WORKPLACE INCLUSION FACTORS IN THE EARTHMOVING EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR OPERATIONS

Workplace inclusion is a global challenge faced by many industries across the world. The employment equity legislature driven by the government aims to drive demographic transformation and promote equality in South African organizations. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly difficult for those that do not comply with the equity legislature to participate in the business market. Due to a lack of organizational commitment and support to women and minority professionals in operations, these professionals fail in their roles and gradually drop out as part of the workforce. To encourage organizations to transform and provide supportive inclusive conditions, this study aims to identify factors of inclusion that affect the performance of the employees and that of their organization in the Southern African earthmoving equipment maintenance and repair industry. The article uses a Likert scale questionnaire with structured interviews with service managers, machine operators, general mechanics, service engineers, and service administrators from three earthmoving equipment sectors in South Africa. The results of the study show that factors of inclusion classified as physical and psychological factors do influence the performance of the employees and that of their organization in earthmoving equipment maintenance and repair.