Transformational Leadership, Soft Human Resource Approach and Millennial Workforce Engagement in International Non-Governmental Organisations in Nairobi, Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Lucas N. Mburu | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-15T12:52:18Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-15T12:52:18Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-08-15 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Engaging the Millennial Workforce presents a significant hurdle for leaders and human resource professionals, as majority of Millennials are actively open to new job prospects at any point. Unlike previous generations, Millennials exhibit distinct work patterns that create an ongoing, unsettled concern within the field of leadership. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of transformational leadership and soft human resource approach on Millennial Workforce engagement in international non-governmental organisations in Nairobi, Kenya. The objectives were: to establish the direct effect of individualised consideration, idealised influence, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation on Millennial Workforce engagement, and to test the mediating role of soft human resource approach on the relationship between transformational leadership and Millennial Workforce engagement in INGOs within Nairobi Kenya. The study was anchored on Transformational leadership theory, supplemented with Theory Y, Self-determination theory, and Work engagement theory. The researcher adopted pragmatism lens. Convergent-parallel mixed methods research design was used. The target population was Millennial Workforce in 251 INGOs in Nairobi. Systematic sampling was used to select 32 participating INGOs while purposive sampling was used to select a sample size of 384 employees aged 28-43 years. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire comprising of Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Utretch Work Engagement Scale, and a researcherdeveloped Soft Human Resource Likert Scale. The data was processed using SPSS.Hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression modelling and mediator analysis. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis method by aid of Nvivo software. Results revealed that intellectual stimulation had the highest statistically significant explanatory power on Millennial Workforce engagement (R2=.210, p<.01), followed by individualised consideration (R2=.208, p<.01), idealised influence (R2=.192, p<.01) and lastly, inspirational motivation (R2=.186, p<.01). Regression analysis depicted partial mediation as the association between transformational leadership and Millennial Workforce engagement remained statistically significant but diminished in strength from β=.493(<.01) to β=.282(<.01) upon the introduction of soft HR approach. Thus, the null hypotheses were rejected and inference drawn that transformational leadership significantly influenced Millennial Workforce engagement and Soft HR approach significantly mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and Millennial Workforce engagement. The findings were corroborated by thematic analysis of qualitative interviews which identified individualised consideration as the most outstanding dimension of transformational leadership. The common theme across the qualitative responses was the enhancement of team morale through the recognition and utilization of each team member's unique strengths and aspirations when assigning tasks or responsibilities. The study depicted the emergence of a rank order among the dimensions in terms of explanatory power on Millennial Workforce engagement. It also confirmed the mediating role of a soft human resource approach in the relationship between transformational leadership and Millennial Workforce engagement. The study recommended that human resource teams in INGOs should invest in leadership development programs that specifically target the enhancement of transformational leadership skills | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://repo.pacuniversity.ac.ke/handle/123456789/4487 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | PAC University | |
| dc.title | Transformational Leadership, Soft Human Resource Approach and Millennial Workforce Engagement in International Non-Governmental Organisations in Nairobi, Kenya | |
| dc.type | Thesis |