Abstract:
ORIENTATION : The success of organisations depends on their ability to appoint, develop, sustain
and retain skilled employees. Retaining a strongly committed workforce has become a top
priority for most organisations in the financial service sector. Nurturing positive organisational
behaviours and emotions helps retain employees, and this is key to lowering the risk of losing
precious talent.
RESEARCH PURPOSE : The purpose of the study was to determine if self-leadership and
psychological capital positively influence job embeddedness.
MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY : The study was motivated by the sentiments from a study conducted
by Nafei (2015) that indicated that traditional methods of reducing turnover have become
ineffective. The focus on positive retention was however described as promising.
RESEARCH APPROACH, DESIGN AND METHOD : A cross-sectional quantitative survey was employed
using self-administered questionnaires. The sample comprised 303 banking sector employees.
Data were analysed using SmartPLS.
MAIN FINDINGS : Self-leadership strategies (constructive thought patterns, behavioural strategies
and natural rewards) through psychological resources (hope, optimism and self-efficacy)
positively influenced job embeddedness.
PRACTICAL/MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS : The banking industry that seeks to retain employees may
invest in increasing levels of job embeddedness, which can be achieved through enhancing
psychological resources and utilising self-leadership strategies.
CONTRIBUTION/VALUE ADD : The findings provide preliminary insights that contribute to the
body of knowledge concerned with positive organisational behaviour and retention in the fields of industrial and organisational psychology in the South African context.
