Original Research
Happiness, work engagement and organisational commitment of support staff at a tertiary education institution in South Africa
Submitted: 03 December 2010 | Published: 19 September 2011
About the author(s)
Lyndsay K. Field, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaJohanna H. Buitendach, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Abstract
Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to determine the relationship between happiness, work engagement and organisational commitment and to determine whether happiness and work engagement hold predictive value for the organisational commitment of support staff.
Motivation for the study: This study aims to enable the identification of a link between happiness, work engagement and organisational commitment and to identify a predictive value of the model.
Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional survey design. They used a sample of 123 (N = 123) support staff members from a tertiary education institution in South Africa. The researchers used four demographic questionnaires for the research. These were the ‘Satisfaction with Life Scale’ (SWLS), the ‘Well-Being Questionnaire’ (WBQ), the ‘Utrecht Work Engagement Scale’ (UWES) and the ‘Organisational Commitment Questionnaire’ (OCQ).
Main findings: The researchers found a significant positive relationship between affective organisational commitment and work engagement, as well as between affective organisational commitment and happiness (as the SWLS and WBQ measure). They found a significant positive relationship between work engagement and happiness. Finally, the results showed that happiness and work engagement have predictive value for affective organisational commitment.
Practical/managerial implications: Happiness and work engagement have predictive value for affective organisational commitment. Therefore, institutions should carefully tailor any implementation programme or initiative to address this relationship.
Contribution/value-add: The findings will benefit both managers and workers. Institutions should consider evaluating the levels of happiness and work engagement of their support staff to address the issue of the organisational commitment of their employees.
Keywords
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Gary D. Stack, James Wallace
Studies in Higher Education vol: 48 issue: 7 first page: 1025 year: 2023
doi: 10.1080/03075079.2023.2180629