Investigating the effects of employee empowerment on turnover intention in a mining organisation

Abstract

Orientation: Mining plays a significant role in the South African economy and is crucial for job creation opportunities. Mining organisations are plagued by various challenges, which include turnover intention. Research purpose: The current study sought to establish whether employee empowerment (psychological and structural empowerment) predicts turnover intention in a mining organisation. Research approach/design and method: The study followed a quantitative research approach and used a cross-sectional design. A non-probability sampling technique was used, and a purposive sampling method was selected. The sample comprised 371 mining employees (men = 276; women = 95). Data were collected through pre-established measures, all of which reported acceptable Cronbach’s alphas. Various statistical techniques were employed to address the main research objective. Main findings: Employee empowerment negatively impacts turnover intention. The employees who perceived having informal power were more likely to consider leaving the organisation. Employees who perceived less formal power were more likely to consider leaving than the employees who perceived having formal power. Practical/managerial implications: Recommendations are made to HR practitioners regarding employee empowerment of mining employees, which, when implemented, have the potential to reduce employee turnover intention. Contribution/value-add: The results of this study provide a better understanding to human resource managers about the relationship between employee empowerment and turnover intention of mining personnel. This study contributed to theory, as some key findings are different from previous studies within the South African context.

Keywords

• empowerment
• structural empowerment
• psychological empowerment
• turnover
• mining
• mines