Work motivation and satisfaction amongst employees in a financial services organisation in the Western Cape

Abstract

In any field of Human Resource Management and in any organisation, the human being is seen as an asset and remains the most valuable and also the most difficult to understand. The past decade has seen an increased focus on employees, their level of motivation and their satisfaction at work. Theorists have been endeavouring to compartmentalise and comprehend those aspects which are of most importance in certain jobs. Tremendous pressure is put on organisations to improve their performance and increase their competitiveness in the continuously changing world of work. This is no different to the challenges financial institutions face such as globalisation, economic shocks, technological changes and downsizing. The aim of the research was to explore the motivation and job satisfaction levels of employees of a financial services organisation within the Western Cape, with particular focus on gender differences. Motivating employees is one of the most important managerial functions. According to Nel, Werner, Poisat, Sono, Du Plessis and Ngalo (2011) success in this endeavour is essential in the quest to utilise the full potential of people so as to ensure quality products and service. The population for this study was a financial services organisation within the Western Cape. A non-probability sampling based on the method of convenience was used of which 95 employees were drawn from the employee pool. Statistical analyses will involve both descriptive (measures of central tendency and dispersion) and inferential statistics (correlation, t-test and analysis of variance).