = 14) and no-fee schools (n = 14) in the Western Cape Province to explore the relational dynamics that exist among the identified antecedents. In addition, the researcher enquired about the stability of the perceived causal relationships (i.e. direction and intensity) and teachers’ level of engagement (i.e. within-person variance) over time during the follow-up interviews. Based on the qualitative results and a review of the extant literature, a structural model emerged, which explained public school teachers in the Western Cape Province’s experience with the engagement phenomenon. A self-report web-based survey was completed by 353 teachers from fee schools (n = 321) and no-fee schools (n = 31) in the Western Cape Province during the quantitative phase to evaluate the emerging structural model1. The web-based survey comprised of valid and reliable instruments that were selected based on the antecedents that were identified during Part 1 of the qualitative phase. The psychometric properties of these instruments were determined using item analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis. The emerging structural model was evaluated using variance-based structural equation modelling. The study made a meaningful contribution to the extant body of knowledge regarding employee engagement. It offers valuable insight into the most salient contextual, organisational, job and individual antecedents of variance in employee engagement among public school teachers in the Western Cape Province, as well as the relational dynamics that exist among these antecedents. Based on the results of the study theoretical conclusions were made to guide future research with regard to employee engagement, and managerial implications were discussed to inform the development and implementation of human resource practices and interventions that may foster employee engagement among all public school teachers.