Abstract
Orientation: Employees’ perceptions of rewards are related to their affective commitment and intrinsic motivation, which have been associated with staff turnover.Research purpose: The study sought to establish the relationship between intrinsic and different extrinsic rewards with intrinsic motivation and affective commitment.Motivation for the study: South African organisations are grappling with employee retention. Literature shows that employees who are more motivated and committed to their organisation are less likely to quit. Rewards management strategies serve to create a motivated and committed workforce. Using the correct types of rewards can thus provide a competitive advantage.Research design, approach and method: A cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted. Questionnaire data of 399 South African employees were analysed using bivariate correlations and multiple regression.Main findings: Three main findings emerged. Firstly, there is a relationship between all types of rewards investigated and the two outcome variables. Secondly, this relationship is stronger for intrinsic than for extrinsic rewards and thirdly, monetary rewards do not account for the variance in intrinsic motivation above that of non-monetary rewards.Practical/managerial implications: Rewards management strategies should focus on job characteristics and designs to increase staff intrinsic rewards and include non-monetary rewards, such as supportive leadership, to encourage employees’ intrinsic motivation and affective commitment.Contribution/value-add: This research demonstrated the important role different rewards, particularly intrinsic non-monetary rewards, play in creating a committed and motivated workforce. The insights gained from this study can promote organisational effectiveness. Suggestions of how to expand on and refine the current study are addressed.
Highlights
Problem statementKey focus of the study As a consequence of competitive markets, technological advancements and globalisation, organisations worldwide are facing challenges in retaining their human capital
All correlations were significant at the 1% level and moderate, except for the correlations between extrinsic non-monetary (ENMR), as well as extrinsic monetary (EMR), and intrinsic motivation, which were weak (Cohen, 1988) (Table 5)
The results of this study demonstrated that by and large the relationships between different types of rewards, and affective commitment and intrinsic motivation were similar to those found in other http://www.sajhrm.co.za societies
Summary
Key focus of the study As a consequence of competitive markets, technological advancements and globalisation, organisations worldwide are facing challenges in retaining their human capital. This is no different in South Africa, as research by Kinnear and Sutherland (2001) has shown. In order to retain its staff, organisations often focus on remuneration and other monetary benefits as their main retention strategy research has long established that employees are unlikely to remain in the employment relationship when incentivised by monetary benefits alone This begs the question as to what other types of rewards could be effective in reducing the risk of staff turnover in South African organisations through their relationship with affective commitment and motivation
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