CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

To date, in the ever-changing global knowledge and innovation economy, it is unquestionable that higher education institutions should make attracting, deploying, motivating, developing, and retaining outstanding academic staff a top priority. This is founded on the premise that having a competitive workforce is critical to organizational performance (Imran, Fatima, Zaheer, Yousaf, & Batool, 2012).

. The purpose of working environment is to encourage people to accomplish their responsibilities efficiently (Tettey 2006). Working circumstances are produced by employees' interactions with their organizational climate, according to Gerber et al. (1998). Employee performance, productivity, job satisfaction, and turnover have all been linked to the workplace environment (Kahya 2007, Buhai et al. 2008, Black et al. 2001, Böckerman & Ilmakunnas 2012, Bigirimana et al. 2015). Working circumstances, on the other hand, are seen differently. Working circumstances are defined by Kahya (2007) in terms of environmental conditions and risks. Working conditions, according to Oswald (2012), include both a physical and a behavioral component, and go beyond Kahya's (2007) definition. The physical component includes things like office building space and infrastructure (water and power), as well as the availability of working tools and materials. The office layout, i.e. the potential of seclusion, is included in Oswald's (2012) list of physical working circumstances. According to Oswald (2012), the degree of interaction and distraction in the workplace are behavioural factors. Working circumstances, according to Gerber et al. (1998), encompass psychological work conditions as well as the physical architecture of the workplace. Working conditions are defined by Ali et al. (2013) in terms of working hours and workload, whereas Schaubhut, Adams, and Jex (2004) include issues such as occupational safety and health, maternity protection, work-family issues, home work, working time, wages and income, work organization, sexual harassment, violence at work, workload, and worker welfare facilities in working conditions.

Housing, food, and the environment are all important factors. The notion that there is a relationship between job performance and working environment, whether physical, psychological, or psychological, indicates that the secret to motivation is found within an employee's own mind. Herzberg's two-factor theory (1959) supports this viewpoint. The “motivation-hygiene” or “dual-factor” hypothesis is another name for this idea. According to this idea, certain elements in the workplace contribute to job satisfaction while others contribute to job discontent (Herzberg et al. 1959, Herzberg, 1966). Herzberg (1968) maintained that high levels of what he called "hygiene factors" (income, job security, status, and working conditions) lead to higher levels of "hygiene factors."

Employee discontent might be reduced but not eliminated by changes in working environment, fringe benefits, employment policies, and interpersonal relationships. However, “motivation elements,” such as the amount of difficulty, the work itself, responsibility, recognition, progress, intrinsic interest, autonomy, and chances for creativity, can boost employee happiness if the hygiene factors are met (Herzberg 1968, Hackman & Oldham 1976). To put it another way, Herzberg (1968) argued against the notion that money and reward are the most effective motivators (Hackman & Oldham, 1976).

One of the essential variables that can enable any business, regardless of context, to recruit, deploy, and keep exceptional individuals has been identified as a pleasant work environment (Ollukkaran & Gunaseelan, 2012). Physical scenery (e.g. noise, equipment, heat); basics of the job itself (e.g. workload, task, complexity); comprehensive business aspects (e.g. culture, history); and even more business background are all described by Ruchi and Surinder (2014) e.g. industry setting, workers relation.

Simply said, work environment refers to the procedures, methods, structures, tools, or situations in the workplace that impact individual employee performance favorably or negatively. Work environment also includes regulations, rules, culture, resources, working relationships, work location, and internal and external environmental variables, all of which have an impact on how workers execute their job tasks (Ollukkaran & Gunaseelan, 2012). According to the aforementioned writers, the quality of an employee's office environment has the greatest influence on the degree of motivation and subsequent performance. It is undeniable that how well employees engage with the organization, particularly with their immediate environment, has a significant impact on their error rate, level of innovation and collaboration with other employees, absenteeism, overall job performance, and, ultimately, how long they stay in the organization (Ollukkaran & Gunaseelan, 2012). This is consistent with Kiruja & Karanja (2013), who state that "how well employees engage with the organization, especially with their immediate environment, has a significant impact on their error rate, level of innovation and collaboration with Job performance is gradually becoming a very major aspect impacting an organization's profitability in the ever-changing global knowledge-based economy (Bevan, 2012). Job Performance is the basic component of the twenty-first century workplace, according to Viswesvaran & Ones (2000). Furthermore, inefficient work performance is more than likely to result in a disaster for the company, since it is linked to poorer production, profitability, and overall organizational effectiveness.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Working conditions are very essential in the workspace in order to give the staff a proper environment to execute their tasks properly. However, Organizations, schools and so on do not pay much attention to working conditions put in place for their staff and if at all they do, the conditions are quite low; this has become a call to alarm. University management as a matter of top priority should endeavor to put in place favourable work environment, if they want their institutions to be effective and efficient.

This is reinforced by the assumption that absence of appropriate work environment, again with no reasonable doubt, significantly affects job performance of workers in any organization, independent of context.

This study seeks to investigate the effects of working condition on the productivity of academic staff in Veritas University and University of Abuja.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The primary aim of this study is to investigate the effects of working condition on the productivity of academic staff in Veritas University and University of Abuja. Thus, the following objectives;

1. To determine the current working conditions put in place for academic staff in the two Universities.

2. To investigate the current productivity level of academic staff in the two universities.

3. To investigate the effects of working condition on the productivity of the academic staff in the two universities.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions guide this study;

1. What is the current working condition put in place for academic staff in the two Universities?

2. What is the current productivity level of academic staff in the two Universities?

3. What are the effects of working condition on the productivity of the academic staff in the two universities?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be of importance as it will bring to the fore an awareness on the need for better working conditions as it may be a boost in the productivity of staff in tertiary institutions. This study therefore will be beneficial to school administrators as it will help them see the need to improve on working conditions. This study will also be beneficial to other researchers or scholars who wish to delve deeper into this topic or take on the topic from a different perspective.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will only focus on the effects of working conditions on the productivity of academic staff in Veritas University and the University of Abuja.

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

During the course of this study, the researcher was faced with limited financial resources and insufficient time.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. WORKING CONDITIONS: refers to the working environment and all existing circumstances affecting labor in the workplace, including job hours, physical aspects, legal rights and responsibilities.

2. PRODUCTIVITY: Simply refers to the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in industry, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input

Get this material NGN 5,000

Message Us on WhatsApp  »