An exploratory study on the uses and gratifications of smartphones in the workplace: a case study of the National Energy Regulatory of South Africa (NERSA)

Abstract

Smartphone use in the workplace has shown both positive and negative effects. The study examines how employees of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) utilise smartphones and the gratifications derived from their use. The Regulator permits all employees, including general staff and management, to use smartphones during working hours to enhance communication and improve service delivery in the energy industry. However, the absence of a regulatory framework in the form of policies, regulations, and guidelines leaves it unclear how smartphones should be used and managed in the workplace. The researcher identified a gap in the literature on smartphone use in the workplace, particularly within an organisation such as NERSA, thereby necessitating this study. No researcher had conducted this type of work at the time of the study. The study adopted an interpretive paradigm to explore the uses and gratifications of smartphones in the workplace and to understand how staff and management utilised smartphones. The study was largely qualitative and used descriptive statistics. The target population comprised two hundred and twenty (220) NERSA employees. Of these, eighty-eight (88) took part. The study employed the uses and gratifications theory to explore how smartphones were utilised in the workplace. Self-administered online questionnaires, comprising open- and closed-ended questions, were distributed via SurveyMonkey to collect data. Respondents were sent an online questionnaire via a link in their email. The data from open-ended questions were analysed and organised thematically, while the data from closed-ended questions were presented in graphs and tables. It was found that employees used their smartphones more for personal activities than for work-related tasks, with personal use in the workplace exceeding 15 percent.

The study recommends increasing smartphone use in the workplace to better benefit organisations. Policies, regulations, or guidelines should be adopted to advise employees on this matter.