Social well-being, job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and intentions to leave in a utility organisation

• Published in: SA Journal of Industrial Psychology Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. e1 - e11
• Main Authors: Hennicks, Eugeny, Heyns, Marita M., Rothmann, Sebastiaan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Auckland Park AOSIS 2022; African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS; AOSIS (Pty) Ltd
• Subjects: Behavior; Citizenship; Communication; Employee development; Employee turnover; Employees; Employment; Human resources; intentions to leave; Job satisfaction; Motivation; Occupational psychology; Occupational training; Organisational citizenship behaviour; Personhood; Psychological aspects; Social aspects; Social exchange theory; Social factors; Social well being; utility organisation; Work environment; Working conditions; Workplaces; South Africa
• ISSN: 0258-5200; 2071-0763
• DOI: 10.4102/sajip.v48i0.1928

Orientation Employee social well-being is likely to influence individual and organisational outcomes, especially in African countries where a high premium is often placed on one’s personhood being rooted in one’s relations with others.Research purpose This study investigated the associations between social well-being, job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and intentions to leave in a South African utility organisation.Motivation for the study Given the history of relationships amongst diverse people in South Africa, social well-being seems to be a critical component of the overall well-being of employees. However, few studies in South Africa have focused on social well-being in organisational contexts.Research approach/design and method A cross-sectional survey design was used, targeting permanent employees in a South African utility organisation. Consenting participants (N = 403) completed previously validated measures of social well-being, job satisfaction, organisational citizenship behaviour and intentions to leave. Structural equation modelling was performed to test hypotheses.Main findings Social well-being was positively associated with job satisfaction and organisational citizenship behaviour and negatively associated with intentions to leave. Social well-being indirectly affected organisational citizenship behaviour and intention to leave through job (dis)satisfaction.Practical/managerial implications Managers and human resources practitioners are alerted to practical ways of sustaining employees’ social well-being such as by implementing tailor-made policies that support social aspects of well-being and by ensuring the alignment of well-being programmes with changing circumstances in the modern world of work.Originality/value-add This study illuminated social well-being associations with selected outcomes in a developing African country workplace context.