Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sector

Orientation: The employee engagement (EE) approach has been utilised to combat burnout (BO) in both private and public sector institutions. With increasing research, self-perceived employability (SPE) is gaining popularity as an effective tool for reducing BO. Knowledge of the relationship between t...

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Main Authors: Rudolf M. Oosthuizen, Claude-Hélène Mayer, Ntombifuthi J. Zwane
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2021-05-01
Series:South African Journal of Human Resource Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/1340
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spelling doaj-d879aa3447d84323a52407ada64dcf602021-06-04T07:12:55ZengAOSISSouth African Journal of Human Resource Management1683-75842071-078X2021-05-01190e1e1210.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1340598Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sectorRudolf M. Oosthuizen0Claude-Hélène Mayer1Ntombifuthi J. Zwane2Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, University of South Africa, PretoriaDepartment of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, University of South Africa, PretoriaDepartment of Industrial and Organisational Psychology, University of South Africa, PretoriaOrientation: The employee engagement (EE) approach has been utilised to combat burnout (BO) in both private and public sector institutions. With increasing research, self-perceived employability (SPE) is gaining popularity as an effective tool for reducing BO. Knowledge of the relationship between these three constructs is therefore important for public sector institutions and researchers in Industrial and Organisational (I/O) Psychology and human resource management (HRM) in South Africa. Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between BO, EE and SPE amongst employees in South Africa’s public sector. Motivation for the study: Numerous studies have highlighted the prevalence of poor service delivery in public sector institutions in connection with BO and highlighted a decrease in BO through EE and SPE. However, the relationship between these three constructs is still quite unknown. The study’s results will fill the void of research in this area and can be applied in I/O Psychology and HR practices. Research design, approach and method: This quantitative study involved a non-probability sample of 158 South African public sector employees. Correlational and descriptive statistical analyses were used to analyse the data. Main results: Burnout has a significant negative relationship with EE; however, BO does not significantly correlate with SPE. There are significant differences between the various biographical groups and BO, EE and SPE. Practical/managerial implications: Approaches to reducing BO amongst employees should consider EE and SPE as effective tools to enhance employees’ wellness, morale and improved service delivery. Contribution/value-add: Improving the EE levels and enhancing SPE will improve the well-being of employees in public sector institutions and help alleviate employee BO.https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/1340burnoutemployee engagementself-perceived employabilitypublic sectornon-human services sector
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Rudolf M. Oosthuizen
Claude-Hélène Mayer
Ntombifuthi J. Zwane
spellingShingle Rudolf M. Oosthuizen
Claude-Hélène Mayer
Ntombifuthi J. Zwane
Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sector
South African Journal of Human Resource Management
burnout
employee engagement
self-perceived employability
public sector
non-human services sector
author_facet Rudolf M. Oosthuizen
Claude-Hélène Mayer
Ntombifuthi J. Zwane
author_sort Rudolf M. Oosthuizen
title Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sector
title_short Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sector
title_full Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sector
title_fullStr Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sector
title_full_unstemmed Burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the South African public sector
title_sort burnout, employee engagement and self-perceived employability in the south african public sector
publisher AOSIS
series South African Journal of Human Resource Management
issn 1683-7584
2071-078X
publishDate 2021-05-01
description Orientation: The employee engagement (EE) approach has been utilised to combat burnout (BO) in both private and public sector institutions. With increasing research, self-perceived employability (SPE) is gaining popularity as an effective tool for reducing BO. Knowledge of the relationship between these three constructs is therefore important for public sector institutions and researchers in Industrial and Organisational (I/O) Psychology and human resource management (HRM) in South Africa. Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between BO, EE and SPE amongst employees in South Africa’s public sector. Motivation for the study: Numerous studies have highlighted the prevalence of poor service delivery in public sector institutions in connection with BO and highlighted a decrease in BO through EE and SPE. However, the relationship between these three constructs is still quite unknown. The study’s results will fill the void of research in this area and can be applied in I/O Psychology and HR practices. Research design, approach and method: This quantitative study involved a non-probability sample of 158 South African public sector employees. Correlational and descriptive statistical analyses were used to analyse the data. Main results: Burnout has a significant negative relationship with EE; however, BO does not significantly correlate with SPE. There are significant differences between the various biographical groups and BO, EE and SPE. Practical/managerial implications: Approaches to reducing BO amongst employees should consider EE and SPE as effective tools to enhance employees’ wellness, morale and improved service delivery. Contribution/value-add: Improving the EE levels and enhancing SPE will improve the well-being of employees in public sector institutions and help alleviate employee BO.
topic burnout
employee engagement
self-perceived employability
public sector
non-human services sector
url https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/1340
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