A two part story : the impact of a culturally responsive working environment on wellbeing; and the job attitudes and factors of retention for indigenous employees : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Human Resource Management at Massey University, Turitea campus, Aotearoa-New Zealand

Abstract

The purpose of this research is twofold. (1) to highlight the influence a culturally responsive working environment has on Maori employees in New Zealand/Aotearoa and how this culturally-based environment can influence the wellbeing of employees; and (2) investigates how support from their supervisor and employee satisfaction with multiple work factors influences their job attitudes, job search behaviours and related factors in their intention to quit that organisation. A particular focus is on how having support for cultural values such as whanaungatanga (reciprocal relationships), manaakitanga (respect, prestige, status), and mauri (life principle, essential quality and vitality of a being) impacts Maori employees’ mental health and cultural wellbeing. An online survey was sent to a wide network of working Maori requesting consideration, as well as asking participants to forward the survey on to their own contacts. Data was collected in two waves with a second survey sent a week or two after the first survey was completed. Overall 113 participants completed both surveys (matching survey one and two responses). Results of this study suggests that support from the supervisor help form an organisational culture that in turn creates a culturally responsive working environment, which then has a beneficial influence on the mental health and cultural wellbeing of Maori employees. Additionally, support from the supervisor was found to be positively related to all four satisfaction dimensions (supervisor, co-worker, job and pay) which in turn related to search behaviours and ultimately intentions to leave their organisation. Ultimately, supervisor and job satisfaction were found to be key predictors of turnover intentions.