The mining industry plays an important role in the economy of South Africa. This industry is anemployer of thousands of people and the development of South Africa has depended on thedevelopment of the mining industry in more than one way. However, working conditions in themining industry is poor, harsh and dangerous and employees are also faced with job insecurity.This may lead to stressors in the working environment and these stressors, which are closelyrelated to work characteristics, may have negative effects on employees as well as on theirproductivity levels. Studies relating organisational resources to work-related flow have providedadditional evidence for the motivational potential of resources. The focus of this study is on jobcharacteristics, consisting of job demands and job resources and whether these characteristicscan foster work-related flow.The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between job demands, job resourcesand work-related flow and to determine whether the availability of job resources and the lack ofjob demands foster the experience of work-related flow.The research method consisted of a literature review and an empirical study. A cross-sectionalsurvey design was used o collect the data. An availability sample (N = 326) from employees inthe mining industry was taken. The Job Demands and Resources Scale (JDRS) (which wasdeveloped for the purpose of this study to measure job demands and job resources for employeesin the mining industry) and the Work-Related Flow scale (WOLF) and a biographicalquestionnaire were also administered The statistical analysis was carried out with the help of theSPSS programme and AMOS programme. The statistical methods utilised in the article consistedof descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients , Pearson product-moment correlationcoefficients and structural equation modelling methods.Pearson product moment correlation in this study showed that Supervision correlated positivelywith Task Freedom, Support, Pay and Benefits, Opportunities for Growth and ResourcesAvailability. Workload correlated positively with Working Conditions. Working Conditionscorrelated positively with Working Hours and negatively with Resources Availability. TaskFreedom correlated positively with Opportunities for Growth and Intrinsic Motivation, andSupport correlated positively with Opportunity for Growth Pay and Benefits correlatedpositively with Opportunity for Growth and Resource Availability, whereas Opportunity forGrowth correlated positively to Work Enjoyment. Resources Availability correlates negativelywith Working Hours, and Absorption indicates a positive correlation to Work Enjoyment andIntrinsic Motivation. Work Enjoyment correlates positively to intrinsic MotivationA structural model of work-related flow for employees in the mining industry comprising of jobdemands, job resources and work-related flow was tested. Job Resources (i.e. Supervision, TaskFreedom, Support, Pay and Benefits, Opportunity for Growth, and Resource Availability) mayhave a positive impact on Work-Related Flow and could increase the levels of work-related flowof employees in the mining industry. Job Demands (i.e. Workload, Working conditions, JobSecurity, and Working Hours) has a negative impact on Work-Related Flow, thus job demandsmay negatively influence the experience of work-related flow in employees in the miningindustry.Recommendations for future research were made.
