Employee engagement: extension of the job demands resource (JD-R) model with the ubuntu construct.

Abstract

This study contributes to our understanding of the moderation and mediation processes through which job demands, job resources and employee engagement are linked with desired organizational behavioural outcomes [intention to turnover (IT) and affective commitment (AC)]. The study extends the JD-R model with a typical culturally specific African construct, Ubuntu, in order to increase its relevance to the African context. Mediation and moderation analysis were used to test the hypothesised relationships in two cross sectional samples of 175 public sector and 263 private sector employees. Results revealed that organizational based self-esteem (OBSE) and distributive justice (DJ) were positively related to engagement (for public sector employees) and OBSE, DJ and colleague support (CS) were positively related to engagement (for private sector employees). For both sectors combined, OBSE, DJ and job autonomy (JA) were positively related to engagement. The findings supported mediation of employee engagement between DJ and intention to turnover and OBSE and affective commitment for public sector whereas for private sector, mediation of employee engagement between OBSE, DJ, CS and intention to turnover was not supported whereas engagement mediated the relationship between DJ and affective commitment for private sector. For both private and public sector, engagement mediated the relationship between JA, DJ and intention to turnover and the relationship between OBSE, JA and DJ and affective commitment. Moreover, Ubuntu construct was positively related with engagement in both private and public sector employees. Expectedly, Ubuntu mediated the relationship between supervisor support (SS) and employee engagement for all sectors. However surprisingly, mediation of Ubuntu between CS and engagement was not supported. There were no statistically significant interactions for both sectors suggesting that, contrary to the JD-|R model, job demands do not moderate the relationship between resources and employee engagement. Overall, the findings suggest that specific job resources could be provided for each sector to improve engagement and employee engagement could be used as a mechanism to explain the relationship between resources (job and personal) and desired organizational behaviour outcomes (IT and AC) . More importantly Ubuntu construct is positively related to employee engagement and can also be used to explain the relationship between supervisor support, colleague support and employee engagement. Implications for Human Resource Management research and practice are highlighted and directions for future research discussed.