The Relation between Religious Motivation and Work-Related Variables Amongst Agricultural Workers

Abstract

Allport's (1966) constructs of intrinsic and extrinsic religiousness formed the basis of the study. A questionnaire containing scales to measure intrinsic religious motivation (IRM; abbreviated from Hoge, 1972), extrinsic religious orientation (ERO; Feagin, 1967), qualitative workload, powerlessness, role ambiguity, participation in decision-making, job satisfaction, job involvement, organizational commitment, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and sense of coherence, was administered individually and orally in Afrikaans. The respondents were 149 so-called ‘coloured’, male workers on farms in the Western Cape Province. The sample was chosen in view of past experiences that indicated that they tend to be strongly pious. Factor analyses were performed to purify some scales. ERO showed too low a coefficient alpha and too high a correlation with IRM to warrant reporting results. Other coefficients alpha were acceptable. IRM correlated significantly with role ambiguity, job dissatisfaction and emotional stability. A stepwise multiple regression analysis, relating the other-than-religious variables to IRM, produced a model in which job dissatisfaction, role ambiguity, weak conscientiousness, low participation in decision-making and low job involvement (in this sequence) explained 18% of common variance. Associations with IRM were thus distressful and did not favour productivity.