Ryan and Deci (2000) explained that basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, relatedness or belongingness and competence) is an important requirement for growth with regard to integrity and health. Autonomy, as explained under the job characteristic model of work motivation, is characterised by how much independence employees have when deciding about how to execute their work tasks or goals; how to make decisions regarding the work; and how to plan, schedule and execute these duties (Greenberg, 2011). The need for relatedness has to do with feeling connected to others within the organisation, a sense of communion, and developing close and intimate relations with others (Deci & Ryan, 2008; Verstuyf, Vansteenkiste, Soenens, & Boene, 2013). Verstuyf et al. (2013) defined competence as the need to feel efficient and capable of reaching desired outcomes. When employees meet the requirements of their jobs and successfully execute their work duties, they satisfy the need for competence (Viljoen & Rothmann, 2009). Apart from exploring the impact of basic psychological need satisfaction on work engagement, this study will also explore the impact of organisational commitment on work engagement.

Organisational commitment has been defined as the psychological link that employees have with the organisation, identifying with the organisation and its goals, exerting more effort towards the completion of tasks, making personal sacrifices and wanting to remain with that particular organisation (Allen & Meyer, 1996; Luthans, 2005). Meyer, Allen and Smith (1993) characterised organisational commitment by three dimensions: continuance, normative and affective commitment. Continuance commitment is explained as employees’ commitment towards the organisation because of the costs associated with leaving. Normative commitment deals with employees’ desire to stay because of a perceived obligation, remaining because the organisation has paid for further studies or a medical procedure. Affective commitment is the psychological identification and emotional attachment towards the organisation and working towards achieving the goals and objectives of the organisation (Meyer et al., 1993). Before discussing the relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction and work engagement or the relationship between organisational commitment and work engagement, it is necessary to clearly define work engagement.

Work engagement is defined as a positive, fulfilling and affective emotional state characterised by vigour, dedication and absorption (Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter, & Taris, 2008). Engagement has also been defined as a motivating force that pushed employees to higher levels of performance. This force includes the attitudes and feelings towards the organisation and the work that employees do (Wellins & Concelman, 2007). Engaged employees are characterised as feeling involved, committed, passionate and empowered. These employees also display these feelings and emotions in their behaviour and in the work that they do (Mone & London, 2010). Vigour can be defined as high levels of energy and mental resilience while working (Schaufeli, 2014). These employees continue to work even when the tasks become somewhat difficult. Dedication can be defined as the pride, self-worth and identity experienced when doing work (Bakker, 2011). These employees regard the work that they do as important and meaningful. Absorption is defined as the ability to be fully taken in by work activities, staying focussed, working without realising the time pass and stopping only once they are done with the assigned tasks (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008, Schaufeli, 2014).

Katsaros, Tsirikas and Bani (2014) explain that job attitudes are employees’ overall assessment of their feelings and beliefs regarding their jobs and how committed they are towards the organisation. Despite the conceptual and empirical distinctions between basic psychological need satisfaction (as part of job satisfaction) and organisational commitment (Tett & Meyer, 1993), it was also found that there are indeed theoretical and empirical commonalities between these variables. Hulin (1991) and Weiss (2002) supported this perspective and found considerable theoretical overlap, indicating that the only clear difference was the conceptual target. It was observed that basic psychological need satisfaction targets the position or work role within organisational commitment that encompasses the entire organisation.

It was also found that affective commitment is both a consequence and correlate of job satisfaction (including basic psychological need satisfaction). This also emphasises the strong link between job satisfaction and organisational commitment, not only from a theoretical perspective of view but also from an empirical one (Schleicher, Hansen, & Fox, 2010). Harrison, Newman and Roth (2006) maintained that basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment should be regarded as job attitudes owing to their fundamental evaluation of the job experiences. The positive relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment is also important to understanding the collective impact on work engagement.

Kovjanic, Schuh and Jonas (2013) found that when employees experience positive attitudes towards their jobs (satisfaction in terms of autonomy, relatedness and competence), they will also be more likely to experience commitment, working towards the goals of the organisation and possibly improving productivity levels. A direct positive impact was found between basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment and indirectly on job performance. This emphasises the importance of how basic psychological need satisfaction will impact employees’ commitment and ultimately their level of job performance (Fu & Deshpande, 2014). This was also supported by Afzaal and Afzaal (2013) and Rokhman (2014) recording positive results between basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment. Ajala (2013) found that when employees are given the necessary supportive working environment (relatedness), they would also experience a higher level of basic psychological need satisfaction, good health and affective commitment. When the organisation provides a supportive working environment, which caters to the needs and interests of the employees, the level of emotional identification of employees would be enhanced, resulting in them wanting to work harder, going beyond the call of duty.

Educators who experience higher levels of autonomy (basic psychological need satisfaction) were also found to be more committed towards the organisation. This could be attributed to employees experiencing a higher psychological link, feeling part of the organisation (relatedness) as opposed to employees who do not experience a sense of autonomy in their work (Janik, 2012). It was found that poor relations with coworkers (relatedness) negatively influenced employees’ level of organisational commitment (Janik, 2012; Marques, 2013). Having unhealthy relations with colleagues could result in lower levels of commitment. Dockel, Basson and Coetzee (2006) indicated that negative relations at work also negatively impact employees’ motivation to effectively contribute to the success of the organisation.

Vansteenkiste et al. (2007) highlighted some studies that indicate that when employees satisfied their basic needs (need for autonomy, belongingness and competence), they were likely to experience positive work outcomes such as job commitment, job attitude, self-esteem and general health. When one looks at these findings, it seems likely that satisfying the basic psychological needs may also enhance employees’ level of engagement, reduce turnover intention and improve their overall health.

Janik (2012) found a positive correlation between emotional engagement, cognitive engagement and organisational commitment. This indicates that when employees are doing work that gives meaning to their lives, they feel like they are making an impact in the work that they do and they are also more likely to become more committed to the organisation (Sardeshmukh, Sharma, & Golden, 2012).

Saks (2006) also found a positive relationship between work engagement and organisational commitment (affective). It was noted that affective commitment is instrumental in achieving higher levels of productivity within the organisation. Another study by Simons and Buitendach (2013) also found a positive correlation between work engagement and organisational commitment. It was indicated that these variables have a reciprocal relationship, meaning that they both influence each other positively. The more the employees become committed to the organisation, the more likely they will become engaged and vice versa.

Based on the cognitive evaluation theory by Ryan and Deci (2000), employees’ level of motivation is influenced by social and working environmental factors. When employees evaluate the factors within the working environment (feedback, communication, autonomy, social context) as favourable, they are likely to experience motivation, performance, competence, well-being and organisational commitment. If the evaluation is negative, employees are likely to experience demotivation, disempowerment, poor performance, poor well-being and lack of commitment. Employees require their basic psychological needs to be satisfied; through this satisfaction, they are likely to become more committed to the organisation and ultimately work towards the goals and objectives of the organisation (work engagement).

It has been found that when an organisation has employees who experience positive job attitudes, this impacts positively on several levels. Firstly, it impacts their level of commitment towards the organisation (Mosadeghrad & Ferdosi, 2013); secondly, it fosters emotions where employees wish to remain attached to the organisation (Mensele & Coetzee, 2014); thirdly, it negates the pressure from work demands (Sardeshmukh et al., 2012) and finally, it means that employees are more likely to be positive about their abilities to complete their work tasks effectively while being more engaged in their work (Stander & Rothmann, 2010).

Field and Buitendach (2011) found that employees who experience work engagement will become more committed (affective commitment). These employees will experience higher levels of well-being. This means that if organisations can enhance employees’ level of commitment, they will become more committed towards the organisation and experience higher levels of well-being. Bakker et al. (2008) found that employees who experience engagement are less likely to experience exhaustion and cynicism (burnout).

Having healthy work relations acts as a coping mechanism when dealing with work and personal stress (Oosthuizen & Berndt, 2008). Based on these findings, it makes sense to predict that if employees experience feelings of relatedness (basic psychological need satisfaction) and links (job embeddedness), they would also be able to cope better with the constant and ever-taxing working environment of academic staff members (Manger & Eikeland, 1990). This can also be considered in terms of the job demands-resources model of work engagement that explains the importance of how job resources positively help employees to cope better with job demands. The feelings of relatedness and collegial relations act as resources for employees to handle greater job demands and prevent further job stress. Relations with coworkers (links–job embeddedness) had a negative relation with turnover intention. This means that when employees have good relations with fellow employees, they would also be less likely to want to leave the organisation (Chang, Wang, & Huang, 2013).

Bakker (2011) found that engaged employees are more likely to create their own resources by asking for feedback from supervisors. Engaged employees are more likely to engage in job crafting, adapting their needs with their personal knowledge, skills and abilities. In an effort to remain engaged, engaged employees might increase their job demands by taking on new projects to create more challenging work.

When employees experience engagement, they experience vigour, dedication and absorption in their work. Having the necessary job resources allows employees to become engaged in their work, but it also increases their level of job performance. This indicates that engaged employees contribute more effectively to the production and effectiveness of the organisation (Bakker, 2011). Joshi and Sodhi (2011) in their study conducted in India also observed that work engagement has a direct impact on employee performance and business outcomes.

Bakker (2011) found that engaged employees are more likely to be open to new information, more productive and willing to do more. Being open to new information allows employees to become more informed and might even influence their skills and abilities regarding the job. Organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) is behaviour that is voluntarily engaged into by employees without expecting compensation, and these duties are not necessarily part of the employees’ job description (Mohamed, 2016). Engaging in OCB, employees are also more likely to experience positive relations with colleagues and supervisors, improve mastery of tasks and become more competent.

Based on the literature discussed, basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, relatedness, competence) related positively to organisational commitment (affective normative, continuance). When employees’ basic psychological needs are satisfied, employees prefer to remain at the organisation and work towards achieving the goals and objectives of the organisation. Basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment positively impact work engagement levels of employees. If these needs of employees are satisfied, they remain with the organisation, contribute towards the success of the organisation, function efficiently even when work resources are limited, experience positive health and increase the productivity of the organisation.

Figure 1 presents the expected relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction and work engagement, organisational commitment and work engagement, and also the relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment impacting work engagement.

Based on the literature discussed, the following hypotheses have been developed:

Making use of a questionnaire, a cross-sectional research design was used to collect data on the biographical variables of employees, basic psychological need satisfaction, organisational commitment and work engagement (Creswell, 2003). Making use of questionnaires allowed the researchers to access a large number of participants and gather information on a variety of attitudes.

The study made use of the lecturing staff at the UNAM. Questionnaires were delivered to the offices of the lecturers and collected after a few days. There is a total of 771 academics employed at UNAM, not all into lecturing. Making use of convenience sampling, the lecturers who were available and willing to participate were approached. Convenience sampling can be very useful, especially when time, resources and human resources are limited (Etikan, Musa, & Alkassim, 2015). A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed and 242 useable questionnaires returned (81% response rate).

Participants comprised 128 females (52.9%) and 114 males (47.1%). The rest of the biographical details are presented in Table 1.

The biographical information was collected using a questionnaire developed by the researchers to get information regarding the participants’ gender, age, tenure at UNAM, highest qualification obtained, marital status, number of dependents and position within the organisation.

The Work-Related Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale (W-BNS) was developed by Van den Broeck, Vansteenkiste, De Witte and Lens (2008). The questionnaire assesses needs related to autonomy, competence and relatedness. Example items include the following: autonomy – ‘I feel free to do my job the way I think it could best be done’; competence – ‘I feel competent in my job’ and relatedness – ‘At work I feel part of a group’. The questionnaire makes use of 18 items and a 5-point response scale (1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree). Rothmann, Diedericks and Swart (2013) found reliablility for autonomy (0.78), competence (0.82) and relatedness (0.86). Discriminant, criterion-related and predictive validity was found for the three-factor structure of basic psychological need satisfaction instrument (Van den Broeck, Vansteenkiste, De Witte, Soenens, & Lens, 2010).

The Organisational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) was developed by Allen and Meyer (1996) to assess the employees’ level of commitment to the organisation. The questionnaire made use of 18 items (six items for each scale), measuring normative, effective and continuance commitment (Brown, 2003). The response scale made use of a Likert response scale from 1 to 5 (1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree), measuring continuance – ‘one of the few negative consequences of leaving this organisation would be the scarcity of available alternatives’; normative – ‘I would feel guilty if I leave my organisation right now’ and affective commitment – ‘I do not feel like “part of the family” at my organisation’. Reliability was recorded for affective commitment (0.71), normative commitment (0.71) and continuance commitment (0.71) (Pieters, 2015). Khan, Awang and Ghouri (2014) found this instrument to be a valid measure for organisational commitment.

The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) has been developed by Schaufeli and Bakker (2004). This questionnaire measures vigour – ‘I am bursting with energy in my work’; dedication – ‘I find the work that I do full of meaning and purpose’ and absorption – ‘Time flies when I am working’. This self-report questionnaire response scale ranges from 0 (never) to 7 (always) with 17 items across the different dimensions. The UWES recorded Cronbach’s alphas of 0.78–0.91 (Janik, 2012). Seppala et al. (2008) found good construct validity for the instrument.

This study made us aware of the survey method, using questionnaires to collect the data. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS), participant information was kept confidential and participants were in no way harmed. The questionnaires are kept in a safe place for safety and future consideration.

After obtaining permission from the Research and Publication office at the UNAM, participants were approached to participate in the study. After explaining the purpose and objectives of the study, participants signed a consent form, indicating that they are participating willingly, may withdraw from the study at any time and were in no way coerced into participating. Questionnaires were distributed at the different offices of lecturing staff and collected a few days later. Participants were thanked for their time and questionnaires were stored away in a safe place.

It is expected that basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment will have a positive relationship with work engagement. Basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment are expected to significantly predict work engagement of lecturing staff. Statistical Package for the Social Science Version 24.0 (SPSS, 2016) was used to analyse the data. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and Pearson’s correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between the variables. Descriptive statistics were reported. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate whether job attitudes (basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment) predicted work engagement. Considering the correlation between affective and normative commitment, multicollinearity does not exist because the correlation is below r = 0.9, as explained by Pallant (2005).

Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences Ethics Committee (Ethical clearance number: UFS-HSD2015/0562).

The means, standard deviation (SD), Cronbach’s alpha and correlations were analysed and recorded in Table 2.

The following mean scores were reported: autonomy (21.55), relatedness (21.78), competence (17.27); affective commitment (21.35), continuance (17.12), normative commitment (19.95); vigour (28.96), dedication (24.66) and absorption (28.32). The following SD scores were reported: autonomy (4.23), relatedness (3.24), competence (2.08); affective commitment (4.34), continuance (4.65), normative commitment (4.47); vigour (5.57), dedication (5.05) and absorption (6.45).

Cronbach’s alphas were reported for autonomy (0.78), relatedness (0.81) and competence (0.81). Cronbach’s alphas were recorded for continuance (0.75), normative commitment (0.77) and affective commitment (0.80). Work engagement reported Cronbach’s alphas for vigour (0.81), dedication (0.81) and absorption (0.82). It is clear from the results that all the scales are reliable; they concurred with Nunnally’s (1978) estimates of 0.70 and above.

Table 2 depicts the positive relationship between the dimensions of basic psychological need satisfaction, organisational commitment and work engagement. This indicates that when employees experience satisfaction in terms of basic psychological need satisfaction, they are likely to become more committed towards the organisation and experience a higher level of work engagement. Continuance commitment reported some negative relationships. Specific correlations are presented in the Table 2.

Multiple regression analyses were carried out to test hypothesis 3. In model 1, vigour (work engagement) was used as the dependent variable, with normative and affective commitments as the independent variables in step 1. Autonomy, relatedness, competence and continuance commitment were excluded from the analysis because these dimensions do not meet the expected correlation of r = 0.3 (Pallant, 2005). The results are reported in Table 3.

As can be seen from Table 3, entry of normative and affective commitments at the first step of the regression analysis produced a statistically significant model (F_(2,239) = 23.87; p < 0.00) and account for 16% of the variance. It appears that affective commitment (b = 0.32; t = 4.24; p < 0.00) is a significant predictor of vigour (work engagement). Normative commitment was reported as an insignificant predictor of vigour (work engagement) (b = 0.13; t = 1.72; p < 0.09).

Multiple regression analyses were performed. The first model that was analysed used dedication (work engagement) as the dependent variable with normative and affective commitment as the independent variables (model 1). The results are reported in Table 4.

As can be seen from Table 4, entry of normative and affective commitments at the first step of the regression analysis produced a statistically significant model (F_(2,239) = 42.40; p < 0.00) and accounts for 25.6% of the variance. It appears that normative commitment (b = 0.19; t = 2.66; p < 0.01) and affective commitment (b = 0.38; t = 5.35; p < 0.00) are significant predictors of dedication (work engagement).

Multiple regression analyses were performed. The first model analysed and used dedication (work engagement) as the dependent variable and normative and affective commitments as the independent variables (model 1). The results are reported in Table 5.

As can be seen from Table 5, entry of normative and affective commitments at the first step of the regression analysis produced a statistically significant model (F_(2,239) = 23.33; p < 0.00) and accounts for 15.6% of the variance. It appears that normative commitment (b = 0.19; t = 2.51; p < 0.01) and affective commitment (b = 0.26; t = 3.48; p < 0.00) are significant predictors of absorption (work engagement).

Hypothesis 1 of the study investigated the relationship between job attitudes (basic psychological need satisfaction) and work engagement. Autonomy, relatedness and competence reported positive relationships with vigour, dedication and absorption, supporting hypothesis 1. These findings are also supported by Fu and Deshpande (2014) and Brinkmann and Stapf (2005). When employees are included in decision-making process, they would persevere more than employees who are excluded from the decision-making process, and they would also be more hopeful about their impact. Being included or allowed to direct work-related activities will also enhance the perceived level of significance of lecturers and possible improved acceptance and implementation of critical decisions. The self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2008) demonstrates that when employees experience satisfaction regarding their need for autonomy, relatedness and competence, they would also experience autonomous motivation impacting engagement at work. Employees who experience autonomous motivation can direct and control their own behaviour to the extent that these employees experience pleasure, persevere and perform effectively, even when it comes to complex tasks. These employees would also experience a higher level of competence, task significance and psychological meaningfulness in their work (Baklaieva, 2016), and all these are negatively related to turnover intention. When employees have the required job resources, including autonomy, they would be less likely to want to leave (Viljoen & Rothmann, 2009).

Having good relations with colleagues and supervisors enhances commitment of employees that they identify with the organisation, ensuring that they would be able to work harder for longer because they feel part of the organisation (Chang et al., 2013). Having good relations with colleagues increases the chances of being assisted when asking for help. Employees who are competent in what they do experience mastery and pride in their work. Experiencing mastery in one’s work encourages employees take on more tasks, challenging tasks, and persevere even when faced with difficulty.

Hypothesis 2 investigated the positive relationship between job attitudes (organisational commitment) and work engagement. The results of this study supported the positive relationship between organisational commitment and work engagement. Janik (2012) and Sardeshmukh et al. (2012) also found a positive relationship between the variables. Allen and Meyer (1990) found that competence impacted positively on affective commitment. Identifying with the goals and objectives of the organisation makes employees want to work towards the success of the organisation. When employees are provided with the needed resources, experience job satisfaction and support from the organisation, they are likely to want to remain part of the organisation (normative commitment). When employees are provided with good benefits and salaries, they would experience continuance commitment because the work opportunities outside the organisation are not as attractive as that of their current organisation. In this way, organisations can retain their top talent.

Normative and affective commitment predicted vigour, dedication and absorption (work engagement). These results support hypothesis 3 of the study. When organisations provide employees with enough job resources, good benefits and salaries, they are likely to want to remain in the organisation. Employees would feel obligated to work towards the goals and objectives of the organisation. Knowing that the organisation looks after the needs of the employees, employees would continue to work hard, persevere and remain engaged until their tasks are completed. Identifying with the organisation’s goals and objectives makes it easier to execute work duties because it does not conflict with employees’ values and beliefs. Affective commitment can be regarded as the desire component that is persistent and crucial within organisational commitment and for organisational effectiveness (Mercurio, 2015). This study supports this view that emphasises the importance and effectiveness of affective commitment.

This study found positive relationships between basic psychological need satisfaction and organisational commitment, basic psychological need satisfaction and work engagement, and organisational commitment and work engagement. Normative and affective commitments predicted work engagement of the lecturing staff at the UNAM.

Employees should be included in the decision-making process and they should be allowed to direct work-related activities and to attend training and development initiatives. Team building should be prioritised to enhance college relations. Regular assessment of job satisfaction can ensure that employees remain committed and engaged at the organisation.