Abstract
The employment acts, policies and regulations are put in place to bring about a conducive work environment, minimize discrimination, promote diversity and increase productivity in the workplace. Every organization aims to grow and make profits, so it is important to invest in human capital: the greatest assets that ensure that the organization is successful. Many factors affect one’s performance in the workplace, such as, the working environment, type of leadership, resources, organizational culture and how one is being treated in the workplace to mention a few. Unfair treatment in the workplace has a negative impact on the overall success of the organization. In an ever-changing world, people from different countries (immigrants) are scattered all over in search of greener pastures or exploring different cultures. Therefore, exploring the perceptions of immigrants with regards to how discrimination affects their performance is imperative. The study’s primary objective was to explore the effect of immigrants’ discrimination and how it affects job performance in the telecommunications sector. An effort was also made to find mechanisms that can be implemented to eliminate discrimination. The study adopted a phenomenology approach as it dealt with the employee’s personal experiences in a specific sector in the Gauteng province, South Africa. Data was collected from immigrants from different African countries through semi structured interviews done face-to-face, zoom, and skype and purposive sampling was used. The research findings revealed that there is a negative relationship between discrimination and job performance. The research participants further added that the unfair or different treatment is a form of emotional and mental abuse; it demotivates them to utilize their full potential thus negatively affecting productivity. Even though there are policies to ensure equal treatment in the workplace, it is not enough to permanently eliminate discrimination. Recommendations have been proposed in the current study to improve the status quo.
M.Com. (Employment Relations)