Work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction among employees of a diamond mining company in Zimbabwe.

Abstract

Orientation: The mining industry has been one of the industries that has struggled the most to deal with employee welfare matters. As a result, it has been difficult to maintain industrial peace and harmony in several workplaces, resulting in negative multiplier effects to the mining business, particularly the unsatisfactory working conditions faced by the lifeblood of any organisation –its employees. In response to this, most organisations directed the bulk of their resources to the basics and tangible things, such as salary and rewards needed by employees to perform their duties, but a lot of unrest is still recorded. This dissertation examined aspects of work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction among employees in a diamond mining company in Zimbabwe in order to understand those aspects that drive employees to apply themselves wholly to their work roles. Research Purpose: The research aimed to quantitatively explore levels and interrelationships between three constructs: work engagement, intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction among mine workers in a diamond mining company in Zimbabwe. In addition, the research qualitatively explored what managers’ perceptions of these three constructs are. Research Design, Approach and Method: This was a mixed methods, viz quantitative and qualitative study, which consisted of two phases of data collection. The first phase was a cross-sectional survey design, consisting of a sample (n= 157) drawn from employees of the diamond company. Three instruments: Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) and the Minnessota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) were used to obtain the needed information from these participants. The second phase was the qualitative aspect, which consisted of in-depth individual interviews with functional managers. Main Findings: The study found that, while most of the participants (74%) are highly satisfied by their work, a substantial number (59%) are moderately (of average level) engaged and 67% are moderately motivated intrinsically. The findings suggest a positive co-relation between job satisfaction and work engagement; job satisfaction and intrinsic motivation, and work engagement and intrinsic motivation among the miners. Of all the factors that play a significant role in determining employees’ levels of job satisfaction, intrinsic motivation and work engagement, age and marital status were found to be significant contributors to the way the employees apply themselves to their work roles. The findings also suggest that the majority of managers in the company believe that the shop floor workers (miners) are highly engaged in their work, highly intrinsically motivated and highly satisfied in their jobs. However, this contradicts the results obtained from the miners themselves. Practical/ Managerial Implications: The study notes with concern the opposing perceptions that managers seem to have regarding work engagement, job satisfaction and motivation levels among the miners. This attests to a knowledge gap that management has about low-level employees, a fact which may call into question the existence or non-existence, in the company, of a proper communication structure (and infrastructure) that allows employees to communicate with management. This may also point to the management approach adopted by the company, which may be discouraging employees from communicating their feelings to management. The ‘false’ impression which management has about employees may result in negative multiplier effects, such as strikes, high rate of staff turnover, inefficiency and, ultimately, organisational failure.