Author(s): Kgomotlokoa LindaThaba-Nkadimene
The problem this study investigated was high rates of employee turnover, that works against university plans to recruit and develop younger academics to replace the folk of academics who are nearing their retirement. The primary objective of the study was to investigate the influence of working conditions on turnover among academics in a rural South African university. The study was premised within interpretivism paradigm. One-to one interviews with four open ended research questions were used to foreground the voices of six younger academics who were purposefully sampled. Qualitative data was analyzed using content and narrative analysis. The research findings revealed working conditions, namely, infrastructural and social aspect; condition of work; remuneration package and rewards; and undesirable workload as factors that impact on younger academics’ turnover. This study recommends a large scale study to examine the influence of working conditions on turnover among younger academics. Furthermore, this study recommends that working conditions of temporary and part-time younger academic staff should be closely monitored internally and externally. The systems need to be created by the offices of the vice chancellor through human resources units for internal monitoring of circumstances under which younger academics work. Furthermore, Higher Education South Africa should also prioritize the monitoring of human resources utilization and monitor university compliance to Basic Conditions of Employment Act and Labor Relations Act, particularly as they affect younger academics.