Abstract
Orientation: In volatile and competitive business environments, organisations are faced with
challenges to retain talented workers. Employees are increasingly leaving their jobs for a
number of reasons, one of them being a perceived lack of adequate reward practices.
Consequently, this has impacted on employee work engagement and confidence and trust in
organisations.
Research purpose: The study sought to determine whether there is a relationship between
rewards, trust and engagement, as well as whether rewards are able to predict trust and
engagement in the South African workplace.
Motivation for the study: Organisations can no longer solely rely on extrinsic rewards to
retain talent. Companies must draw on both extrinsic and intrinsic reward strategies to
improve retention levels through endorsing higher levels of workplace trust and work
engagement levels.
Research design, approach and method: A quantitative, exploratory and cross-sectional
research design was utilised. Non-probability sampling using questionnaires consisting of
scales from the Job Satisfaction Survey, Intrinsic Motivation Inventory, Psychological Meaningfulness
Scale, Basic Needs at Work Scale, Workplace Trust Survey and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale were
administered to a sample (N = 251) of South African employees in various industries within the
Gauteng region.
Main findings: Results indicated that there is a moderate-to-strong positive relationship
between the three constructs, and that rewards are able to predict trust and engagement.
Practical and managerial implications: The findings provide insight for behavioural
practitioners to potentially draw upon when improving talent management strategies. Both
extrinsic and intrinsic rewards are important factors in keeping employees engaged and
ultimately retaining them.
Contribution: The study provided insight into the influence that organisational rewards may
have on workplace trust, work engagement and retaining employees. Findings contribute
towards improving talent management strategies