Effects of employee involvement on labour productivity: Evidence from the automotive parts manufacturing organisation in South Africa

In South Africa, productivity is crucial for individual livelihoods and business performance. A workplace that fosters employee engagement and participation is a means to cultivate an environment that attracts motivated teams for enhanced productivity. This perspective supports the notion of employee engagement. This study investigates the impact of employee engagement on enhancing labour productivity in South African automobile parts manufacturing firms. Employee involvement denotes the degree of commitment and participation that employee exhibits towards their organisation. The study goals were fulfilled by analysing the production and associated experiences of the automobile parts manufacturing organisation that implemented an employee involvement strategy to enhance labour productivity. The corporation functions within the eThekwini Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa. The study was conducted by gathering pre- and post-quarterly data on absenteeism, spoilage, and attained production targets. Nevertheless, findings indicate that the employee participation ideology lacks the capacity to enhance labour productivity within the automobile parts manufacturing sector in South Africa. There is no correlation between absenteeism and spoiling rates, nor with the production standards attained, in connection to labour productivity following the implementation of the employee involvement strategy. This study reveals the advantages and disadvantages of employee engagement on labour productivity within automobile parts manufacturing firms in South Africa. Key Words:Absenteeism, automotive parts manufacturing organisation, employee involvement; labour productivity, spoilage, South Africa