Employee expectations and perceptions of leadership styles in a chemical manufacturing facility in South Africa

Abstract

The study was performed to determine the difference between the leadership style employees perceive from their manager or supervisor, and what leadership style they expect from their manager or supervisor in a chemical manufacturing facility in South Africa. Participants of two specific departments, which form part of the organisation, were used as respondents for this study. The study followed a cross-sectional design at a single point in time. Purposive total population sampling was used due to accessibility to the population and the population size. A questionnaire, specifically for the study, was designed by the researcher in order to find comprehensive information regarding the employees’ perceptions and expectations about the leadership styles they perceive in the workplace and what they expect from their managers in the specific departments in the organisation. A total of 370 questionnaires were electronically distributed to the identified respondents who formed part of the two departments of the identified organisation. An online survey distribution platform was used to reach respondents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty email addresses returned undeliverable and 81 questionnaires were electronically submitted and all 81 were usable (N=370-30=340; n=81), representing a response rate of 23.8%. The research data was analysed by means of frequency analysis, cross-tabulation and correlation coefficients. The statistical results indicated that most of the population perceive a democratic leadership style where the minority indicated that they perceive a laisses faire leadership style. Respondents perceiving a democratic style also expect this leadership style from their managers, and a smaller portion of the respondents perceive a different style from what they expect in the workplace.