FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE KNOWLEDGE

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE KNOWLEDGE WORKER BEHAVIOUR

ASA du Toit
Centre for Information and Knowledge Management, University of Johannesburg,
PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa
Email: adutoit@uj.ac.za

RJ van Staden
Centre for Information and Knowledge Management, University of Johannesburg,
PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa


Organisations now rely on knowledge workers to take responsibility for their own career development. The demand for knowledge workers are on the increase, yet little is known with regards to their career perceptions and attitudes. This paper focuses on exploring the issues and factors affecting the career development of knowledge workers. Specialisation and dual career ladders are required to ensure that the knowledge residing in the minds of knowledge workers are not lost. A survey was conducted to determine career development opportunities for knowledge workers in South Africa. The results revealed that knowledge workers are motivated through traditional means such as money, awards and recognition, but place less emphasis on temporary assignments and mentoring than their counterparts from other countries. Organisations should leverage the knowledge contained in the minds of their knowledge workers to create a sustainable, competitive advantage.

1. Introduction
Knowledge is stored in the minds of knowledge workers, which means that organisations need to balance business needs against the needs of knowledge workers (Stokely, 2008:47), to ensure that organisational knowledge becomes a strategic asset in order to remain competitive and survive in the knowledge economy (Zack, 1999). Products, services and processes that create value are becoming more complex, requiring even more changes in the way organisational knowledge is managed. This result in changes in the way knowledge workers develop their careers and the usual lifelong career with one organisation seems to have become something of the past. The knowledge economy is forcing knowledge workers to realise that multiple assignments, projects, jobs and possibly multiple careers are the norm. Even though the knowledge economy can be turbulent, successful knowledge workers are able to see new opportunities for themselves and society (Drucker, 2001:283).
The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors affecting the career development of knowledge workers in South Africa. For a country such as South Africa this study is of extreme importance as the country is facing a serious shortage of skills. Career development of knowledge workers can create a strategic advantage for the country while correcting mistakes of the past. Using knowledge workers to the best of their abilities lead to higher productivity and efficiency which is sorely needed in South Africa. If prosperity and even survival depends on knowledge worker productivity (Drucker, 1999:83), then organisations in South Africa need to address issues concerning knowledge workers. The demand for knowledge workers are on the increase, yet little is known with regards to their career perceptions and attitudes. This paper focuses on exploring the issues and factors affecting the career development of knowledge workers. The reliance on knowledge workers creates interesting problems for a developing country such as South Africa. Specialisation and dual career ladders are required to ensure that the knowledge residing in the minds of knowledge workers are not lost.

2. Knowledge workers
Bergeron (2003:58) defines knowledge workers as individuals who contribute to the intellectual capital of their organisation. Knowledge workers are considered to be employees who employ thoughts more than manual labour in their daily tasks. The products or output of a knowledge worker is considered to be knowledge assets consisting of documentation, newsletters, online weblogs and other publications. Drucker (2002:238) defines knowledge workers from an individual’s point of view. An individual with significant amounts of theoretical knowledge and learning constitutes a knowledge worker. Paton (2005:23) defines a knowledge worker as an educated individual. The individual has been educated in a specialist knowledge area and posses theoretical, contextual or tacit knowledge. The individual is actively working in this field of specialist knowledge, all the while learning more about the field of knowledge. The authors agree that a knowledge worker is seen as an individual that has considerable knowledge and learning in a specialist field. Knowledge workers use knowledge to generate a living through thinking and not necessarily manual labour whilst taking responsibility for their own learning and development. Knowledge workers need lifelong learning and work experience to contribute to their organisation’s competitive advantage. Knowledge workers use learning and knowledge to provide their organisations with a competitive advantage and ultimately, success. In so doing, knowledge workers indirectly improve their professional performance throughout their working lives.

3. Knowledge work
The work that is performed by knowledge workers throughout their careers forms part of knowledge work. Knowledge work is discretionary behaviour and activities that are performed by knowledge workers (Efimova, 2003:1, Schell, 2008:4). Information gathering, imagination, experimentation, discovery and integration of knowledge within larger systems are all part of knowledge work (Myers, 1996:46). Technical skills, behavioural competencies and attitudes all contribute to the knowledge work that is performed (Mercer, 2008). Knowledge workers essentially think for a living, doing intangible work that is collaborative and iterative in nature in order to generate a competitive advantage for their organisation (Zuber-Skerritt, 2005:62). The skills, competencies, commitment, motivation, loyalty, creativity, education and attitude all contribute to knowledge work and are essential to knowledge management (Marr, Schiuma & Neely, 2004:562; Binney, 2001:36).

4. Demand for knowledge workers
The role played by knowledge workers is central to the competitive advantage of organisations in the knowledge economy. If we take into account that knowledge workers will become the dominant group of workers in the future (Drucker, 2002:237), then knowledge workers will appear to have borderless, upward career mobility with the potential for failure or success. The growth in certain economic sectors, coupled with knowledge workers entering retirement creates a unique demand for knowledge workers. The computer, manufacturing and education sectors are set to see unprecedented growth, requiring even more knowledge workers (Drucker, 2002:257). Such growth requires knowledge workers to acquire formal education to enter these areas of knowledge work. Once knowledge workers enter these sectors, continuing education will be required to ensure that their knowledge is kept up to date. Such a scenario highlights the need for continuous learning of knowledge workers as knowledge rapidly becomes obsolete in knowledge organisations.
The transition of knowledge workers from a young age to an older age requires succession planning to ensure that knowledge remain in organisations (Harman & Brelade, 2000:31; Stovel & Bontis, 2002:309). Succession planning for knowledge workers due to age-related factors have been ignored by organisations as they frequently only devote time and energy to managing succession and career planning of their internal elite (Holbeche, 1997:36). Proper succession planning will enable organisations to deal with the demand for knowledge workers and provide a certain level of career management for such knowledge workers (Harman & Brelade, 2000:31; Holbeche, 1997:38). Older knowledge workers (older than fifty years of age) have been noted to work in new and different ways. Frequently older workers will take on part-time assignments, work as consultants or focus on special tasks, moving away from traditional nine-to-five jobs (Drucker, 2002:235). The choices available to older knowledge workers will combine traditional and non-traditional jobs and more leisure time. As more than 25% of the working age population in the United States of America will reach retirement age by 2010 and the United Kingdom’s largest working group by age falls into the 45-59 year olds, the impact of age on the demand for knowledge workers is notable (Meister, 2005:58).
The increase in longevity of workers has also created this unique problem for organisations. Knowledge workers can no longer perform the same kind of work for fifty years. Second careers after retirement are seen as ways to keep mentally fit (Drucker, 2002:249). Becoming a freelance worker, contractor or consultant also aids organisations as new ideas and innovations can be brought into organisations as part of any knowledge worker’s job (Drucker, 1999:86; Higgins and Tap, 2008:35). Knowledge workers cannot be replaced by manual labourers as they are the only workers that can create, use and share knowledge (Malhotra, 1998). Organisations should therefore adapt their knowledge management programmes to retain key expertise in an effort to reduce costs and develop new products and services (Stankosky, 2005:150). Educated and experienced people are needed by knowledge-based organisations (Drucker, 2001:289) to create an additional advantage through knowledge workers (Drucker, 2002:88). The demand for knowledge in an industry determines the requirements for knowledge required in knowledge workers (Yang & Lee: 83). The demand for knowledge workers will increase in the foreseeable future, with a corresponding need for better management of knowledge workers. Determining what a knowledge worker is doing, compared to what they should rather be doing determines where a knowledge worker’s strengths, performance and values lie. Transforming these strengths and values into performance is to the benefit of the organisation.
5. Career development of knowledge workers
The value of knowledge workers needs to be taken into account if managers are to create the future direction of the organisation and knowledge workers have a direct influence on the future potential of the organisation (Malhotra, 1998; Mindrum, 2007:49). In the knowledge economy, individuals move frequently between jobs and even organisations, causing individuals to regard a career as a sequence of work related experiences over the course of their lives (Bergeron, 2003:593). The work experience can include any type of work, in any industry and over any length of time which is a radical move away from lifelong employment with only one employer. In order to maintain their competitive advantage, organisations need knowledge workers (Drucker, 2002:23). Attracting, retaining and motivating knowledge workers are but a small part of career issues as knowledge workers need incentives that are bigger than performance bonuses or stock options (Drucker, 2002:24). An example of an intangible incentive is to consider knowledge workers as partners in an organisation. Recognising knowledge workers as partners will help attract the best knowledge workers in a competitive job market (Binney, 2001:36). The changes in traditional organisational structures are forcing many individuals to change their view of a career as the career options in flatter organisations are limited (Evans, 2003:180). Knowledge workers need to prepare for roles in their careers and no longer jobs. Managing a career requires individuals to be flexible and to learn continuously in order to fulfil their responsibilities as the quality and nature of any career is defined by the accumulation of knowledge (Feldman, 2002:296; Koenig & Srikantaiah, 2004:523). Learning, innovation and collaboration are becoming increasingly important as part of a career management strategy as knowledge workers need more skills, education and training (Marcus & Watters, 2002:91; Winslow & Bramer, 1994:249). At the start of any knowledge career, the type of work, the financial compensation and the training on offer influence the career choices (Freeman-Bell & Balkwill, 1996:315). The productivity and quality of knowledge work is significantly impacted by these factors as individuals are the driving force behind the utilisation of knowledge (Marcus & Watters, 2002:92). The initial motivating factors play a major part in determining whether knowledge workers will start a satisfied career (Freeman-Bell & Balkwill, 1996:315).
Myers (1996:184) and Tampoe (quoted by Carter & Scarbrough, 2001:218) identified four key career motivators once a knowledge worker has moved beyond career entry. These four key motivators are personal growth, operational autonomy, task achievement and money.
Personal growth is the first key motivator and can be described as the opportunity for individuals to realise their potential through intellectual, personal and career development. Organisations need to address job design, assignments and career progress to provide meaningful and challenging work that will lead to personal growth for knowledge workers (Mercer, 2008). Knowledge acquisition forms part of personal development, leading to a sense of achievement and recognition of peers and ensures that workers grow as individuals and as professionals (Lin, Kuo, Ho & Kuo, 2008:93; Svetlik & Stavrou-Costea, 2007:197; Thite, 2004:33). The stimulation and challenges provided by the job that a knowledge worker performs also contribute to personal growth (Dovey & White, 2005:253). Knowledge workers such as software developers desire challenging work and learning opportunities (Dovey & White, 2005:253). People are motivated when they are interested in the job, even though they may find the status, perks or responsibility associated with it invaluable.
Operational autonomy is the second key motivator and can be described as a work environment that allows knowledge workers to have control over the tasks that are assigned to them within the constraints of the organisational setting. The organisational culture and leadership impact the manner in which knowledge is managed (Mercer, 2008). Knowledge workers need a dynamic knowledge-based organisation to be able to define and direct their own jobs if they are to take responsibility for their tasks (Drucker, 1999:84; Myers, 1996:46). Organisational culture needs to align itself with the values and habits of knowledge workers to provide such a level of autonomy (Nemeth & Nemeth in Nonaka & Teece, 2001:101). The key to obtaining this level of autonomy lies in the level of flexibility a knowledge worker’s manager will allow (Mercer, 2008).
Task achievement is the third key motivator and can be described as the sense of satisfaction that a knowledge worker gets from producing work of a high standard and quality that the individual feels proud of. Aligning the personal goals of knowledge workers with organisational goals will enable them to be motivated through task achievement to work towards common goals and not egotistic goals (Kelly, 2007:126). Another issue related to task achievement is the boredom associated with repetitive or less challenging tasks. Tasks need to be kept challenging in order to prevent boredom from reducing the sense of accomplishment that knowledge workers get over their working careers (Dovey & White, 2005:253; Drucker, 2001:281).
The last motivating factor is money or financial incentives and rewards. Money is seen as a reward for the contribution made by knowledge workers to the success of the organisation. Even though money cannot ensure the retention of knowledge workers, money should be structured on the way work is defined in the organisation and could include base pay, incentives, benefits and retirement funds (Mercer, 2008). The study of money as a motivational factor has always featured prominently in career studies (Petroni & Colacino, 2008:22). An interesting finding in this regard shows that male knowledge workers change jobs more often for higher pay than their female counterparts (Yang & Lee, 87).
Motivating knowledge workers will increase the feeling of knowledge workers that the organisation is helping them to attain their career goals in alignment with organisational goals (Stovel & Bontis, 2002:308). Knowledge workers need trust in their organisation if they are to stay motivated and keep on learning (Marcus & Watters, 2002:92). Continuous learning is essential in motivating knowledge workers to keep on innovating, and recognition is a very powerful motivator for knowledge workers (Harman & Brelade, 2000:49; Marcus & Watters, 2002:94).
Knowledge workers must understand their needs before starting their careers as it is different to those of general workers (Lee-Kelley, Blackman & Hurst, 2007:208). Nowadays, knowledge workers prepare for their careers through self-directed learning and further education rather than from internal career programmes in order to further their personal development (Lee-Kelley et al., 2007:208). Knowledge workers attempt to create an unbounded career by working as a free agent for any organisation in any sector. The independence and negotiation power results in a better fit between the interests of knowledge workers and the goals of an organisation as the projects are chosen in order to develop their career competencies (Tremblay, 2003:11). Working as a free agent enables knowledge workers to pursue outside interests in order to achieve a better work/life balance, with leisure time becoming more important than financial incentives (Marcus & Watters, 2002:91; Robbins, 2005:596). Attempting to predict future career trends is an imprecise science as organisations still play a very important part in the role of any knowledge worker’s career. The best solution in the foreseeable future is to develop a segmented or zigzag career, with tasks and projects defining the career path and not organisational hierarchies. Knowledge workers should evaluate their career development programme as they progress towards their career goals. Evaluation such as formal appraisal reviews should assist in assessing career goals and whether these goals have been reached within a reasonable timeframe. Shortfalls in career progressions can be remedied through additional work experiences or training and development. Knowledge workers should take an active role in developing their careers as career development is all about reconsidering where you development path will take you.

6. Survey on career development of knowledge workers

6.1 Research methodology
Knowledge workers are considered to be people with considerable theoretical knowledge and learning (Drucker, 2002:238). As such, knowledge workers are responsible for their own learning and development (Gottschalk, 2005:27), using diverse sources to acquire more information and knowledge. Even though knowledge workers may be educated in a specific knowledge area, they are continually learning (Paton, 2005:23). The knowledge economy requires knowledge workers to acquire new skills and talents (Waddock, 2007:544), in order to contribute to the organisation’s competitive advantage (Drucker, 2002:124). Knowledge workers are thus considered to be individuals partaking in some form of learning, in order to increase their knowledge. For the purpose of this survey, the part-time learners of a postgraduate course were used as a random sample of such a knowledge worker population. The respondents were all enrolled at the University of Johannesburg for the M.Com (Business Management) course. The respondents came from various backgrounds and educational levels. The sample is indicative of broad trends amongst knowledge workers in South Africa.
An online survey was chosen as the research instrument of choice as the distribution of the web address via electronic mail was seen as an appealing means of communication to knowledge workers. The online survey featured a welcome page, attempting to gain the respondent’s cooperation, providing instructions on how to complete the survey and the approximate time it would take to complete the survey (Zikmund, 2003:222). The next section of the survey focused on biographical data, such as gender and age (Welman, Kruger & Mitchell, 2005:119) using simple category scales, for example, male or female, or multiple choice, single response scales for the age groupings (Cooper & Schindler, 2003:254). The following section was divided into smaller sections, each focusing on areas that have been identified in the literature review as variables affecting the career development of knowledge workers, such as how knowledge workers develop their knowledge, what motivates knowledge workers in their careers, the readiness of knowledge workers to embark on a knowledge career, the career goals of knowledge workers, their envisaged career path, the strategies knowledge workers employ to achieve their career goals and the level of satisfaction achieved in their knowledge careers. Each section was given a rating using a five point Likert scale, in order to obtain a favourable or unfavourable response from respondents. The web address of the online survey was sent out via electronic mail to 266 respondents. Out of the 90 questionnaires completed, 8 were unusable and 82 questionnaires were usable, which resulted in a response rate of 31%.
The reliability for the sections covering knowledge, knowledge development, career motivators, career readiness, career goals, career path, career strategy and satisfaction were determined using Cronbach’s alpha test, determining whether the measuring instruments are homogenous (Cooper & Schindler, 2003:237).
The Cronbach alpha for each section is shown in Table 1:

Section Cronbach alpha
Knowledge 0.730
Knowledge development 0.683
Career motivators 0.725
Career readiness 0.754
Career strategy 0.874
Satisfaction 0.896
Table 1: Reliability
The reliability coefficient for each section is greater than 0.7, indicating a positive reliability, except for the section on knowledge development. The section on knowledge development has a Cronbach alpha of 0.683. The sections mentioned in Table 1 are thus considered to be reliable for the purpose of this survey.

6.2 Findings

6.2.1 Biographical data
The gender of the respondents that completed the online questionnaire were mostly male (69.5%) with a low response rate from females (30.5%). The age groups less than 41 years and older than 25 years provided the most responses, with the number of responses from people older than 40 years tapering off to only two people older than 55 years. The field of specialisation of the respondents was mostly predominant in the business and information technology fields. One respondent was in the educational field and the other two respondents in the logistics field. The length of employment of the respondents with their current employer is quite interesting as 47.5% of respondents have worked for their current employer for three years. The demographic data is indicative of a broad range of knowledge workers. The length of employment indicates that knowledge workers are no longer content with lifelong employment with one organisation.

6.2.2 Knowledge
The descriptive statistics related to knowledge as seen from a career perspective are shown in Table 2 with the results in percentages. The modal category for each option is shaded, with the actual number of responses shown in parentheses below the percentage value.


Totally agree Agree Neutral Disagree Totally disagree
Knowledge is a key factor in any decision made with regards to my career 31.7
(26) 47.6
(39) 12.2
(10) 8.5
(7) 0.0
(0)
Knowledge is crucial in giving me a competitive advantage in my career 58.5
(48) 34.1
(28) 6.1
(5) 1.2
(1) 0.0
(0)
My job requires more knowledge than it ever did before 47.6
(39) 32.9
(27) 17.1
(14) 2.4
(2) 0.0
(0)
The higher my level of knowledge, the more rewards I will receive 24.4
(20) 40.2
(33) 24.4
(20) 8.5
(7) 2.4
(2)
Table 2: Knowledge
Table 2 indicates that knowledge is seen as a key component in a knowledge worker’s career, with more than 58% indicating that knowledge is crucial to providing knowledge workers with a competitive advantage in their careers. The importance placed upon knowledge in career decisions is consistent with knowledge workers creating a competitive advantage in the knowledge economy through the use of knowledge (Harman & Brelade, 2000:2). The amount of knowledge required by knowledge workers’ jobs are indicative of the amount of information required by knowledge workers in the knowledge economy (Bontis, 2001:3; Deng: 174). The need for knowledge workers who are able to deal with large amounts of knowledge (Deng, n.d.:174) is acknowledge by the respondents.

6.2.3 Knowledge development
The descriptive statistics related to knowledge development as seen from a career perspective are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 indicates that knowledge development is required by knowledge workers as 68.3% of knowledge workers believe that lifelong learning is important which agrees with learning being a lifelong process (Alley, 1999:189, Drucker, 2001:305). The majority of knowledge workers (68.3%) believe that they are responsible for their own personal development as it seems that employers are no longer willing to take this responsibility (Thite, 2004:32). The low number of knowledge workers making use of internal training (30.5%) is indicative of the low investment that South African organisations make in knowledge workers according to Smith (2008). The number of knowledge workers primarily making use of external training (64.7%) should be a cause of concern for organisations as this could indicate that organisational training and development programmes are not living up to the expectations of knowledge workers. Internal training is rarely seen as a means for gaining more knowledge and could be an indication that South African organisations do not invest in knowledge workers or that knowledge workers do not attach a lot of value to internal training. Organisations need to assess their internal training and development programmes if they are to deliver any value to knowledge workers.


Figure 1: Knowledge development

6.2.4 Career motivators
The descriptive statistics related to career motivators of knowledge workers are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 indicates that monetary rewards and challenging work assignments are seen as very important career motivators, followed by recognition of peers and awards. Recognition by peers is noted as an important motivator by Abdulai, Bergeron (2003:73), Defillipi, Arthur & Lindsay (2006), Drucker (2002:259) and Thite (2004:33) and is seen by 79.1% of all respondents as having some or a greater extent to their career motivations. Monetary rewards are recognised by 80.3% of respondents as a key career motivator (Myers, 1996:184) with challenging work assignments (87.6%) seen by the most respondents as having the greatest motivational factor in the careers (Dovey & White, 2005:253; Mercer, 2008). Social status and job security are considered the least important career motivators for these knowledge workers. Money is still considered to be a primary career motivator and is considered as one of the most important by respondents. This could be a cause of concern as other career motivators such as autonomy and personal growth may be considered less important than monetary rewards, impacting the competitive advantage of the organisation in a negative manner.

Figure 2: Career motivators
6.2.5 Career readiness
Totally agree Agree Neutral Disagree Totally disagree
I feel that I am in charge of my own knowledge career 36.6
(30) 54.9
(45) 7.3
(6) 1.2
(1) 0.0
(0)
I adapt to any challenges in my career 40.2
(33) 57.3
(47) 2.4
(2) 0.0
(0) 0.0
(0)
I see new technology as beneficial to my career 56.1
(46) 37.8
(31) 3.7
(3) 2.4
(2) 0.0
(0)
I have created my own knowledge career strategy 25.6
(21) 46.3
(38) 18.3
(15) 8.5
(7) 1.2
(1)
I have enough knowledge to kick off a fulfilling career 24.4
(20) 50.0
(41) 15.9
(13) 9.8
(8) 0.0
(0)
Table 3: Career readiness
Table 3 indicates that a total of 93.9% of respondents consider technology to be an important part of career readiness for knowledge workers, which is an important part of knowledge management (Carter & Scarbrough, 2001:216). The importance of a career strategy is seen as important by a total of 71.9% of respondents, which is not as seen as less important than technology, which means that knowledge workers may not yet know where they belong in their careers (Drucker, 2002:89). Respondents (74.4%) feel that they have enough knowledge to start their careers, which may be a sign of overconfidence as the skills and knowledge required by knowledge workers are continuously changing (Drucker, 2002:27).

6.2.6 Career path
Table 4 indicates that the need to become a specialist is considered important to some or a large extent by 86.3% of the respondents (No Doubt Research, 2003:3). The importance of specialist positions also correlates to the importance place on dual career ladders by 71.3% of respondents (Holman, Wall, Clegg, Sparrow & Howard, 2003:146; Petroni & Colacino, 2008:22). The need for upward career growth, whilst still enabling knowledge workers to stay in a profession without becoming a manager is thus seen as an important career path for knowledge workers. The lack of importance placed on temporary work assignments by only 12.6% of respondents could be attributed to the economic downturn, or the lack of temporary work assignments available to knowledge workers in South Africa (McKenna, 2006:11). Paulins (2008:105) noted that knowledge workers use temporary assignments as part of career preparation, yet the respondents of the study indicated that they are not interested in short work assignments. The underlying reason may be due to the fact that the respondents are mostly employed as full time workers, yet the lack of interest in temporary assignments may lead to a loss of opportunity for knowledge workers entering their careers.

Very important Important Neutral Unimportant Very un-important
Dual career ladders (managerial and professional options) 31.3
(25) 40.0
(32) 21.3
(17) 6.3
(5) 1.3
(1)
Becoming a specialist in my field of knowledge 48.8
(39) 37.5
(30) 8.8
(7) 5.0
(4) 0.0
(0)
Lifetime employment with a single organisation 3.8
(3) 6.3
(5) 32.5
(26) 41.3
(33) 16.3
(13)
A portfolio of multiple jobs with different organisations over the lifetime of my career 15.0
(12) 40.0
(32) 32.5
(26) 10.0
(8) 2.5
(2)
Temporary work assignments followed by short periods of unemployment 1.3
(1) 11.3
(9) 23.8
(19) 21.3
(17) 42.5
(34)
Table 4: Career path
6.2.7 Career strategy
Figure 3 describes the career strategy of the respondents:


Figure 3: Career strategy
Figure 3 indicates that knowledge workers feel responsible for their own careers and that they are actively trying to manage their careers through networking, experiences gained and continuous learning. The most important career strategy is the continuous learning of new skills as indicated by 88.6% of respondents. Such a strategy should result in knowledge workers reaching their long term career goals (Marcus & Watters, 2002:91; Stokely, 2008:49). The least important career strategy is seen as building a network of contacts, which is something knowledge workers need to take note of as Myers (1996:52) claims that the development of social networks is critical in boundaryless careers in order to add more value to organisations. Mentoring is an area of concern as the respondents indicated that they are not keen to consult mentors in their field of specialisation. This is in stark contrast to literature, which notes that knowledge workers need mentoring to ensure that knowledge sharing occurs (Harman & Brelade, 2000:73) in order to ensure a successful entry into the job market (Currie et al., 2006:760).

6.2.8 Satisfaction experienced as a knowledge worker
The descriptive statistics related to the satisfaction experienced in the careers of knowledge workers are shown in Table 5. Table 5 indicates that 46.2% of knowledge workers are satisfied with their careers to date, with only 19.2% being very satisfied. This means that organisations are not providing most knowledge workers with a work environment which allows knowledge workers to achieve job satisfaction (Wong, 2005:273). The majority of respondents (83.8%) indicate that they work on challenging assignments or projects and that flexible work conditions are experienced by 78.8% of knowledge workers and corresponds well to the requirements placed on knowledge workers by the new boundaryless career (Lee-Kelly et al., 2007:204; Marcus & Watters, 2002:92; Thite, 2004:37; Tomlinson:153). Most knowledge workers feel that they achieve a sense of accomplishment and are closely related to working on challenging assignments (Dovey & White, 2005:253; Drucker, 2001:281). The results indicate that knowledge workers are in fact satisfied to a large extent with their careers, yet certain areas are to be looked at in order to ensure knowledge workers stay motivated. Respondents indicated that promotions and rewards based on their knowledge are insufficient. The motivation of knowledge workers could be affected through such a lack of recognition (Defillipi et al, 2006:n.p.; Drucker, 2002:259; Holman et al., 2003:146) and as such, organisations need to assess their attempts at providing a satisfying career for knowledge workers. Respondents consider autonomy important, in order to control the tasks assigned to them within their organisation (Mercer, 2008:n.p.). Knowledge workers thus strive to create their own work environment (Arthur et al., 1999:132; Marcus & Watters, 2002:92).

Very satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
Being promoted based on what you know 20.0
(16) 55.0
(44) 15.0
(12) 7.5
(6) 2.5
(2)
Being rewarded for your knowledge 21.3
(17) 46.3
(37) 17.5
(14) 12.5
(10) 2.5
(2)
Flexible working conditions 40.0
(32) 38.8
(31) 15.0
(12) 6.3
(5) 0.0
(0)
The contributions made by you as a knowledge worker 37.5
(30) 48.8
(39) 7.5
(6) 6.3
(5) 0.0
(0)
Working on challenging assignments or projects 36.3
(29) 47.5
(38) 13.8
(11) 2.5
(2) 0.0
(0)
A sense of accomplishment 41.3
(33) 40.0
(32) 12.5
(10) 5.0
(4) 1.3
(1)
Opportunities for career advancement 30.0
(24) 37.5
(30) 20.0
(16) 5.0
(4) 7.5
(6)
Career progress to date 19.2
(15) 46.2
(36) 21.8
(17) 10.3
(8) 2.6
(2)

Table 5: Satisfaction experienced as a knowledge worker

7. Practical applications of the survey
The results of the online survey provide an interesting look at the unique career issues knowledge workers experience from a South African perspective. Some of the issues identified dealt with the lack of importance placed upon organisational training, the lack of interest in temporary work assignments and the low importance placed on learning from mentors. Organisations need to take note of their reward structures as knowledge workers have indicated that promotions and rewards based on their knowledge is insufficient. The means of production for knowledge workers is their knowledge, leading to high levels of job mobility. Knowledge workers are therefore not bothered to only work as employees of organisations, but to work as consultants or temporary workers. Using external knowledge workers brings specialised knowledge into organisations helping internal staff to solve otherwise difficult problems. Organisations are only useful to knowledge workers if they can acquire new knowledge through working in that organisation.
Knowledge workers play an increasingly important part in the knowledge economy and contribute to the competitive advantage and future potential of organisations. The impact made by knowledge workers in the knowledge economy has prompted management to take note of the key issues affecting knowledge workers throughout their careers. The research study explored the career issues affecting knowledge workers through their careers and focused on two major stakeholder groups: organisations employing knowledge workers and the knowledge workers themselves.
7.1 Recommendations to organisations
The findings of the study, within the research limitations described in section 7.4 suggest that organisations need to understand that:
• Knowledge workers are motivated through recognition of peers, rewards and monetary rewards, without which, knowledge workers will feel unmotivated and lack a sense of achievement necessary to excel in their careers.
• Knowledge workers see internal training programmes as incapable of delivering the training they require. Organisations should ensure that their training programmes are innovative to ensure that it responds to the demands of a knowledge economy.
• Lifelong careers with one organisation are a thing of the past, knowledge workers are more concerned with lifelong learning and experiences gained through a succession of multiple jobs in order to gain the experience necessary to provide the organisation with a competitive advantage.
• Challenging work assignments provide knowledge workers with a sense of purpose and achievement. Providing knowledge workers with a series of challenging work assignments provides knowledge workers to develop their careers through such assignments.
• The organisational lifespan is much less than the natural lifespan of a knowledge worker and knowledge workers frequently outlive the organisation they work for. Knowledge workers therefore take control of their own careers as their career consists of a series of projects or assignments, irrespective of the organisation employing them.
7.2 Recommendations to knowledge workers
The findings of the study suggest that knowledge workers need to understand that:
• Autonomy of tasks and assignments enable them to take control over tasks assigned to them. The constraints in organisations do not always allow knowledge workers the freedom to take total control of tasks assigned to them, yet knowledge workers need to adapt to their organisational culture in order to remain autonomous as far as possible.
• The responsibility for career development is a personal responsibility. Knowledge workers need to ensure that they obtain challenges that lead to a fulfilling career by getting involved in challenging work that provides learning opportunities.
• Mentors are still needed if knowledge workers are to ensure that their entry into the knowledge economy leads to a successful career. Mentoring is essential in order to ensure that opportunity is provided for individuals to convert experience into knowledge.
• The motivation required to reach organisation goals should be closely aligned to personal career goals. Such a close alignment of goals leads to a sense of task achievement for knowledge workers, resulting in a satisfying career within the organisation.
• Specialisation may be more important than loyalty to many one organisation, yet the specialist skills may contribute to the career success of the knowledge worker with that specific organisation as specialisation results in a diversity of knowledge and skills beneficial to any career.
8. Conclusion
Work provides a person with a sense of purpose, challenge, self-fulfilment, development and income to enable one to participate in other spheres of life. Knowledge of the factors and issues affecting the career development of knowledge workers is essential in order to retain, develop and motivate knowledge workers. Knowledge workers are faced with less career options due to flatter organisational structures. This survey aims to improve the career options of knowledge workers with the hope that talented people will be utilised fully and that they will experience increased job satisfaction, ending up with a rewarding and fulfilling work experience. Organisational benefits include the retention of proprietary knowledge, lower training costs, no loss of morale, lower recruitment costs and seeing a return from the investment in its workers. Motivating knowledge workers is important as they are more loyal to their field of specialisation than their employer. Knowledge workers play an increasingly important part in the knowledge economy and contribute to the competitive advantage and future potential of organisations. The impact made by knowledge workers in the knowledge economy has prompted management to take note of the key issues affecting knowledge workers throughout their careers. The major findings linked to the literature consulted indicated that even though knowledge workers require more knowledge just to enable them to perform their jobs, their knowledge still provides them with a competitive advantage in their careers and the knowledge economy. In the same manner, knowledge workers acknowledge that they are personally responsible for their own career development and attempt to ensure that they partake in lifelong learning and training. The result of being able to match personal goals with organisational goals generates a sense of accomplishment for knowledge workers, which is required to build a fulfilling career.
Working on challenging assignments generates a sense of achievement, purpose that contributes to the personal and career growth of a knowledge worker. Knowledge workers should thus seek out organisations that provide a challenging work environment that could lead to career growth. Female knowledge workers change jobs less often than their male counterparts as they do not want to risk career development by being too mobile. Similarly, female knowledge workers change jobs mostly for family reasons, such as raising children.
The research study set out to explore the issues affecting knowledge workers in a South African context. Knowledge workers make up a large percentage of the workforce in the knowledge economy, making a study such as this invaluable for organisations dependent on such workers. The career issues affecting knowledge workers were established through an online survey, providing an interesting view on the autonomy, rewards, training and progress experiences by knowledge workers in their careers thus far. This research study could be used by organisations and individuals alike, to develop measures for improving the career satisfaction of knowledge workers in the knowledge economy as these workers are important contributors to the competitive advantage of organisations in the knowledge economy.

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