The relationship between job embeddedness and psychological ownership within a unionised manufacturing sector in South Africa

Abstract

This research intends to prove that there are significant relationships between the job embeddedness and psychological ownership constructs. This will be done by statistically analysing data from surveys based on defined constructs and questionnaires, administered to 300 employees in the manufacturing sector in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. The research further wishes to understand if unionisation has an effect on these relationships. The Job Embeddedness construct is one that is leading the movements in the last decade on the new approaches to employee retention. The Job embeddedness construct identified three sub-constructs that effects retention positively, that is Fit, Link and Sacrifice. Fostering these sub-constructs facilitates an employee to become more embedded in an organisation. Psychological Ownership has five-dimensions; accountability, belongingness, self-efficacy, self- identity and territoriality. The Psychological ownership construct relates to an employee’s own drive to take personal ownership of a role within an organisation. If ownership is adopted correctly an employee’s performance and outlook is affected positively. Creating psychological ownership within employees will enable them to feel and perform like owners, further positively enhancing their roles by taking an ownership view of the task at hand, and persevere through completion. Further acknowledging that the organisations success will ultimately benefit them in the long run.