Ubuntu leadership and employee engagement in mining: The moderating role of safety culture
Orientation: This study explored the influence of Ubuntu leadership on employee engagement in South Africa’s mining industry, with a focus on the moderating role of safety culture. Research purpose: The purpose was to examine whether Ubuntu leadership significantly predicts employee engagement an...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AOSIS
2025-07-01
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| Series: | SA Journal of Human Resource Management |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/3065 |
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| Summary: | Orientation: This study explored the influence of Ubuntu leadership on employee engagement in South Africa’s mining industry, with a focus on the moderating role of safety culture.
Research purpose: The purpose was to examine whether Ubuntu leadership significantly predicts employee engagement and whether safety culture strengthens this relationship.
Motivation for the study: The mining sector faces persistent challenges such as hazardous working conditions and disengagement. Addressing these issues requires leadership models that are both effective and culturally relevant.
Research approach/design and method: A descriptive, cross-sectional quantitative design was employed. Data were collected from 351 mining employees using the Ubuntu Leadership Scale (ULS), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and a custom-developed safety culture scale. Statistical analysis included correlation and moderated regression.
Main findings: Ubuntu leadership was positively associated with employee engagement (r = 0.633, p 0.001), and the interaction term with safety culture was statistically significant (B = 0.187, p = 0.003), confirming a moderating effect. The model explained 40.6% of the variance in engagement.
Practical/managerial implications: Integrating Ubuntu leadership with a strong safety culture can enhance employee engagement, and improve safety compliance.
Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the understanding of culturally grounded leadership in high-risk industries and highlights the synergistic role of safety culture in enhancing leadership effectiveness. |
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| ISSN: | 1683-7584 2071-078X |