Sources of motivation for engineers in South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT Orientation: The exodus of engineers from the engineering profession in South Africa is an ongoing phenomenon that continues to be a national challenge. In addition, the engineering industry needs to retain engineers because the profession plays a vital role in the development of infrastructure, the economy and the provision of services to society. Organisations are focusing on instrumental motivations to motivate engineers, the wrong approach, resulting in a disconnect between engineers and their employers. This leads to high levels of dissatisfaction and high levels of attrition of engineers in the engineering industry. Research purpose: The purpose of the research was to identify the sources of motivation of licensed and unlicensed engineers, and of female and male engineers in South Africa. Furthermore, the research aimed to determine whether the sources of motivation differ based these two variables. Motivation for the study: South Africa has a shortage of licensed engineers. The shortage is further exacerbated by the exodus of engineers from the engineering profession to non-engineering disciplines and to other countries. The engineering industry needs to identify what motivates engineers so they can be retained, developed and groomed into global leaders in their profession. Research approach, design and method: The population used in the study consists of engineers who have an undergraduate BSc or BEng qualification in an engineering discipline, and who were working in the engineering industry in South Africa. Subjects were located using non-probabilistic snowball sampling. The sample of engineers comprised 30 male licensed engineers, seven female licensed engineers, 43 male unlicensed engineers and 18 female unlicensed engineers. The research performed was a cross-sectional study that used a quantitative research method. A self-administered online survey was used to collect data on sources of motivation. In the study, descriptive and inferential statistics (independent sample t-test) were used to analyse the data and answer the research questions. Main findings: The results of the study identified the dominant sources of motivation amongst engineers in South Africa were internal self-concept motivation followed by goal internalisation motivation. These findings mean engineers in South Africa are motivated by their expertise and competence and the achievement of goals. The study results also indicated there was no significant difference between sources of motivation of licensed and unlicensed engineers and between sources of motivation of male and female licensed and unlicensed engineers. Practical and managerial implications: Sources of motivation can be used to identify what motivates licensed and unlicensed engineers in South Africa. Managers can use the sources of motivation to develop employee incentives that will motivate engineers in the engineering industry. Contribution or value added: The study was unique as it investigated sources of motivation of licensed and unlicensed engineers in South Africa, while other studies treated engineers as homogenous. The study also contributed to increasing knowledge on what motivates engineers in South Africa.