The Relationship Between Job Motivation and Organisational Commitment in a Public Sector Organisation in South Africa

Abstract

This study aims to examine the relationship between job motivation and organisational commitment in the public sector organisation in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Job motivation and organisational commitment have been a challenge for both private and public sector organisations for decades in developed and developing countries. Employees' acceptance of organisational goals, readiness to work hard for the organization, and desire to stay with the organization demonstrate organisational commitment. However, public servants' displeasure in South Africa is manifested through ongoing labour demonstrations, corruption, mismanagement, poor leadership, erosion of ethical guidance and poor performance besides promulgating progressive policies after the 1994 non-racial democratic elections. The study used a cross-sectional survey design and quantitative. The target population for this study consisted of employees in Capricorn District, Department of Basic Education (DBE) Limpopo Province in South Africa. Office-based employees of all ranks participated. Two hundred and thirty-four (234) employees including administrators, supporting personnel, educational specialists, accountants, heads of departments and directors were randomly sampled using a Rao Soft Sample Calculator version 21. For this study, the Work Preference Inventory (WPI) questionnaire and the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) were used as primary data collection tools. The questionnaires were distributed and only 159 questionnaires were returned (response rate of 68%). Data were analysed using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26.0. Descriptive statistics by way of means and standard deviation for each variable and its sub-variables were used to analyse the data. Cronbach alpha coefficients were used to assess the reliability of the measuring instruments and the t-test was used to determine the correlation coefficient. The results showed that most departmental employees are motivated by extrinsic job factors as compared to intrinsic job factors. The results also revealed that there is a positive relationship between job motivation and other components of organisational commitment but a non-significant relationship with continuance commitment. The study recommended that the department have a sufficiently robust motivation mechanism among employees such as rewarding performance, praising good workers, incentives, and development of policies and regulations that create a conducive environment where employees would be motivated, leading to improved organisational commitment.