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

Rudolf M Oosthuizen ,Claude–Hélène Mayer ,Ntombifuthi J Zwane

doi:10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1340

Rudolf M Oosthuizen , Claude–Hélène Mayer + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1340

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Abstract

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.

Highlights

The promotion of employee health and wellness in organisations is regarded as a crucial factor for organisational success
This study focuses on the relationship between BO, employee engagement and self-perceived employability (SPE) to fill the void in theory regarding the South African public sector
The scores obtained on EEI (M = 3.48; SD = 0.64) were at a moderate level, which could indicate that the participants agreed with the EEI items to a reasonably fair extent, and felt more or less engaged in their work

Summary

Introduction

The promotion of employee health and wellness in organisations is regarded as a crucial factor for organisational success. Organisations have attempted to improve employee health and well-being and to advance human potential (Usman & Raja, 2013; Van den Broeck, Vansteenkiste, De Witte, & Lens, 2008) Evidence of this is demonstrated through the programmatic interventions in the workplace such as wellness programmes aimed at promoting the well-being of employees (Mattke et al, 2013). The literature shows that a myriad of BO experiences in public sector institutions encompass employees feeling unvalued, chronic fatigue and feeling disconnected from the objectives of their public institutions (Bell & Bell, 2010) These experiences are associated with their unsuccessful attempts at improving the quality of services because of the lack of available resources (Hirayama & Fernando, 2016)

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