Employee engagement at Eskom Distribution Free State Operating Unit Head Office
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Date
2015-11-13
Authors
Bok, Llewellyn Alistair
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Employee engagement has the potential to influence employee performance and
management, yet it is not well understood by a number or organisations. The
current challenge facing most organisations, however, is that employee
engagement levels are very low which impacts the performance of the
organisation negatively.
The study centres on the Eskom Distribution Free State Operating Unit Head
Office in order to evaluate the current level of employee engagement amongst
employees. The study also aims at determining the relationship between
employee engagement and certain biographical factors of employees.
The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) questionnaire that measures three
aspects of engagement namely vigour, dedication and absorption was used in the
study. The overall results indicated that the majority of the respondents are
engaged. The study highlighted two profiles: a white male older than 50 years of
age working in the Maintenance and Operations department, who is highly
engaged versus a black female younger than 31 years of age with less than 5
years experience working in the Customer Services department, being the least
engaged.
Although the overall results indicated that respondents were engaged there were
areas of concern. The results for vigour indicated a work environment that is not
very supportive, meaning there is not a good work–life balance and employees are
unwilling to go the extra mile for the organisation and easily get tired when doing
their job. Respondents did not feel like going to work in the morning and did not
have high levels of energy and mental resilience. The results for dedication paint a
picture of employees who do not find their jobs inspirational or challenging and this
may be because they cannot see the link between what they do and the
organisation’s overall goals. The absorption results indicate non-commitment and
a lack of involvement by employees in their jobs. They are not immersed in their
jobs at all – it is only a means to an end. Continuous interventions are required from leadership to maintain and improve
employee engagement. This includes roadshows to share the business priorities
and focus areas as well as to reinforce the part each employee plays in achieving
said priorities. It is also recommended that special engagement sessions be held
with Customer Services employees since they are the least engaged.
Management should ensure that employees have adequate job resources, that it
is a correct job fit and that there is leadership support to enable employees to do
their jobs well.
Conduct quarterly employee engagement surveys in the Free State Operating Unit
to see if the interventions are having the desired effect.
Lastly, further investigation is recommended on the use of the internationally
based and developed Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) in a South African
context since the findings highlighted engagement differences among ethnic
groups.
Description
Keywords
Employee engagement, Biographical factors, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Employee motivation, Employee -- Attitudes, Dissertation (MBA (Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2015