4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    Exploring employee perceptions on the adoption of 4IR-driven job automation in the South African Food Manufacturing Industry
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Maphosa, Grant
    The Fourth Industrial Revolution (or 4IR in short) is characterised by the latest technologies that mostly serve as solutions for automating tasks. Examples include the internet of things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence with machine learning and robotic process automation. The food value chain is no exception to this automation. All processes involved in converting the raw agricultural produce into finished goods for sale and consumption are expected to eventually integrate the 4IR technological advances, which automate job functions. In the South African Food manufacturing industry, these traditionally manual tasks are performed by a high number of employees, many of which perform lower-occupational level manual functions. The study’s purpose was to explore the South African Food manufacturing industry’s employee’s perceptions of this 4IR phenomenon, with the technologies that will be possibly automating their job functions or overall employment. This is to intentionally address the main research problem of not knowing the employee’s views on the subject, in addition to not being able to track the policymakers and employers’ efforts in managing the transition to 4IR-adoption in the industry. The research study was conducted through interviewing 14 participants who are employed by the South African Food manufacturing industry. They were expected to share their perceptions by answering open-ended questions, and their responses were analysed qualitatively. Their responses were coded and grouped to themes, and findings led to recommendations such as accelerating the change management process to identify upskilling requirements sooner.
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    Protecting South African Employees' Special Personal Information Against Data Breaches
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Mampa, Kgothatso Lesetja Simon
    The widespread use of computers and acceleration of online activity have increased the importance of personal information in modern society. Processing personal information has become an indispensable part of daily life. The (mis)management of personal information in the employment context is particularly concerning because employers also process special personal information (SPI). This research report considers the legal treatment of processing SPI in the world of work in South Africa by identifying and evaluating those provisions of POPIA that could offer employees protection in the event of a data breach. Furthermore, the research examines the effectiveness of those provisions against predetermined criteria in order to establish whether the provisions provide direct employee protection, create an opportunity for the responsible independent authority, namely the Information Regulator (IR), to include protective conditions in respect of processing employee SPI; and whether the provisions eliminate or limit threats to breaches of employee SPI. Sheburi v Railway Safety Regulator is the only known POPIA related case and it is referenced to highlight the ease with which POPIA provisions can be misinterpreted in practice. The case also demonstrates the fallibility of the consent requirement and supports the argument that employees need reinforced protection against the ever-looming threat of data breaches. The key finding of this study is that POPIA was not specifically designed to render full protection to employees in the event of a data breach. However, some of the existing provisions in POPIA render some level of protection. The research concludes by suggesting possible ways to improve the legal protection of employee SPI and ultimately calls for specific regulation of employee SPI in the context of data breaches.
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    Effects of Covid-19 on the psychological well-being of employees in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Ashruf, Ahmed; Conradie, Bruce
    On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 virus to be a pandemic (Zanke et al., 2020, p.49). The virus first spread in South Africa when a traveller returned to the country after visiting Italy. To stop the infection from spreading South Africa implemented a national lockdown as per the Disaster Management Act, Regulations: Alert level 5 on the 26th of March 2020. South Africans were only permitted to leave their homes for medical crises, food, and medication (Villani et al., 2021, p.2). Furthermore, universities and schools were shut down whereby some functioned online, intern-regional, and international travel was suspended. During this time, all kinds of meetings were prohibited. Inter-regional travel became feasible six month later, and five months later it was conceivable for those living in various regions to be able to return to their homes (Villani et al., 2021, p.2). However, front line workers were only permitted at the time to attend work while other companies transitioned to remote work
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    Does it matter where I work? Examining the effect of Remote Work on employees’ Work Engagement and Burnout
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Tau, Lebogang Tlotlo; Pitman, Michael
    The global COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant shift in how and where work is conducted. Governments around the world initiated national lockdowns to enforce certain restrictions to curb the spread of infection and keep society functioning as normal. Businesses and institutions had to adopt flexible, remote working arrangements to achieve their ends during the pandemic. This study examined if remote work had any effect on employees’ work engagement and burnout, and if this relationship would be moderated or mediated by work overload and organisational support in South African organisations. A cross-sectional questionnaire design was utilized to obtain data from the sample. A sample of 103 employees from different organisations in South Africa participated in the study. Work overload and organisational support was measured using their respect subscales on the Job Demands-Resource scale. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Oldenburg Burnout Inventory were used to measure the work engagement and burnout respectively. The results indicate that remote work does not predict both work engagement and burnout, nor was this relationship moderated by work overload and organisational support.
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    An Employee Perspective of Digital Adoption in a South African Bank
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Benjamin ,Jeremiah Joseph; Gobind, Jenika
    This qualitative study aims to explore the factors influencing the adoption of digital technology by employees at a South African Bank. Traditional banks are being compelled to transform their ageing technology infrastructure and ways of working in order to remain competitive in the modern economy. This requires significant investment in the development and implementation of digital technology to be used by their employees. The adoption of technology by employees is necessary for banks to achieve their operational efficiency, customer experience, and performance growth objectives
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    "Are all things equal? Operational considerations in the integration of deemed employees into workplaces"
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Otten, Rosita Joanne; Mushariwa, Muriel
    This research report is a policy-based study of the regulation of temporary employment services in South Africa. It is set against a contextual background of the development of Labour Brokers in South Africa as well as a contextual understanding of the regulation of temporary or atypical employees under International Labour Organisations Standards (ILO). The scope of this research is limited to only considerations of ILO Standards and does not consider a comparator of other countries. Future research could take it further in this regard to measure how Labour Brokers are offered labour law protections globally. This research report considers the development of labour law in South Africa and how the changes in the South Africa’s labour law policy have introduced mechanisms to afford and ensure greater protection of this vulnerable employee. The research reviews the recent legislative overhaul, in consideration of having the purpose to offering progressive protection to various atypical forms of employees and specifically a temporary employee who attains a deemed employment relationship status. The research aims to assess the extent to which the amendments to the South African labour legislative framework has been able to achieve its desired aims, by first considering how the provisions relating to temporary employment services, should be interpreted and applied. Secondly reviewing various operational considerations that impact the full integration of the deemed employee into the workplace in order to ensure on the whole not less favourable treatment and finally in having reviewed such operational considerations, assess and critique the impact these amendments have achieving protection of this vulnerable class of employee
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    Employees’ Perceptions and Attitudes on technological adoption in the banking sector
    (University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Carolissen, Ashley; Magida, Ayanda
    The prediction of technology adoption within the financial services, specifically at Absa BankRetail and Business Banking, will help the research study understand the adoption level and aims to make recommendations to the executive c-suite level as to what to do to improve adoption. The study sought to further understand employees’ perceptions and attitudes toward technological adoption and the underlying external factors influencing their behaviour. Examines employees’ perceptions and attitudes toward technological adoption and the underlying external factors influencing it. An online quantitative survey was used to collect data among the retail and Business Banking business unit population. A convenience sampling method was used. The data was analysed using the SPSS statistical tool and the Chi-Square test to evaluate the independent and dependent variables as well as the Kendall Tau C coefficient to measure the ordinal and dependent variables. Based on the three predictors Behavioural Expectancy (BE), Facilitating Conditions (FC) and Behavioural Intention (BI), the hypotheses were tested using a total of n=120 respondents which represent 10% of the population of people working in the Retail and Business Banking business unit. The approach taken was using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to conceptualise the predictions. The overall Cronbach reliability test suggests a very strong consistency for Behavioural Expectancy (BE) with an overall alpha of 87%, whilst the results for Facilitating Conditions (FC) were 46% and Behavioural Intention (BI) 49%, indicating a very low consistency. The study indicates that employees are constantly looking for ways to further advance their knowledge and skills. The sense of belonging to something bigger and being part of a learning organisation is evident, and the more intensive technology is used, the easier the adoption.