research papers on job performance

• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 04 February 2022

Job performance in healthcare: a systematic review

• Marcel Krijgsheld   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3096-7055 1 ,
• Lars G. Tummers 1 &
• Floortje E. Scheepers 2  

BMC Health Services Research volume  22 , Article number:  149 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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Healthcare organisations face major challenges to keep healthcare accessible and affordable. This requires them to transform and improve their performance. To do so, organisations must influence employee job performance. Therefore, it is necessary to know what the key dimensions of job performance in healthcare are and how these dimensions can be improved. This study has three aims. The first aim is to determine what key dimensions of job performance are discussed in the healthcare literature. The second aim is to determine to which professionals and healthcare organisations these dimensions of job performance pertain. The third aim is to identify factors that organisations can use to affect the dimensions of job performance in healthcare.

A systematic review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The authors searched Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Books, which resulted in the identification of 763 records. After screening 92 articles were included.

The dimensions – task, contextual, and adaptative performance and counterproductive work behaviour – are reflected in the literature on job performance in healthcare. Adaptive performance and counterproductive work behaviour appear to be under-researched. The studies were conducted in different healthcare organisations and pertain to a variety of healthcare professionals. Organisations can affect job performance on the macro-, meso-, and micro-level to achieve transformation and improvement.

Based on more than 90 studies published in over 70 journals, the authors conclude that job performance in healthcare can be conceptualised into four dimensions: task, contextual and adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behaviour. Generally, these dimensions correspond with the dimensions discussed in the job performance literature. This implies that these dimensions can be used for further research into job performance in healthcare. Many healthcare studies on job performance focus on two dimensions: task and contextual performance. However, adaptive performance, which is of great importance in constantly changing environments, is under-researched and should be examined further in future research. This also applies to counterproductive work behaviour. To improve job performance, interventions are required on the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels, which relate to governance, leadership, and individual skills and characteristics.

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Together with governments and policymakers, healthcare organisations face major challenges to ensure healthcare remains accessible and affordable. This requires healthcare organisations to transform and improve their performance. These challenges cannot be met without the involvement and excellent performance of healthcare employees.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expects that in 2050, almost 27% of the population will be over 65 years old and more than 10% will be over 80 [ 1 ]. This may lead to increasing demand for healthcare. According to the OECD, healthcare expenditure in terms of gross domestic product will grow from 8.8% in 2017 to 10.2% in 2030 in OECD countries [ 1 ]. A record amount of money is being spent on healthcare, and this is expected to further increase due to pressure arising from, among other factors, an ageing population. However, advances in medical technology and rising public expectations regarding healthcare services also contribute to increasing health expenditure [ 2 , 3 ]. Accessibility is not the only challenge arising from an ageing population and the consequent increasing demand for care; a shortage of healthcare professionals is another major challenge healthcare organisations face [ 4 , 5 ]. All these challenges make healthcare perhaps one of the most important areas in which the change and improvement of organisational performance are necessary [ 2 ]. As healthcare is mainly people work, change and improvement in organisational performance will be closely linked to the performance (i.e., the actions and behaviours) of employees [ 6 ]. In other words, the job performance of healthcare professionals is of crucial importance to achieve organisational goals [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].

Job performance has been widely discussed and conceptualised in various ways [ 8 ]. This is reflected in Koopmans et al.’s [ 9 ] systematic review, in which the authors identify 17 generic and 18 job-specific frameworks. The job-specific frameworks in that study relate to the army and employees and management in the service and sales sector. However, Greenslade and Jimmieson’s (2007) framework was developed for the healthcare sector [ 10 ] based on Borman and Motowidlo’s theoretical model [ 11 ]. Based on the 35 frameworks Koopmans et al. identify four main dimensions: task performance, contextual performance, adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behaviour [ 9 ].

Task performance has a direct relationship with the organisational technical core [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. The term refers to direct activities (such as treating patients) and indirect activities (such as hiring nurses) that are a formal part of a worker’s job [ 15 ]. Task performance is seen as an encompassing dimension that also includes aspects such as task behaviour [ 16 ], job and non-job specific tasks [ 17 ], role performance [ 18 ], technical activities [ 19 ], and action orientation [ 20 ]. Contextual performance includes, among other items, interpersonal behaviour [ 16 ], organisational citizenship behaviour [ 21 ], extra role performance [ 22 ], and peer team interaction [ 23 ]. Contextual performance concerns the broader organisational, social, and psychological environment in which a technical core must function [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]; it includes activities such as volunteering for extra work and maintaining good interpersonal relationships [ 15 ]. Adaptive performance refers to the extent to which an individual adapts to changes in work systems or work roles [ 9 ]. It is also defined as adaptability and pro-activity [ 24 ] and creative performance [ 21 ]. Attention towards adaptive performance has increased in recent decades due to the dynamic nature of work environments [ 25 ]. In earlier frameworks, adaptive performance was seen as a separate dimension [ 26 , 27 , 28 ] instead of a component of contextual performance [ 29 ]. Finally, counterproductive work behaviour refers to behaviour that is harmful to the performance of an organisation [ 30 ]. It includes, for instance, off-task behaviour, unruliness, theft, drug abuse [ 29 ], absenteeism (not attending work) and presenteeism (attending work while ill [ 31 , 32 , 33 ];).

To change and improve the performance of healthcare professionals, and thus the performance of healthcare organisations, it is important to determine whether the four dimensions can be used as a reference for job performance research in healthcare. Although Greenslade and Jimmieson (2007) propose a framework, it focuses specifically on nurses and only includes the task and contextual performance dimensions, thus having little applicability in healthcare research in general. Therefore, it is important to determine how job performance in healthcare is treated in the research literature and whether it relates to the dimensions of task, contextual, and adaptive performance and counterproductive work behaviour. To arrive at findings about whether the four dimensions can be applied to the broad field of healthcare, it is important to investigate in which sectors of healthcare and in relation to which professionals the dimensions have been used in research. Finally, to change and improve the performance of the healthcare professional, it is relevant to determine how and at which level organisations can implement changes to affect job performance. In summary, the purpose of this review is to answer the following questions:

Which of the four job performance dimensions are described in studies focusing on job performance in healthcare?

To which professionals and health organisations do the dimensions of job performance discussed in the studies pertain?

How and on which level can organisations affect the job performance of healthcare professionals?

This research was accomplished by conducting a systematic literature review. The method section describes the process of identification, screening, and assessing the eligibility of studies. The results section begins with an overview that sets out the distribution of the studies. The overview reveals in which year, and in which journal the articles were published. It also details whether studies were carried out in developed or developing countries. Further, this paper explains how it assesses the methodological quality of the studies. Following this overview, this paper presents the answers to the research questions, beginning first with the job dimensions identified in the selected studies, and then proceeding to an analysis of the type of organisations the studies examined and the healthcare professionals to which the studies pertain. Finally, the results section describes the factors that can affect job performance at different organisational levels. The discussion section discusses the results and reflects on a few of this paper’s limitations. The conclusion section provides suggestions that can be used for future research on job performance in healthcare based on this study’s findings.

The literature search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement [ 34 ]. To find eligible studies, four databases were searched: Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Books. The goal of the research strategy was to find articles and books that relate to job performance in healthcare and include a broad scope of healthcare professionals. The search strategy is detailed in Appendix A .

Eligibility criteria

Studies included in the review must meet the following criteria. They must relate to job performance in the field of healthcare. Job performance or comparable terms, such as work performance or work behaviour, must appear in the title or abstract. Studies that examine at least one of the four dimensions or related terms are also eligible. Studies published between 1996 and December 2019 were selected. As part of the pragmatic approach to gathering literature, only studies written in English were considered. All articles published in international journals that were selected for this study must have been peer-reviewed.

Study selection

Through the search strategy, 763 records were identified, including four books. After 17 duplicates were removed, the titles and abstracts of the remaining 747 records were screened. This resulted in the exclusion of 497 records (including three books). Although the studies are related to healthcare, job performance was not the main objective of these studies. For example, a few studies examine musculoskeletal disorders and their impact on nursing tasks [ 16 , 17 ]. Other studies focus on job satisfaction [ 18 , 19 ]. After the exclusion of these 497 studies, the authors read the remaining 250 articles in detail and analysed their eligibility. This resulted in the exclusion of another 158 studies. The grounds for exclusion are as follows. Studies that focus on a specific task, such as working with electronic healthcare systems [ 20 , 21 ], radiation therapy [ 35 ], cervical screening [ 36 ], and communication in the operating theatre [ 24 , 25 ], were excluded.

Full-text articles were not available for two studies. After completing the process of screening and analysing the articles, a total of 92 articles, including one book chapter, met the eligibility criteria. The study selection process is depicted schematically in Fig.  1 using the PRISMA flowchart [ 34 ].

Flowchart study selection

After categorising the articles by year of publication and the journals and countries in which they were published, the methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the integrated quality criteria for the review of multiple study designs [ 37 ]. Studies that could not be assessed using the ICROMS tool were assessed using the Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers [ 38 ]. Because not all the selected studies directly refer to task, contextual, or adaptive performance or counterproductive work behaviour, it was imperative to assign terms, such as nursing work, tasks, or activities and indirect or direct care [ 27 , 28 ] to one of the dimensions. The assignment of the terms was accomplished using the definitions of the four dimensions. To determine whether the dimensions of job performance were used in the broad field of health care, the type of organisation in which job performance was studied was examined. In addition, it was analysed to which professionals these studies related. Finally, the factors influencing job performance were categorised into macro-, meso-, and micro-level factors. All coding can be viewed on the Open Science Framework (OSF) database.

Before answering the research questions, this paper provides an overview that sets out the distribution of the studies. The overview reveals in which year and in which journal the articles were published. It also shows whether the studies were carried out in developed or developing countries. Results of the assessment of the methodological quality of the studies are provided below.

Distribution of the studies

Table  1 reveals that most studies (82.6%) were conducted in developed countries (e.g., [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]), with the United States being the most common study location (29.4% of all studies; e.g., [ 42 , 43 , 44 ]). With regard to developing countries, China was the most common study location (e.g., [ 45 , 46 ]).

The articles included in this review were published in 76 different journals ( Appendix C ). The journals can be divided into healthcare fields, such as nursing [ 47 ], medicine [ 42 ], healthcare [ 48 ], and psychology [ 49 ], and into journals with a focus on specific topics, such as maternity [ 50 ] , ergonomics [ 51 ], and critical care [ 52 ]. Almost 20% of the articles were published in the following four journals: BMC Health Services Research, the Journal of Advanced Nursing , the International Journal of Medical Informatics, and the Journal of Managerial Psychology . Most of the studies were conducted in a single country, which raises questions about their external validity.

Figure  2 illustrates the publication years of the studies, divided into publications in developed and developing countries. It indicates that job performance in healthcare has been studied almost continuously over the years and is still of interest. Figure 2 also suggests that the interest in job performance in healthcare has increased in developing countries over the last decade.

Number of publications on job performance in healthcare, 1996–2019

Design and quality of the studies

To assess the methodological quality of the studies, the ICROMS quality assessment tool was used [ 37 ]. The tool provides a comprehensive set of general and specific quality criteria for randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled before-after (CBA) studies, non-controlled interrupted time series (NCITS) studies, cluster-randomised controlled trials (cRCTs), and non-controlled before-after (NCBA) studies. The ICROMS tool also provides a clear and transparent scoring system with a minimum required score per study design. The results of the study designs are listed in Table  2 . The ICROMS scores of the assessed studies are shown in the OSF database. Qualitative and cohort studies, CBA studies, RCTs, and NCITS studies all achieved the minimum required score. Although the minimum required score was achieved in these studies, room for improvement exists. About 60% of the studies suffer from selective outcome reporting due to unavailable study protocols. Clear statements as to whether or not the studies were selectively reported did not solve the issue with the lack of protocols. On average, only the NCBA studies failed to meet the minimum required score because no baseline measurements were conducted, and no attempt was made to mitigate the effect of not having a control group. Although the quality of these NCBA studies is low, one can nonetheless provide some commentary on them. For instance, not all ICROMS items could be evaluated because it is unclear whether the criteria were met. The lack of evidence that this cannot be ascertained from an article does not mean that the criteria have not been applied. Researchers can accomplish improvement by providing a better description of the method of subject selection and its characteristics.

The ICROMS tool has a scope for further development of quality criteria applicable to additional study designs, such as surveys and cross-sectional studies [ 37 ]. Therefore, studies that rely solely on data from questionnaires could not be assessed using the ICROMS tool. These studies (e.g., [ 30 , 53 ]) were assessed using the Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers [ 38 ]. The overall score ranged from 0.72–1.0 (mean: 0.91, standard deviation: 0.07).

Dimensions of job performance

The first research question examines which of the four dimensions of work performance (i.e., task, context, and adaptive performance and counterproductive work behaviour) are described in studies of work performance in healthcare. The results show that these dimensions are applicable to work performance in healthcare.

The review of the literature revealed studies that directly refer to Motowidlo et al. [ 11 ], who classify and define job performance as task and contextual performance (e.g., [ 46 , 49 , 54 ]). Studies were also found that directly refer to Greenslade and Jamieson [ 10 ], who suggest a model based on Motowidlo and Van Scotter’s [ 55 ] classification of methods to measure the job performance of nurses, which is directly linked to two dimensions, task and contextual performance (e.g., [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]). Studies referring to organisational citizen behaviour (e.g., [ 59 , 60 ]) were classified as contextual performance because there is significant overlap between the definitions of organisational citizen behaviour and contextual performance [ 9 ]. Overlap was also found in studies that directly refer to counterproductive work behaviour (e.g., [ 61 , 62 ]). In addition to the studies that directly refer to the dimensions of job performance, other studies described task, skill, and behavioural performance without a direct reference to the dimensions of job performance. The definitions [ 9 ] listed in Table  3 were used by the researchers to assign these tasks, skills, and behaviours to one of the dimensions of job performance if they were in alignment with those definitions.

Patient feeding [ 63 ], direct patient contact [ 64 ], scheduling toileting [ 65 ], and speaking with other professionals concerning patient care [ 66 ] are examples of tasks that were attributed to the task performance dimension because these examples are part of a healthcare professional’s job. Visiting unit and hospital meetings [ 67 ], continuing professional development [ 68 ], and tutoring trainees [ 69 ] were attributed to contextual performance because these examples contribute to the improvement of an organisation overall. The willingness to implement organisational changes [ 70 ] and the eagerness to require professional information [ 71 ] are examples of behaviours that were attributed to adaptive performance because they are important to adapt to changes in work systems and roles. Purposely failing to help a colleague [ 72 ] and rude behaviour among supervisors [ 73 ] are examples of behaviours that were attributed to the dimension of counterproductive work behaviour because these behaviours can lead to employee illness and increase turnover and therefore harm an organisation’s well-being. A full description of the allocation of the studies within this paper’s sample to the dimensions is available on the OSF database. All tasks, skills, and behaviours can be assigned to one of the four dimensions of job performance. Along with the studies that directly refer to these dimensions, Table  4 lists the assignment results.

The results reveal that over 47% of the studies focus on task performance, such as primary care tasks [ 36 ], supportive care [ 50 ], and manual tasks [ 74 ]. They also show a focus on contextual performance, which is about team interdependence, communication, synchronicity, coordination and confidence in interprofessional collaboration, and knowledge sharing [ 75 ]. A total of 45 studies investigates contextual performance in combination with task performance. This follows logically from Motowidlo et al.’s [ 11 ] frequently used definition of job performance. Thirteen studies focus on counterproductive work behaviour, which includes abuse, production deviance, sabotage, theft, absence, early and late arrival [ 61 ], workplace violence, verbal aggression, harassment, intimidation, threats, and bullying [ 76 ]. Only eight studies include the adaptive performance dimension; for example, some studies examine adopting electronic health record systems [ 77 ], adopting new innovations [ 71 ], creativity, or personal initiatives [ 59 ].

Healthcare organisations and professionals

The second research question concerns the type of healthcare organisations in which the studies investigate job performance and the type of healthcare professionals to which the studies pertain. The studies examine job performance in several healthcare fields and with respect to various types of healthcare professionals. Table  5 lists the types of healthcare organisations the studies examine. It indicates that over 77% of the studies were performed in hospitals (e.g., [ 78 , 79 ]), including in cardiology, general surgery, anaesthetics [ 80 ], and psychiatry [ 39 ] wards or in special hospitals such as children’s hospitals [ 45 , 81 ]. Other studies investigate job performance in hospices [ 82 ], organisations for patients with special needs [ 59 ], and nursing homes [ 36 ]. In six studies, the research was performed in both hospitals and other healthcare organisations. One study did not specify the type of healthcare organisation the authors studied [ 83 ].

About 52% of studies in the sample concern the job performance of nurses (e.g., [ 53 , 84 ]; see Table  6 ). Besides general nurses, several studies also focus on intensive care nurses [ 52 , 85 ] and maternity nurses [ 50 ]. In about 26% of the studies, physicians (e.g., [ 42 , 86 ]), such as paediatricians [ 81 ] and gynaecologists [ 77 ], are the focus of attention. Eighteen studies investigate the job performance of other healthcare professionals, such as pharmacists [ 87 , 88 ], lab technicians [ 61 ], and administrative employees [ 72 ]. Five studies do not specify the type of professional the authors examined. Markon, Chiocchio, and Fleury discuss healthcare professionals in general [ 75 ].

Factors affecting the job performance of healthcare professionals

To answer the third research question, which concerns factors that affect the healthcare professionals’ job performance, this study distinguishes between the macro-level (organisation), meso-level (management/team), and micro-level (individual). This distinction reveals that the job performance of healthcare professionals can be affected on all three levels.

On the macro-level, job performance can be affected by how an organisation is structured [ 82 ], the extent to which a healthcare professional perceives that they have organisational support [ 53 , 73 ], and organisational culture [ 89 ]. Employee performance can flourish in an innovative atmosphere [ 71 ]. In contrast, job performance is likely to decrease in a toxic organisational climate and in cases where supervisors act abusively [ 61 , 90 ]. Turnover of high-performing employees can also affect an organisation’s performance negatively [ 54 ].

At the meso-level, managerial support and supervision and training programmes contribute to job performance levels [ 75 , 76 , 91 ]. In addition, factors such as interdependence [ 75 ], team structure [ 88 ], and the presence of social support [ 57 , 92 ] can affect job performance. Positive views towards work and innovation in organisations with employee-centred designs [ 93 ] contribute positively to job performance. Factors that negatively affect job performance on the meso-level include abusive supervision [ 94 ], limited resources, heavy workloads and dissatisfaction with co-workers [ 76 ], and burnout [ 95 ].

On the micro-level, the extent of work engagement, role clarity, and autonomy [ 53 , 96 ], as well as employee skills and education levels [ 58 ], overwork [ 69 ], and the prevalence of multitasking [ 64 ] are relevant factors that influence job performance. Other relevant factors that influence job performance applies to employees’ personal characteristics, such as openness to change and extraversion [ 56 , 67 , 97 ], seeking challenges [ 70 ], eagerness [ 71 ], and creativity [ 59 ]. Low emotional intelligence [ 98 ] and Machiavellianism – pragmatic, emotionally detached, and task oriented as.

opposed to person oriented – affect job performance in a negative manner [ 45 ]. In summary, the governance of an organisation, the style of management or leadership, and the individual skills and characteristics of the professionals at an organisation can improve or diminish the performance of individual employees. This, in turn, can affect organisational performance (Table  7 ).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper appears to be the first systematic review of the dimensions of job performance in healthcare, given that the study selection research process only produced one study that examine frameworks on job performance in healthcare. This one exception concerns Greenslade and Jimmieson’s framework; however, their study focuses specifically on nurses and thus is not broadly applicable to the field of healthcare [ 10 ]. The review in the instant paper also provides an important contribution by gathering knowledge on job performance in healthcare through an examination of articles published in 76 different journals. Most of these studies were conducted in single countries and often within the same types of healthcare organisations, which limits their generalisability. The interest in job performance in developing countries has only become apparent over the last decade. The methodological quality of the sample studies was assessed, revealing that most studies met the minimum required score. Although this minimum score was required, there is room for improvement in the literature, as over 60% of the studies suffer from selective outcome reporting due to the unavailability of study protocols. Along with improving generalisability, these issues should be considered in future research on this topic.

Studies concerning job performance in healthcare tend to apply at least one of the four dimensions of job performance. Studies without a direct reference to the task, contextual, or adaptive performance or counterproductive work behaviour dimensions offer descriptions of the activities, skills, and behaviours of healthcare employees. Based on the definitions of the dimensions, these activities, skills, and behaviours are attributable to at least one of the dimensions of job performance. Therefore, future studies about job performance in healthcare could be built on these dimensions.

Although the four dimensions do appear in healthcare literature concerning job performance, there is a discrepancy in the extent to which the dimensions have been studied. Task performance (49%) and contextual performance (39%) have been exhaustively investigated, whereas adaptive performance (8%) – which is also of great importance in constantly changing environments such as healthcare – appears to be under-researched. The same is true of the counterproductive work behaviour dimension, which can have a substantial and negative effect on job performance. Authors should consider this gap in job performance research in future research endeavours.

This review shows that scholars have studied the dimensions in different types of healthcare organisations and with reference to a variety of healthcare professionals. The main type of healthcare organisation the studies examine is hospitals and the departments and wards within them. About 22% of the studies were conducted in nursing homes, community centres, and home care organisations (among other organisations). Because most studies were conducted in hospitals, it was expected that most of the surveyed professionals would be physicians (26%) and nurses (52%). Other professionals the studies examine include mental healthcare professionals, psychologists, pharmacists, lab technicians, and supervisors. Consequently, the results show that the task, contextual, and adaptive performance and counterproductive work behaviour dimensions all apply to the broad field of healthcare and pertain to professions that exist within the healthcare sector. As such, these dimensions are useful for examining job performance in the broad context of healthcare and healthcare professionals.

This research not only investigated which dimensions of job performance can be used in the context of healthcare but also how and at what level these dimensions could be affected. The results show that the job performance of healthcare professionals can be affected on three levels. On the macro-level, the structure of an organisation, support for the board among an organisation’s employees, and organisational culture are examples of factors that affect job performance. At the meso-level, job performance can be affected to how management acts, how work is organised, and how teams function. On the micro-level, job performance is affected by employee motivation, the educational levels of the professionals in question, and employees’ personal characteristics. These levels are interdependent. Thus, organisations cannot simply improve the job performance of healthcare professionals in isolation from other efforts, and research aimed at improving job performance must be conducted with reference to these three levels. Given the apparently limited research regarding the adaptive performance and counterproductive work behaviour dimensions in healthcare, this paper suggests researchers investigate these dimensions with reference to the factors at the aforementioned levels to influence these dimensions.

Limitations

The review set out in this paper has a few limitations. First, it is not certain that the review identified and covered all studies concerning job performance in healthcare. One reason for this is the fact that only English articles were eligible for inclusion based on the eligibility criteria. By including studies that were conducted in non-English speaking regions and in both developed and developing countries, this paper tries to reduce the impact of this potential limitation. Second, since the search criteria focused on at least one of the four dimensions, there is a possibility that other potential dimensions may not have emerged from the results. A possible third limitation is based on the fact that job performance is described in many ways, and there are many different terms that could be related to dimensions of job performance. Finally, the ratio between studies that were conducted in developed and developing countries within the sample implies a validation risk. However, studies that were conducted in either developed or developing countries are referred to in Greenslade and Jimmieson’s [ 10 ] and Motowidlo et al. [ 11 ] works. Despite these limitations, the findings in this review provide support for further research on job performance in healthcare.

This research aimed to provide a concept that can be used for research on job performance in healthcare. Based on an examination of more than 90 studies published in over 70 journals, this research shows that job performance in healthcare can be conceptualised into four dimensions: task, contextual, and adaptive performance, and counterproductive work behaviour. While some of the studies directly refer to these dimensions, other studies describe tasks, skills, and behaviours without making direct reference to the four dimensions. However, these tasks, skills, and behaviours were assigned to one of the dimensions of job performance if they were in alignment with their definitions. In healthcare studies on job performance, the focus is on task and contextual performance. However, adaptive performance, which is of great importance in a constantly changing environment, is under-researched and should be considered a topic for future research. This is also suggested for the counterproductive work behaviour dimension. To improve job performance, interventions – in conjunction with one another – are required on the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels, which concern governance, leadership, and individual skills and characteristics.

Availability of data and materials

Data is available at https://osf.io/xn9r4/?view_only=aa9cf6c701644e1bac7bc30d853877be

Abbreviations

Controlled Before After

Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial

Integrated quality Criteria for the Review Of Multiple Study designs

Not Controlled Before After

Non-Cotrolled Interrupted Time Series

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

Open Science Framework

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses

Randomised Controlled Trial

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Marcel Krijgsheld & Lars G. Tummers

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The work has been drafted by MK. MK also carried out the selection of the studies. LT and FS have reviewed the content of the work throughout the process. In addition, LT gave advice on methods that are most suitable for conducting a systematic review. LT also pointed out the tools to assess the methodological quality of the studies. MK carried out these assessments. In addition to the substantive review, FS has brought structure into the article. MK, LT and FS discussed the results and implications. All the authors have read and approved the manuscript.

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Articles referred to in Tables  1 , 4 , 5 and 6

1. Bhatti, M. A., Mat, N., & Juhari, A. S. (2018). Effects of job resources factors on nurse’s job performance (mediating role of work engagement). International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance , 31 (8), 1000–1013.

2. Malik, N. (2018). Authentic leadership an antecedent for contextual performance of Indian nurses. Personnel Review , 47 (6), 1244–1260.

3. Bhatti, M. A., Alshagawi, M., & Syah Juhari, A. (2018). Mediating the role of work engagement between personal resources (self-efficacy, the big five model) and nurses’ job performance. International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare , 11 (3), 176–191.

4. Schenk, E., Schleyer, R., Jones, C. R., Fincham, S., Daratha, K. B., & Monsen, K. A. (2018). Impact of Adoption of a Comprehensive Electronic Health Record on Nursing Work and Caring Efficacy. CIN:Computers Informatics Nursing , 36 (7), 331–338.

5. Tong, L. (2018). Relationship between meaningful work and job performance in nurses. International Journal of Nursing Practice , 24 (2).

6. Gordon, H. J., Demerouti, E., Le Blanc, P. M., Bakker, A. B., Bipp, T., & Verhagen, M. A. M. T. (2018). Individual job redesign: Job crafting interventions in healthcare. Journal of Vocational Behavior , 104 , 98–114.

7. Ying, L., & Cohen, A. (2018). Dark triad personalities and counterproductive work behaviors among physicians in China. International Journal of Health Planning and Management .

8. Zawawi, A. A., & Nasurdin, A. M. (2017). The impact of task characteristics on the performance of nursing teams. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 4 (3), 285–290.

9. Roche, M. A., Friedman, S., Duffield, C., Twigg, D. E., & Cook, R. (2017). A comparison of nursing tasks undertaken by regulated nurses and nursing support workers: a work sampling study. Journal of Advanced Nursing , 73 (6), 1421–1432.

10. Ugwu, L. I., Enwereuzor, I. K., Fimber, U. S., & Ugwu, D. I. (2017). Nurses’ burnout and counterproductive work behavior in a Nigerian sample: The moderating role of emotional intelligence. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences , 7 , 106–113.

11. Higgins, L. W., Shovel, J. A., Bilderback, A. L., Lorenz, H. L., Martin, S. C., Rogers, D. J., & Minnier, T. E. (2017). Hospital nurses’ work activity in a technology-rich environment: A triangulated quality improvement assessment. Journal of Nursing Care Quality , 32 (3), 208–217.

12. Gabriel, J. M. O. (2016). Supervisors’ toxicity as predictor of subordinates’ counter-productive work behavior in Nigerian public hospitals. Journal of Applied Business Research , 32 (5), 1363–1374.

13. Park, I. S., Suh, Y. O., Park, H. S., Ahn, S. Y., Kang, S. Y., & Ko, I. S. (2016). The job analysis of Korean nurses as a strategy to improve the Korean Nursing Licensing Examination. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions , 13 .

14. Wolff, J., McCrone, P., Patel, A., Auber, G., & Reinhard, T. (2015). A time study of physicians’ work in a german university eye hospital to estimate unit costs. PLoS ONE , 10 (3).

15. White, D. E., Jackson, K., Besner, J., & Norris, J. M. (2015). The examination of nursing work through a role accountability framework. Journal of Nursing Management , 23 (5), 604–612.

16. Brown, M., Shaw, D., Sharples, S., Jeune, I. L., & Blakey, J. (2015). A survey-based cross-sectional study of doctors’ expectations and experiences of non-technical skills for out of hours work. BMJ Open , 5 (2).

17. Heydari, A., Mazloom, R., Najar, A. V, & Bakhshi, M. (2015). Awareness and performance of Iranian nurses with regard to health economics: A cross-sectional study. North American Journal of Medical Sciences , 7 (9), 384–389.

18. Hamblin, L. E., Essenmacher, L., Upfal, M. J., Russell, J., Luborsky, M., Ager, J., & Arnetz, J. E. (2015). Catalysts of worker-to-worker violence and incivility in hospitals. Journal of Clinical Nursing , 24 (17–18), 2458–2467.

19. Yuan, Y., & Zhong, S. (2014). The compensation plan on doctors considering the contextual performance. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing . Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610,065, China.

20. Yun, S., Kang, J., Lee, Y.-O., & Yi, Y. (2014). Work Environment and workplace bullying among Korean intensive care unit nurses. Asian Nursing Research , 8 (3), 219–225.

21. Weigl, M., Hoffmann, F., Mueller, A., Barth, N., & Angerer, P. (2014). Hospital paediatricians’ workflow interruptions, performance, and care quality: a unit-based controlled intervention. Europena Journal of Pediatrics , 173 (5), 637–645.

22. Weigl, M., Mueller, A., Sevdalis, N., & Angerer, P. (2013). Relationships of Multitasking, Physicians’ Strain, and Performance: An Observational Study in Ward Physicians. Journal of Patient Safety , 9 (1), 18–23.

23. Estes, B. C. (2013). Abusive Supervision and Nursing Performance. Nursing Forum , 48 (1), 3–16.

24. Douglas, S., Cartmill, R., Brown, R., Hoonakker, P., Slagle, J., Schultz Van Roy, K., … Carayon, P. (2013). The work of adult and pediatric intensive care unit nurses. Nursing Research , 62 (1), 50–58.

25. Anderson, D. R., St. Hilaire, D., & Flinter, M. (2012). Primary care nursing role and care coordination: An observational study of nursing work in a community health center. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing , 17 (2).

26. Qian, S.-Y., Yu, P., Zhang, Z.-Y., Hailey, D. M., Davy, P. J., & Nelson, M. I. (2012). The work pattern of personal care workers in two Australian nursing homes: A time-motion study. BMC Health Services Research , 12 (1).

27. Gimeno, D., Barrientos-Gutiãrrez, T., Burau, K. D., & Felknor, S. A. (2012). Safety climate and verbal abuse among public hospital-based workers in Costa Rica. Work , 42 (1), 29–38.

28. Hsiao, J.-L., & Chen, R.-F. (2012). An investigation on task-technology fit of mobile nursing information systems for nursing performance. CIN - Computers Informatics Nursing , 30 (5), 265–273.

29. Beckman, T. J., Reed, D. A., Shanafelt, T. D., & West, C. P. (2012). Resident physician well-being and assessments of their knowledge and clinical performance. Journal of General Internal Medicine , 27 (3), 325–330.

30. Abbey, M., Chaboyer, W., & Mitchell, M. (2012). Understanding the work of intensive care nurses: A time and motion study. Australian Critical Care , 25 (1), 13–22.

31. Westbrook, J. I., Duffield, C., Li, L., & Creswick, N. J. (2011). How much time do nurses have for patients? A longitudinal study quantifying hospital nurses’ patterns of task time distribution and interactions with health professionals. BMC Health Services Research , 11 .

32. Greenslade, J. H., & Jimmieson, N. L. (2011). Organizational factors impacting on patient satisfaction: A cross sectional examination of service climate and linkages to nurses’ effort and performance. International Journal of Nursing Studies , 48 (10), 1188–1198.

33. Barker, L. M., & Nussbaum, M. A. (2011). The effects of fatigue on performance in simulated nursing work. Ergonomics , 54 (9), 815–829.

34. Yousefi, V. (2011). How Canadian hospitalists spend their time - A work-sampling study within a hospital medicine program in Ontario. Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management , 18 (4), 159–164.

35. Gardner, G., Gardner, A., Middleton, S., Della, P., Kain, V., & Doubrovsky, A. (2010). The work of nurse practitioners. Journal of Advanced Nursing , 66 (10), 2160–2169.

36. Williams, H., Harris, R., & Turner-Stokes, L. (2009). Work sampling: A quantitative analysis of nursing activity in a neuro-rehabilitation setting. Journal of Advanced Nursing , 65 (10), 2097–2107.

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Krijgsheld, M., Tummers, L.G. & Scheepers, F.E. Job performance in healthcare: a systematic review. BMC Health Serv Res 22 , 149 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-07357-5

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• Counterproductive work behaviour

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Employee psychological well-being and job performance: exploring mediating and moderating mechanisms

International Journal of Organizational Analysis

ISSN : 1934-8835

Article publication date: 12 August 2020

Issue publication date: 7 May 2021

Given the importance of employee psychological well-being to job performance, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of affective commitment between psychological well-being and job performance while considering the moderating role of job insecurity on psychological well-being and affective commitment relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were gathered from employees working in cellular companies of Pakistan using paper-and-pencil surveys. A total of 280 responses were received. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling technique and Hayes’s Model 1.

Findings suggest that affective commitment mediates the association between psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) and employee job performance. In addition, perceived job insecurity buffers the association of psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) and affective commitment.

Practical implications

The study results suggest that fostering employee psychological well-being may be advantageous for the organization. However, if interventions aimed at ensuring job security are not made, it may result in adverse employee work-related attitudes and behaviors.

Originality/value

The study extends the current literature on employee well-being in two ways. First, by examining psychological well-being in terms of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being with employee work-related attitude and behavior. Second, by highlighting the prominent role played by perceived job insecurity in explaining some of these relationships.

• Psychological well-being
• Affective commitment
• Job insecurity
• Job performance
• Eudaimonic wellbeing
• Hedonic wellbeing

Kundi, Y.M. , Aboramadan, M. , Elhamalawi, E.M.I. and Shahid, S. (2021), "Employee psychological well-being and job performance: exploring mediating and moderating mechanisms", International Journal of Organizational Analysis , Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 736-754. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-05-2020-2204

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Copyright © 2020, Yasir Mansoor Kundi, Mohammed Aboramadan, Eissa M.I. Elhamalawi and Subhan Shahid.

Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

1. Introduction

Does the employee well-being have important implications both at work and for other aspects of an employees’ life? Of course! For years, we have known that they impact life at work and a plethora of research has examined the impact of employee well-being on work outcomes (Karapinar et al. , 2019 ; Turban and Yan, 2016 ). What is less understood is how employee well-being impacts job performance. Evidence suggests that employee health and well-being are among the most critical factors for organizational success and performance (Bakker et al. , 2019 ; Turban and Yan, 2016 ). Several studies have documented that employee well-being leads to various individual and organizational outcomes such as increased organizational performance and productivity (Hewett et al. , 2018 ), customer satisfaction (Sharma et al. , 2016 ), employee engagement (Tisu et al. , 2020 ) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB; Mousa et al. , 2020 ).

The organizations’ performance and productivity are tied to the performance of its employees (Shin and Konrad, 2017 ). Much evidence has shown the value of employee job performance (i.e. the measurable actions, behaviors and outcomes that employee engages in or bring about which are linked with and contribute to organizational goals; Viswesvaran and Ones, 2017 ) for organizational outcomes and success (Al Hammadi and Hussain, 2019 ; Shin and Konrad, 2017 ), which, in turn, has led scholars to seek to understand what drives employee performance. Personality traits (Tisu et al. , 2020 ), job conditions and organizational characteristics (Diamantidis and Chatzoglou, 2019 ) have all been identified as critical antecedents of employee job performance.

However, one important gap remains in current job performance research – namely, the role of psychological well-being in job performance (Hewett et al. , 2018 ). Although previous research has found happy workers to be more productive than less happy or unhappy workers (DiMaria et al. , 2020 ), a search of the literature revealed few studies on psychological well-being and job performance relationship (Salgado et al. , 2019 ; Turban and Yan, 2016 ). Also, very little is known about the processes that link psychological well-being to job performance. Only a narrow spectrum of well-being related antecedents of employee performance has been considered, especially in terms of psychological well-being. Enriching our understanding of the consequences and processes of psychological well-being in the workplace, the present study examines the relationship between psychological well-being and job performance in the workplace setting. Such knowledge will not only help managers to attain higher organizational performance during the uncertain times but will uncover how to keep employees happy and satisfied (DiMaria et al. , 2020 ).

Crucially, to advance job performance research, more work is needed to examine the relationship between employees’ psychological well-being and their job performance (Ismail et al. , 2019 ). As Salgado et al. (2019) elaborated, we need to consider how an employees’ well-being affects ones’ performance at work. In an attempt to fill this gap in the literature, the present study seeks to advance job performance research by linking ones’ psychological well-being in terms of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being to ones’ job performance. Hedonic well-being refers to the happiness achieved through experiences of pleasure and enjoyment, while eudaimonic well-being refers to the happiness achieved through experiences of meaning and purpose (Huta, 2016 ; Rahmani et al. , 2018 ). We argue that employees with high levels of psychological well-being will perform well as compared to those having lower levels of psychological well-being. We connect this psychological well-being-job performance process through an employee affective commitment (employees’ perceptions of their emotional attachment to or identification with their organization; Allen and Meyer, 1996 ) – by treating it as a mediating variable between well-being-performance relationship.

Additionally, we also examine the moderating role of perceived job insecurity in the well-being-performance relationship. Perceived job insecurity refers to has been defined as the perception of being threatened by job loss or an overall concern about the continued existence of the job in the future (De Witte et al. , 2015 ). There is evidence that perceived job insecurity diminishes employees’ level of satisfaction and happiness and may lead to adverse job-related outcomes such as decreased work engagement (Karatepe et al. , 2020 ), deviant behavior (Soomro et al. , 2020 ) and reduced employee performance (Piccoli et al. , 2017 ). Thus, addressing the gap mentioned above, this study has two-fold objectives; First, to examine how the path between psychological well-being and job performance is mediated through employee affective commitment. The reason to inquire about this path is that well-being is associated with an employees’ happiness, pleasure and personal growth (Ismail et al. , 2019 ). Therefore, higher the well-being, higher will be the employees’ affective commitment, which, in turn, will lead to enhanced job performance. The second objective is to empirically test the moderating effects of perceived job insecurity on employees’ emotional attachment with their organizations. Thus, we propose that higher job insecurity may reduce the well-being of employees and their interaction may result in lowering employees’ emotional attachment with their organization.

The present study brings together employee well-being and performance literature and contributes to these research areas in two ways. First, we contribute to this line of inquiry by investigating the direct and indirect crossover from hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being to employees’ job performance. We propose that psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) influence job performance through employee affective commitment. Second, prior research shows that the effect of well-being varies across individuals indicating the presence of possible moderators influencing the relationship between employee well-being and job outcomes (Lee, 2019 ). We, therefore, extend the previous literature by proposing and demonstrating the general possibility that perceived job insecurity might moderate the relationship of psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) and affective commitment. While there is evidence that perceived job insecurity influence employees’ affective commitment (Schumacher et al. , 2016 ), what is not yet clear is the impact of perceived job insecurity on psychological well-being − affective commitment relationship. The proposed research model is depicted in Figure 1 .

2. Hypotheses development

2.1 psychological well-being and affective commitment.

Well-being is a broad concept that refers to individuals’ valued experience (Bandura, 1986 ) in which they become more effective in their work and other activities (Huang et al. , 2016 ). According to Diener (2009) , well-being as a subjective term, which describes people’s happiness, the fulfillment of wishes, satisfaction, abilities and task accomplishments. Employee well-being is further categorized into two types, namely, hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being (Ballesteros-Leiva et al. , 2017 ). Compton et al. (1996) investigated 18 scales that assess employee well-being and found that all the scales are categorized into two broad categories, namely, subjective well-being and personal growth. The former is referred to as hedonic well-being (Ryan and Deci, 2000 ) whereas, the latter is referred to as eudaimonic well-being (Waterman, 1993 ).

Hedonic well-being is based on people’s cognitive component (i.e. people’s conscious assessment of all aspects of their life; Diener et al. , 1985 ) and affective component (i.e. people’s feelings that resulted because of experiencing positive or negative emotions in reaction to life; Ballesteros-Leiva et al. , 2017 ). In contrast, eudaimonic well-being describes people’s true nature and realization of their actual potential (Waterman, 1993 ). Eudaimonic well-being corresponds to happy life based upon ones’ self-reliance and self-truth (Ballesteros-Leiva et al. , 2017 ). Diener et al. (1985) argued that hedonic well-being focuses on happiness and has a more positive affect and greater life satisfaction, and focuses on pleasure, happiness and positive emotions (Ryan and Deci, 2000 ; Ryff, 2018 ). Contrarily, eudaimonic well-being is different from hedonic well-being as it focuses on true self and personal growth (Waterman, 1993 ), recognition for ones’ optimal ability and mastery ( Ryff, 2018 ). In the past, it has been found that hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being are relatively correlated with each other but are distinct concepts (Sheldon et al. , 2018 ).

To date, previous research has measured employee psychological well-being with different indicators such as thriving at work (Bakker et al. , 2019 ), life satisfaction (Clark et al. , 2019 ) and social support (Cai et al. , 2020 ) or general physical or psychological health (Grey et al. , 2018 ). Very limited studies have measured psychological well-being with hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, which warrants further exploration (Ballesteros-Leiva et al. , 2017 ). Therefore, this study assesses employee psychological well-being based upon two validated measures, namely, hedonic well-being (people’s satisfaction with life in general) and eudaimonic well-being (people’s personal accomplishment feelings).

Employee well-being has received some attention in organization studies (Huang et al. , 2016 ). Prior research has argued that happier and healthier employees increase their effort, performance and productivity (Huang et al. , 2016 ). Similarly, research has documented that employee well-being has a positive influence on employee work-related attitudes and behaviors such as, increasing OCB (Mousa et al. , 2020 ), as well as job performance (Magnier-Watanabe et al. , 2017 ) and decreasing employees’ work-family conflict (Karapinar et al. , 2019 ) and absenteeism (Schaumberg and Flynn, 2017 ). Although there is evidence that employee well-being positively influences employee work-related attitudes, less is known about the relationship between psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) and employee affective commitment (Pan et al. , 2018 ; Semedo et al. , 2019 ). Moreover, the existing literature indicated that employee affective commitment is either used as an antecedent or an outcome variable of employee well-being (Semedo et al. , 2019 ; Ryff, 2018 ). However, affective commitment as an outcome variable of employee well-being has gained less scholarly attention, which warrants further investigation. Therefore, in the present study, we seek to examine employee affective commitment as an outcome variable of employee psychological well-being because employees who are happy and satisfied in their lives are more likely to be attached to their organizations (Semedo et al. , 2019 ).

Hedonic well-being positively predicts employee affective commitment.

Eudaimonic well-being positively predicts employee affective commitment.

2.2 Affective commitment and job performance

The concept of organizational commitment was first initiated by sit-bet theory in the early 1960s (Becker, 1960 ). Organizational commitment is defined as the psychological connection of employees to the organization and involvement in it (Cooper-Hakim and Viswesvaran, 2005 ). It is also defined as the belief of an individual in his or her organizational norms (Hackett et al. , 2001 ); the loyalty of an employee toward the organization (Cooper-Hakim and Viswesvaran, 2005 ) and willingness of an employee to participate in organizational duties (Williams and Anderson, 1991 ).

Organizational commitment is further categorized into three correlated but distinct categories (Meyer et al. , 1993 ), known as affective, normative and continuance. In affective commitment, employees are emotionally attached to their organization. In normative commitment, employees remain committed to their organizations due to the sense of obligation to serve. While in continuance commitment, employees remain committed to their organization because of the costs associated with leaving the organization (Allen and Meyer, 1990 , p. 2). Among the dimensions of organizational commitment, affective commitment has been found to have the most substantial influence on organizational outcomes (Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001 ). It is a better predictor of OCB (Paul et al. , 2019 ), low turnover intention (Kundi et al. , 2018 ) and job performance (Jain and Sullivan, 2019 ).

Affective commitment positively predict employee job performance.

2.3 Affective commitment as a mediator

Many studies had used the construct of affective commitment as an independent variable, mediator and moderating variable because of its importance as an effective determinant of work outcomes such as low turnover intention, job satisfaction and job performance (Jain and Sullivan, 2019 ; Kundi et al. , 2018 ). There is very little published research on employee well-being and affective commitment relationship. Surprisingly, the effects of employee psychological well-being in terms of hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being have not been closely examined.

Affective commitment mediates the association between hedonic well-being and job performance.

Affective commitment mediates the association between eudaimonic well-being and job performance.

2.4 The moderating role of job insecurity

Job insecurity is gaining importance because of the change in organizational structure as it is becoming flattered, change in the nature of the job as it requires a diverse skill set and change in human resource (HR) practices as more temporary workers are hired nowadays (Piccoli et al. , 2017 ; Kundi et al. , 2018 ). Such changes have caused several adverse outcomes such as job dissatisfaction (Bouzari and Karatepe, 2018 ), unethical pro-organizational behavior (Ghosh, 2017 ), poor performance (Piccoli et al. , 2017 ), anxiety and lack of commitment (Wang et al. , 2018 ).

Lack of harmony on the definition of job insecurity can be found among the researchers. However, a majority of them acknowledge that job insecurity is subjective and can be referred to as a subjective perception (Wang et al. , 2018 ). Furthermore, job insecurity is described as the perception of an employee regarding the menace of losing a job in the near future (De Witte et al. , 2015 ). When there is job insecurity, employees experience a sense of threat to the continuance and stability of their jobs (Shoss, 2017 ).

Although job insecurity has been found to influence employee work-related attitudes, less is known about its effects on behavioral outcomes (Piccoli et al. , 2017 ). As maintained by the social exchange theory, behaviors are the result of an exchange process (Blau, 1964 ). Furthermore, these exchanges can be either tangible or socio-emotional aspects of the exchange process (Kundi et al. , 2018 ). Employees who perceive and feel that their organization is providing them job security and taking care of their well-being will turn to be more committed to their organization (Kundi et al. , 2018 ; Wang et al. , 2018 ). Much research has found that employees who feel job security are happier and satisfied with their lives (Shoss, 2017 ; De Witte et al. , 2015 ) and are more committed to their work and organization (Bouzari and Karatepe, 2018 ; Wang et al. , 2018 ). Shoss (2017) conducted a thorough study on job insecurity and found that job insecurity can cause severe adverse consequences for both the employees and organizations.

Employees who are uncertain about their jobs (i.e. high level of perceived job insecurity) are less committed with their organizations.

Employees with temporary job contracts were found to have low organizational committed as compared to the employees with permanent job contracts.

Such a difference between temporary and permanent job contract holders was mainly due to the perceived job insecurity by the temporary job contract holders.

Job insecurity will moderate the relationship between hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being and affective organizational commitment.

3.1 Sample and procedure

The data for this study came from a survey of Pakistani employees, who worked in five private telecommunication organizations (Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, Zong and Warid). These five companies were targeted because they are the largest and highly competitive companies in Pakistan. Moreover, the telecom sector is a private sector where jobs are temporary or contractual (Kundi et al. , 2018 ). Hence, the investigation of how employees’ perceptions of job insecurity influence their psychological well-being and its outcomes is highly relevant in this context. Studies exploring such a phenomenon are needed, particularly in the Pakistani context, to have a better insight and thereby strengthen the employee well-being and job performance literature.

Two of the authors had personal and professional contacts to gain access to these organizations. The paper-and-pencil method was used to gather the data. Questionnaires were distributed among 570 participants with a cover letter explaining the purpose of the study, noted that participation was voluntary, and provided assurances that their responses would be kept confidential and anonymous. After completion of the questionnaires, the surveys were collected the surveys on-site by one of the authors. As self-reported data often render itself to common method bias (CMB; Podsakoff et al. , 2012 ), we applied several procedural remedies such as reducing the ambiguity in the questions, ensuring respondent anonymity and confidentiality, separating of the predictor and criterion variable and randomizing the item order to limit this bias.

Of the 570 surveys distributed initially, 280 employees completed the survey form (response rate = 49%). According to Baruch and Holtom (2008) , the average response rate for studies at the individual level is 52.6% (SD = 19.7). Hence, our response rate meets the standard for a minimum acceptable response rate, which is 49%. Of the 280 respondents, 39% were female, their mean age was 35.6 years (SD = 5.22) and the average organizational tenure was 8.61 years (SD  =  4.21). The majority of the respondents had at least a bachelors’ degree (83 %). Respondents represented a variety of departments, including marketing (29%), customer services (26%), finance (20%), IT (13%) and HR (12%).

3.2 Measures

The survey was administered to the participants in English. English is the official language of correspondence for professional organizations in Pakistan (De Clercq et al. , 2019 ). All the constructs came from previous research and anchored on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agree.

Psychological well-being. We measured employee psychological well-being with two sub-dimensions, namely, hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being. Hedonic well-being was measured using five items (Diener et al. , 1985 ). A sample item is “my life conditions are excellent” ( α = 0.86). Eudaimonic well-being was measured using 21 items (Waterman et al. , 2010 ), of which seven items were reverse-scored due to its negative nature. Sample items are “I feel that I understand what I was meant to do in my life” and “my life is centered around a set of core beliefs that give meaning to my life” ( α = 0.81).

Affective commitment. The affective commitment was measured using a six-item inventory developed by Allen and Meyer (1990) . The sample items are “my organization inspires me to put forth my best effort” and “I think that I will be able to continue working here” ( α = 0.91).

Job insecurity. Job insecurity was measured using a five-item inventory developed by Chirumbolo et al. (2015) . The sample item is “I fear I will lose my job” ( α = 0.87).

Job performance . We measured employee job performance with the seven-item inventory developed by Williams and Anderson (1991) . The sample items are “I do fulfill my responsibilities, which are mentioned in the job description” and “I try to work as hard as possible” ( α = 0.87).

Controls. We controlled for respondents’ age (assessed in years), gender (1 = male, 2 = female) and organizational tenure (assessed in years) because prior research (Alessandri et al. , 2019 ; Edgar et al. , 2020 ) has found significant effects of these variables on employees’ job performance.

4.1 Descriptive statistics

Table 1 presents the means, standard deviations and correlations among study variables.

4.2 Construct validity

Before testing hypotheses, we conducted a series of confirmatory factor analyzes (CFAs) using AMOS 22.0 to examine the distinctiveness of our study variables. Following the guidelines of Hu and Bentler (1999) , model fitness was assessed with following fit indices; comparative fit index (CFI), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). We used a parceling technique (Little et al. , 2002 ) to ensure item to sample size ratio. According to Williams and O’Boyle (2008) , the item-parceling approach is widely used in HRM research, which allows estimation of fewer model parameters and subsequently leads to the optimal variable to sample size ratio and stable parameter estimates (Wang and Wang, 2019 ). Based on preliminary CFAs, we combined the highest item loading with the lowest item loading to create parcels that were equally balanced in terms of their difficulty and discrimination. Item-parceling was done only for the construct of eudaimonic well-being as it entailed a large number of items (i.e. 21 items). Accordingly, we made five parcels for the eudaimonic well-being construct (Waterman et al. , 2010 ).

As shown in Table 2 , the CFA results revealed that the baseline five‐factor model (hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being, job insecurity, affective commitment and job performance) was significant ( χ 2 = 377.11, df = 199, CFI = 0.971, RMSEA = 0.034 and SRMR = 0.044) and better than the alternate models, including a four‐factor model in which hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being were considered as one construct (Δ χ 2 = 203.056, Δdf = 6), a three-factor model in which hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being and affective commitment were loaded on one construct (Δ χ 2 = 308.99, Δdf = 8) and a one‐factor model in which all items loaded on one construct (Δ χ 2 = 560.77, Δdf = 11). The results, therefore, provided support for the distinctive nature of our study variables.

To ensure the validity of our measures, we first examined the convergent validity through the average variance extracted (AVE). We found AVE scores higher than the threshold value of 0.5 ( Table 1 ; Fornell and Larcker, 1981 ), supporting the convergent validity of our constructs. We also estimated discriminant validity by comparing the AVE of each construct with the average shared variance (ASV), i.e. mean of the squared correlations among constructs ( Hair et al. , 2010 ). As expected, all the values of AVE were higher than the ASV constructs, thereby supporting discriminant validity ( Table 1 ).

4.3 Common method variance

Harman’s one-factor test.

CFA ( Podsakoff et al. , 2012 ).

Harman’s one-factor test showed five factors with eigenvalues of greater than 1.0 accounted for 69.12% of the variance in the exogenous and endogenous variables. The results of CFA showed that the single-factor model did not fit the data well ( χ 2 = 937.88, df = 210, CFI = 0.642, RMSEA = 0.136, SRMR = 0.122). These tests showed that CMV was not a major issue in this study.

4.4 Hypotheses testing

The hypotheses pertaining to mediation were tested using a structural model in AMOS 22.0 ( Figure 2 ), which had an acceptable goodness of fit ( χ 2 = 298.01, df = 175, CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.04 and SRMR = 0.04). Hypotheses about moderation were tested in SPSS (25 th edition) using PROCESS Model I ( Hayes, 2017 ; Table 3 ).

H1a and H1b suggested that hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being positively relate to employee affective commitment. According to Figure 2 , the results indicate that hedonic well-being ( β = 0.26, p < 0.01) and eudaimonic well-being ( β = 0.32, p < 0.01) are positively related to employee affective commitment. Taken together, these two findings provide support for H1a and H1b . In H2 , we predicted that employee affective commitment would positively associate with employee job performance. As seen in Figure 2 , employee affective commitment positively predicted employee job performance ( β = 0.41, p < 0.01), supporting H2 .

H3a and H3b suggested that employee affective commitment mediates the relationship between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and employee job performance. According to Figure 2 , the results indicate that hedonic well-being is positively related to employee job performance via employee affective commitment ( β = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.09; 0.23). Similarly, eudaimonic well-being is positively related to employee job performance via employee affective commitment ( β = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.12; 0.35), supporting H3a and H3b .

Hedonic well-being.

Eudaimonic well-being and employee affective commitment.

In support of H4a , our results ( Table 3 ) revealed a negative and significant interaction effect between hedonic well-being and job insecurity on employee affective commitment ( β = −0.12, p < 0.05). The pattern of this interaction was consistent with our hypothesized direction; the positive relationship between hedonic well-being and employee affective commitment was weaker in the presence of high versus low job insecurity ( Figure 3 ). Likewise, the interaction effect between eudaimonic well-being and job insecurity on employee affective commitment was negatively significant ( β = −0.28, p < 0.01). The pattern of this interaction was consistent with our hypothesized direction; the positive relationship between eudaimonic well-being and employee affective commitment was weaker in the presence of high versus low job insecuritay ( Figure 4 ). Thus, H4a and H4b were supported. The pattern of these interactions was consistent with our hypothesized direction; the positive relationship of hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being with an employee affective commitment were weaker in the presence of high versus low perceived job insecurity.

5. Discussion

The present research examined the direct and indirect crossover from psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) to job performance through employee affective commitment and the moderating role of job insecurity between psychological well-being and affective commitment relationship. The results revealed that both hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being has a direct and indirect effect on employee job performance. Employee affective commitment was found to be a potential mediating mechanism (explaining partial variance) in the relationship between psychological well-being and job performance. Findings regarding the buffering role of job insecurity revealed that job insecurity buffers the positive relationship between psychological well-being and employee affective commitment such that higher the job insecurity, lower will be employee affective commitment. The findings generally highlight and reinforce that perceived job insecurity can be detrimental for both employees’ well-being and job-related behaviors (Soomro et al. , 2020 ).

5.1 Theoretical implications

The present study offers several contributions to employee well-being and job performance literature. First, the present research extends the employee well-being literature by investigating employee affective commitment as a key mechanism through which psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) influences employees’ job performance. In line with SDT, we found that both hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being enhanced employees’ affective commitment, which, in turn, led them to perform better in their jobs. Our study addresses recent calls for research to understand better how psychological well-being influence employees’ performance at work (Huang et al. , 2016 ), and adds to a growing body of work, which confirms the importance of psychological well-being in promoting work-related attitudes and behaviors (Devonish, 2016 ; Hewett et al. , 2018 ; Ismail et al. , 2019 ). Further, we have extended the literature on employee affective commitment, highlighting that psychological well-being is an important antecedent of employee’ affective commitment and thereby confirming previous research by Aboramadan et al. (2020) on the links between affective commitment and job performance.

Second, our results provide empirical support for the efficacy of examining the different dimensions of employee well-being, i.e. hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being as opposed to an overall index of well-being at work. Specifically, our results revealed that both hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being boost both employees’ attachment with his or her organization and job performance (Hewett et al. , 2018 ; Luu, 2019 ). Among the indicators of psychological well-being, eudaimonic well-being (i.e. realization and fulfillment of ones’ true nature) was found to have more influence on employee affective commitment and job performance as compared to hedonic well-being (i.e. state of happiness and sense of flourishing in life). Therefore, employees who experience high levels of psychological well-being are likely to be more attached to their employer, which, in turn, boosts their job performance.

Third, job insecurity is considered as an important work-related stressor (Schumacher et al. , 2016 ). However, the moderating role of job insecurity on the relationship between psychological well-being and affective commitment has not been considered by the previous research. Based on social exchange theory (Blau, 1964 ), we expected job insecurity to buffer the positive relationship between the psychological well-being and affective commitment. The results showed that employees with high levels of perceived job insecurity reduce the positive relationship of psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) and affective commitment. This finding is consistent with previous empirical evidence supporting the adverse role of perceived job insecurity in reducing employees’ belongingness with their organization (Jiang and Lavaysse, 2018 ). There is strong empirical evidence (Qian et al. , 2019 ; Schumacher et al. , 2016 ) that employee attitudes and health are negatively affected by increasing levels of job insecurity. Schumacher et al. (2016) suggested in an elaborate explanation of the social exchange theory that the constant worrying about the possibility of losing ones’ job promotes psychological stress and feelings of unfairness, which, in turn, affects employees’ affective commitment. Hence, employees’ psychological well-being and affective commitment are heavily influenced by the experience of high job insecurity.

5.2 Practical implications

Our study has several implications. First and foremost, this study will help managers in understanding the importance of employees’ psychological well-being for work-related attitudes and behavior. Based on our findings, managers need to understand how important psychological well-being is for employees’ organizational commitment and job performance. According to Hosie and Sevastos (2009) , several human resource-based interventions could foster employees’ psychological well-being, such as selecting and placing employees into appropriate positions, ensuring a friendly work environment and providing training that improves employees’ mental health and help them to manage their perceptions positively.

Besides, managers should provide their employees with opportunities to use their full potential, which will increase employees’ sense of autonomy and overall well-being (Sharma et al. , 2017 ). By promoting employee well-being in the workplace, managers can contribute to developing a workforce, which will be committed to their organizations and will have better job performance. However, based on our findings, in the presence of job insecurity, organizations spending on interventions to improve employees’ psychological well-being, organizational commitment and job performance might go in vain. In other words, organizations should ensure that employees feel a sense of job security or else the returns on such interventions could be nullified.

Finally, as organizations operate in a volatile and highly competitive environment, it is and will be difficult for them to provide high levels of job security to their employees, especially in developing countries such as Pakistan (Soomro et al. , 2020 ). Given the fact that job insecurity leads to cause adverse employee psychological well-being and affective commitment, managers must be attentive to subordinates’ perceptions of job insecurity and adverse psychological well-being and take action to prevent harmful consequences (Ma et al. , 2019 ). Organizations should try to avoid downsizings, layoffs and other types of structural changes, respectively, and find ways to boost employees’ perceptions of job security despite those changes. If this is not possible, i.e. the organization not able to provide job security, this should be communicated to employees honestly and early.

5.3 Limitations and future studies

There are several limitations to this study. First, we measured our research variables by using a self-report survey at a single point of time, which may result in CMB. We used various procedural remedies to mitigate the potential for CMB and conducted CFA as per the guidelines of Podsakoff et al. (2012) to ensure that CMV was unlikely to be an issue in our study. However, future research may rely on supervisors rated employees’ job performance or collect data at different time points to avoid the threat of such bias.

Second, the sample of this study consisted of employees working in cellular companies of Pakistan with different demographic characteristics and occupational backgrounds; thus, the generalizability of our findings to other industries or sectors is yet to be established. Future research should test our research model in various industries and cultures.

A final limitation pertains to the selection of a moderating variable. As this study was conducted in Pakistan, contextual factors such as the perceived threat to terrorism, law and order situation or perceived organizational injustice might also influence the psychological well-being of employees working in Pakistan (Jahanzeb et al. , 2020 ; Sarwar et al. , 2020 ). Future studies could consider the moderating role of such external factors in the relationship between employee psychological well-being, affective commitment and job performance.

6. Conclusion

This study proposed a framework to understand the relationship between employee psychological well-being, affective commitment and job performance. It also described how psychological well-being influences job performance. Additionally, this study examined the moderating role of perceived job insecurity on psychological well-being and affective commitment relationship. The results revealed that employee psychological well-being (hedonic and eudaimonic) has beneficial effects on employee affective commitment, which, in turn, enhance their job performance. Moreover, the results indicated that perceived job insecurity has ill effects on employee affective commitment, especially when the employee has high levels of perceived job insecurity.

Research model

Structural model with standardized coefficients; N = 280

Interactive effect of hedonic well-being and job insecurity on employee affective commitment

Interactive effect of eudaimonic well-being and job insecurity on employee affective commitment

Descriptive statistics and correlations among of variables

* p < 0.05,

** p < 0.01; Unstandardized coefficients and average bootstrap estimates are stated; demographic variables are controlled; bootstrapping procedure [5,000 iterations, bias-corrected, 95% CI]

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Acknowledgements

Funding and Support statement : The authors did not receive any external funding or additional support from third parties for this work.

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Employee motivation and job performance: a study of basic school teachers in Ghana

• Joseph Ato Forson   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5997-5713 1 ,
• Eric Ofosu-Dwamena 2 ,
• Rosemary Afrakomah Opoku 3 &
• Samuel Evergreen Adjavon   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2713-3327 4  

Future Business Journal volume  7 , Article number:  30 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Motivation as a meaningful construct is a desire to satisfy a certain want and is a central pillar at the workplace. Thus, motivating employees adequately is a challenge as it has what it takes to define employee satisfaction at the workplace. In this study, we examine the relationship between job motivation factors and performance among teachers of basic schools in Ghana. The study employs a quantitative approach on a sample of 254 teachers from a population of 678 in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana, of which 159 questionnaires were duly answered and returned (representing 62.6% return rate). Using multiple regression and ANOVA, the study finds compensation package, job design and environment and performance management system as significant factors in determining teacher’s motivation in the municipality. Thus, these motivation factors were significant predictors on performance when regressed at a decomposed and aggregated levels. These findings support the self-determination theory, more specifically on the explanations advanced under the controlled and autonomous motivation factors. Significant differences were also observed in teachers’ performance among one of the age cohorts. The study urges the municipal directorate of education to make more room for young teacher trainees and interns who are at the formative stage of their careers to be engaged to augment the experienced staff strength. More should be done to make the profession attain some level of autonomy in the discharge of duty to breed the next genre of innovative educators in the municipality.

Introduction

Motivation as a meaningful construct is a central pillar at the workplace. Thus, motivating employees adequately is a challenge as it has what it takes to define employee satisfaction at the workplace. Quite a number of studies have been devoted to the link between motivation and its constituent factors and employee performance in different organizations [ 7 , 46 ]. Our study draws inspiration from the self-determination theory (SDT) advanced by Deci et al. [ 14 ] as a framework that can be applied to teachers motivation and performance in basic schools in Ghana. It is worth noting that SDT differentiates between controlled motivation and autonomous motivation. The latter is evident when individuals are faced with pressure and control. The former on the other hand emphasizes on the volitional nature of the behavior of individuals. The SDT provides evidence that suggests that motivation fuels performance [ 14 , 57 ].

In Ghana, the subject of motivation has always been at the apex of national agenda and is evident in the number of strike actions in the public service. In the early part of the 2000s, teachers were part of the public servants whose agitation for improved condition of service did not go unnoticed. Forson and Opoku [ 16 ] had stated that teachers’ emolument accounted for less than 35% of the public service wage bill although teachers were perceived to be in the majority in terms of numbers. This phenomenon did spark a wave of attrition of trained teachers to other sectors of the Ghanaian economy. The teaching profession as a matter of fact became a launched pad for the youth. It should be said that the nature of the school setting is basically a function of internal management and leadership. The head teacher or director of education as the Chief Executive needs to appreciate and recognize that results can be obtained through people. In today’s world, organizations are concerned with what should be done to achieve sustained high level of performance through people who are innovative thinkers [ 4 , 17 , 41 ]. These include paying more attention to how individuals can best be motivated and provision of an atmosphere that helps individuals to deliver on their mandates in accordance with the expectations of management [ 25 ]. This means that an educational manager or an individual engaged as a teacher cannot do this job without knowing what motivates people. The building of motivating factors into organizational roles and the entire process of leading people should be contingent on knowledge of motivation. Koontz and Weinrich [ 25 ] agree that the educational managers’ job is not to manipulate people but rather to recognize what motivates people.

A national debate ensued on the significant role played by teachers in nation building and the need to address the shortfall in the condition of service of teachers to motivate them to perform. Wider consultative meetings were held with stakeholders in the teaching fraternity and the outcome and the panacea was the introduction of a uniform pay structure based on qualification. The legislative arm of government passed Act 737 in 2007 that saw the birth of the Fair Wages Salary Commission (FWSC). The mandate of the commission was to ensure a fair and systematic implementation of government pay policy [ 18 ]. Although this has stabilized the teaching profession in terms of the level of attrition, concerns on how this inducement translate into teacher’s performance seem to dominate national discourse especially in the face of fallen standard of education in Ghana. Such concerns have raised questions such as the following: (1) Does pay rise correlate with performance? (2) Are there other factors that ought to be considered in the nexus between motivation and performance? (3) Are there any significant differences in the level of performance among various age cohorts (4) Do educational background motivate teachers to perform better? These and other questions are addressed in this study.

The objective of this paper is to examine the link between job motivation factors and performance among basic school teachers in Ghana. This is against the backdrop that teachers have for some time now complained about condition of service and with the passage of FWSC bill, one would have thought that would have impacted on performance of teachers as it has been proven that motivation leads to satisfaction and ultimately to high performance. The standard of education continues to be a major concern in the educational setup of Ghana.

We organize the paper as follows: section one is the introduction that sets the tone for the paper. The problem is defined in this section, and the necessary questions that warrant redress are asked. We continue with a brief literature review on the concept of motivation, leading to the development of a conceptual framework and hypothesis based on the self-determination theory (SDT). Section two focuses on the method deployed, with emphasis on the aim, design and setting of the study. The theoretical equation for the multiple regression is brought to the fore here. Section three is the results and discussion, and section four concludes with policy implications.

The concept of motivation and self-determination theory (SDT)

Maslow [ 33 ] is credited for being part of the early contributors of human motivation concept. Maslow classifies human needs that motivate them into two: (1) homeostasis and (2) finding that appetites (preferential choices among foods). The former refers to the body’s automatic efforts to maintain a constant, normal state of the blood stream. The latter concept, on the other hand, is of the view that if the body lacks some chemical, the individual will tend (in an imperfect way) to develop a specific appetite or partial hunger for that missing food element. Thus, Maslow was of the view that any of the physiological needs and the consummatory behavior involved with them serve as channels for all sorts of other needs. Relating this assertion to teachers and the need for a salary pay rise, it should be pointed out that a person who thinks he is hungry may actually be seeking more for comfort, or dependence and managers in the educational sector ought to know this. Contemporary researches have expanded on the theory of motivation as advanced by Maslow [ 33 , 34 ]. For an organization to thrive and be efficient, certain conditions ought to be available in order for managers to get the best out of its human resources (workers/employees). Employees of an organization are the greatest asset in a dynamic and competitive environment [ 49 ]. In the words of Martin [ 32 ], if an organization wants to be effective and aims to sustain the success for a longer period of time, it is important for it to have a motivated workforce made up of employees ready to learn. The last three decades have witnessed an avalanche of studies that emphasizes on the point that employee motivation is essential for the success of a business [ 2 ].

In exploring further on this connection, Mifflin [ 35 ] delved into the fundamental meaning of the word “motivation” and pointed out that it is a Latin word which means to move. Therefore, it is near impossible to move peoples’ behavior in an organization unless such move is triggered by certain incentives. Robins and Coulter [ 49 ] explained the term motivation as the desire and willingness to exert high level of inspiration to reach organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual need. In this study, we define motivation simply as the act of moving people triggered by the provision of some incentives to achieve a desired goal.

In the words of Deci and Ryan [ 13 ], the SDT focuses on human beings inherent desire to bring change and progress as they advance to their fullest potential. Several studies have applied the SDT in various research areas that includes education, medicine and other organizational context. The SDT is of the view that individuals are by nature active entities who will do everything possible to be integrated into the wider social environment in an attempt to be responsive to the behavior consistent with existing self. The theory according to Trépanier et al. [ 57 ] defines social context as the workplace which facilitate or frustrate ones striving toward self-determination.

The SDT theory has two major forms of motivation which may be differentiated on the basis of its nature and quality according to Howard et al. [ 22 ]. When employees engage in interesting activities or in pursuance of their needs, such a form of motivation is ascribed as autonomous motivation. Such a form of motivation facilitates employees’ vitality and energy including satisfaction and well-being [ 14 ]. When employees engage in activities out of pressure as a result of external factors such as attaining rewards including threat of being punished, or even endogenous sources of such pressure as maintaining self-esteem, want of approval, image management or avoiding guilt, such a form of motivation can be ascribed as controlled motivation. Gillet et al. [ 20 ] explain that people with controlled motivational behavior do so out of reason as long as these contingencies exist and thus it predicts maladaptive work outcomes (e.g., exhaustion of personal energy) and turnover intentions.

SDT and job performance

According to Motowildo et al. [ 38 ], job performance is a construct that elicits behavior related to achievement with evaluative components. Most studies on this relationship have emphasized on the role of autonomous and intrinsic motivation on performance with the argument that individuals autonomously motivated have certain inherent values and behaviors and thus give off optimal performance. The theory of self-determination explains that autonomous motivation should be the necessary ingredient for better performance. That is, when individuals are better informed about the purpose of their job and have a sense of ownership and the degree of freedom to operate (autonomy), the possibility of they performing better at work may be high. The source of such motivation according to Deci et al. [ 14 ] may be from one’s interest and values. It is purpose-driven, amplifies energy, enjoyable and provides enough rationalization for tasks to be accomplished effectively. Moreover, the intrinsic component of autonomous motivation has been linked with job performance in related literature and types of performance [ 7 ].

Empirically, there are evidence to suggest that autonomous motivation is linked with performance. Evidence pertaining to controlled motivation is less dispositive. Proponents of the SDT have argued that controlled motivation (e.g., performance management systems) could reduce employee functioning because action derived from personal values and interest may be disconnected, therefore leading to negative effects on performance [ 48 ]. Counter argument posits that controlled motivation may foster employee willingness to complete tasks in an attempt to avoid guilt or punishment or to earn external reward which may come in the form of compensation package [ 27 ]. In this study, we focus on both the controlled and autonomous motivational factors. More specifically, we focus on Herzberg et al. [ 21 ] motivators validated by Harvard Business Review in 2003 which were made up of two motivators: (1) intrinsic factors such as achievement, recognition for achievement, the work itself, growth, responsibility and advancement, and (2) extrinsic factors such as supervision, working conditions, payment, interpersonal relationship, appreciation and company policy. Therefore, the bundle of motivators used in this study are similar to the aforementioned ones and may include performance management systems, external rewards that come in the form of compensation packages, job environment and training and development [ 30 ]. We explain these constructs further with the empirical evidence leading to the development of the conceptual framework.

• Compensation package

Rasheed et al. [ 44 ] posit that package of compensation offered to teachers in institutions of higher learning has to be made based on several factors that may include the experience that underpins the abilities of the teacher, qualifications and perhaps market rates. This is supported by Bohlander et al. [ 6 ] who argued that teachers compensation ought to be the most central concern for managers and administrators of schools in stimulating them. Most of these research studies are premised on the fact that compensation should be designed to meet the needs of teachers and has be fashioned in the form of tangible rewards. In corroborating this assertion, Marlow et al. [ 31 ] observed that low condition of service defined by salary creates stress among teachers in schools. Thus, teachers’ condition of service should be market competitive in order to get higher motivation and to maintain them. Other studies have found that salary levels have been the main challenge for education managers and are the reason for the high attrition and that education planners and managers should pay attention to the design of compensation packages.

Job design and working environment

The needs of teachers on the job ought to be planned properly. The workload on teachers should not be such that it will de-motivate [ 44 ], p. 103. Teachers at all levels should have a learning environment, and educational administrators should make a point to treat existing human resource (teachers) with maximum respect devoid of any discrimination.

Nowadays, job design is the central focus of managers and human resource researchers. Thus, a well-designed job has what it takes in getting interest of employees. On the contrary, poorly designed job breeds boredom among employees. Davidson [ 12 ] makes an important observation and remarked in his research that when teachers are overloaded and burdened with so many non-teaching activities, it portends as a hindrance in the job design. Other scholars such as Clarke and Keating [ 9 ] have argued that the working environment of an educational institution affects teachers’ motivation. Clarke and Keating [ 9 ] found students to be the main reason why teachers are motivated in schools. His emphasis was on talented and hardworking students who boost the morale of teachers. Students who do not produce the desired results, on the other hand, de-motivate teachers. Moreover, class size is another important consideration in motivating teachers. Other variants of the job design and environment are captured in Ofoegbu [ 39 ] research in which he argued that institutions provide support in the form of resources to the teachers in the form of computers with Internet connections. Moreover, other factors such as the provision of e-libraries and research equipment, and other logistics for students may also serve as an effective motivator for teachers.

Performance management system

Management of teachers and educational administrators in all levels of education should focus on implementing basic performance management systems to continually appraise teachers’ accomplishments. For instance, the use of a so-called 360-degree feedback system is important where students’ feedback is attended to with the attention it deserves.

Stafyarakis [ 53 ] corroborated this and asserted that ‘Annual Confidential Reports’ have become obsolete. Yet there has been an emergence of a scientific approach on the field of performance management as time goes on. In discussing this further, Milliman [ 37 ] is of the view that although there are many practices available in this field, but a performance management system based on 360-degree feedback approach is the most effective.

Contrary to the norm that teachers are most motivated by the intrinsic factors and least motivated by the monetary aspects of teaching, Rao [ 43 ] demonstrates that poor appraisal systems, lack of recognition and lack of respect from the head and other co-workers are some common reasons of distress and de-motivation among teachers in educational institutions. The lack of recognition from supervisors is one of the many reasons why teachers would want to leave the teaching profession Stafyarakis [ 53 ].

Moreover, Rasheed et al. [ 45 ] points out that teachers are much concerned about students’ feedback; hence, feedback from the students should be given a proper weightage and in appraising and managing teachers’ performance in the institutions of higher education. Jordan [ 23 ] stressed that the feedback of students is a major issue of that motivates teachers and therefore teachers should be given feedback from their students in scientific manners.

Training and development

It is of significance that educational administrators focus on training activities as an essential means of both motivating employees and sustaining the survival of that organization according to Photanan [ 42 ] and Bohlander et al. [ 6 ]. Leslie [ 28 ] identified professional growth as basic motivator for teachers. He stressed that the professional learning platform available to a teacher is the basic path of his/her career development [ 29 ].

Conceptual framework and hypothesis development

In this section, the study harmonizes the components of the SDT theory into a conceptual framework on motivation and performance connection. The framework developed in this research may be useful as a guide by academicians and practitioners in understanding the mechanisms through which motivational factors affect job performance among teachers in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana. On elucidating on what a framework is, Chinn and Kramer [ 8 ] explained that a framework can be seen as a complex mental formulation of experience. Further clarification was given to distinguish conceptual framework from a theoretical framework. They assert that while theoretical framework is the theory on which the study is based, the conceptual framework deals with the operationalization of the theory. Put in another way, it represents the position of the researcher on the problem at hand and at the same time gives direction to the study. It may be entirely new, or an adoption of, or adaptation of, a model used in previous research with modification to fit the context of the inquiry [ 8 ].

The framework developed in this research has three components: the first component looks at the factors necessary to induce motivation among teachers. The second component focuses on motivation as a concept. The last component which is on job performance looks at the link between the aggregate motivational factors and performance. The extant literature survey on motivational factors and performance provides all the necessary ingredients for the construction of the framework. First, the extant literature shows that motivation as a concept is simply the act of moving people triggered by the provision of some incentives to achieve a desired goal. The triggers of motivation may include such factors such as compensation packages, job design and working environment, performance management system and training and development which are controlled and autonomous factors as crucial elements for motivation.

The second component of the framework is the aggregate motivation, which is the interaction of the controlled and autonomous factors of motivation. Motivation according to Reeve (2001) refers to the excitement level, the determination and the way a person works hard at his work setting. Ricks et al. [ 47 ] explicating on the thesis of motivation was of the view that motivation is an internal aspiration of a man that compels him to reach an objective or the goal set for him.

The third component of the framework is performance. According to Culture IQ [ 11 ] and Motowildo et al. [ 38 ], job performance is the assessment of whether an employee has done their job well. It is an individual evaluation (one measured based on a single person’s effort). In the words of Viswesvaran and Ones [ 58 ], p. 216, the term job performance is used in reference to actions that are scalable, behavior and outcomes that employees engage in or bring about that are linked with and contribute to the goals of an organization. It is linked to both employee- and organizational-level outcomes. A distinctive feature of the framework developed in this research is that it shows the interaction between autonomous and controlled factors and motivation and how it affects the performance of teachers in Fig.  1 .

Source : Created by the authors

A Conceptual model of the relationship between Motivation and Teachers’ Performance.

It can be visibly seen from the framework that teachers motivation may be defined by both controlled and intrinsic motivational factors that may include those that fall under compensation packages, working environment, performance management system and training and development of teachers [ 44 ]. Yet the performance of teachers in itself motivates management and policy makers to institute compensation packages, improved psychological aura through enhanced working environment and job design and implementing appropriate performance management policy for a continued performance enhancement. It should also be emphasized here that these job satisfaction factors may pass as job motivational factors and theorize that a highly motivated teacher may be related to the level of satisfaction.

Scholars such as Thus Milda et al. [ 36 ] and Spector [ 52 ] collectively share the opinion that teachers differ from typical employees in various ways. Therefore, instruments that usually measure such job satisfaction and motivation dimensions as appreciation, communication, coworkers, fringe benefits, job conditions, nature of work, organization itself, organizations’ policies and procedures, pay, personal growth, promotion opportunities, recognition, security, supervision may not always match with teachers’ motivation aspects on the teaching field. However, some of these factors according to some researchers can be used in understanding motivation and performance among teachers. The consensus on these dimensions is especially on supervision, work itself, promotion and recognition being important dimensions of teachers’ motivation at work [ 50 , 51 , 56 ]. In addition, several researchers have used the same measurement or dimension but with different wording (synonym). For instance, Kreitner and Kinici [ 26 ] define job satisfaction with the synonym “motivation” which they argue contains “those psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed” Motivation depends on certain intrinsic, as well as extrinsic factors which in collaboration results in fully committed employees. Based on this relationship, we hypothesize that:

Hypothesis 1

Teachers’ compensation package, job environment and design, performance management systems, training and development significantly affect teachers’ motivation.

In a similar manner, Board [ 5 ] asserted that tangible incentives are effective in increasing performance for task not done before, to encourage “thinking smarter” and to support both quality and quantity to achieve goals. Incentives, rewards and recognitions are the prime factors that impact on employee motivation. Aarabi et al. [ 1 ] confirmed this assertion by making use of factors such as payment, job security, promotion, freedom, friendly environment, and training and employee job performance to measure the term organizational motivation with positive relationship found on these factors. On rewards (which comes in various forms, e.g., income/pay, bonus, fringe benefits among others ) and recognition/appreciation, according to other researchers keep high spirit among employees which boost employee’s morale which may have a direct impact on performance and output. The study hypothesizes that:

Hypothesis 2

Teacher’s motivation positively affects their performance.

The aim, design and setting of the study

The paper aims to examine the link between motivation factors and performance among basic school teachers in Ghana. Data for this study were collected from primary. Primary data were sourced from the field of study through questionnaire administration. The researchers sought for permission from the municipal directorate of education to engage with teachers within the municipality. A written permission was granted, and questionnaires were administered to all basic schools’ teachers in the municipality.

At the preparatory stage, the questionnaires designed were tested to make sure participants understood the demands of the questions in the questionnaires. Informal interviews method has been adopted to make sure that additional information that could not have been gathered through the use of questionnaires was captured. The formal interviews using questionnaires ensured that we stayed focused on the background objective that formed the basis of the study.

Sampling technique and data analysis

On the determination of the sample size, different authors have differing views, but in most cases, the recommendation is that it should be large. Stevens [ 54 ] recommends at least 15 participants per predictor for reliable equation in the case of factor analysis. Tabachnick and Fidel [ 55 ] provides a formula for calculating sample size requirements, taking into consideration the number of independent variables that one wish to use: N  > 50 + 8  m (where m  = number of independent variables). In line with these and other requirements like Yamane [ 60 ], the exact sample size will be determined and questionnaires distributed accordingly to the selected public and private schools in the Effutu Municipality.

The human resource unit of the educational directorate of education in the municipality has indicated that there are over 678 teachers teaching at various levels in the municipality [ 15 ]. Thus, the 678 teachers become the population in the municipality. Using Yamane [ 60 ] and validating with other sampling size technique, a sample size of 254 has been adopted with a 0.5 level of precision. Thus, 254 questionnaires were distributed among the various schools, but 159 were filled and returned (representing 62.6% return rate).

Quantitative data are analyzed by means of a software called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). This is necessitated by the fact that the analyzed quantitative data ought to be presented by graphs to give quick visual impression of what it entails.

The scale measurement of the questionnaires included nominal scale, ordinal and intervals. Questionnaires used were segmented to capture the demographic characteristics of the respondents and the constructs that feeds into the multi-level latent variables using a five-point Likert scale (see [ 19 , 24 ]). A verification was done to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis with the expectation that Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy ( \({\mathrm{i.e}}., {\rm KMo}\ge 0.6)\) and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity value are significant ( p  = 0.05), which was the case for our sample data. In measuring some of the latent variables, the study developed a 9-scale item on compensation package with the following loadings (e.g., how high is your qualification and pay ( \(\alpha =0.72)\) , “is your experience linked to your current pay?” ( \(\alpha =0.80)\) , “are you satisfied with the market premium” ( \(\alpha =0.75)\) etc.). All items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important.” A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicates that the hypothesized correlated 3-factor structure fits well with the responds of the participants ( \({\chi }^{2}/df = 2.01, {\rm RMR}=0.05,{\rm RMSEA}=0.06,{\rm TLC}=0.94,{\rm CFI}=0.94)\) .

Job design and working environment was measured by a 7-item scale based on questions such as “how do you perceive your workload” ( \(\alpha =0.88)\) , “does your work type offer learning environment?” ( \(\alpha =0.83),\) “Are you inspired by your working environment?” ( \(\alpha =0.87)\) , “Talented student boost morale” ( \(\alpha =0.84)\) etc. Similarly, all items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important.” A confirmatory factor analysis reveals that the hypothesized one-factor structure fits well with the data ( \({\chi }^{2}/df = 3.06, {\rm RMR}=0.05,{\rm RMSEA}=0.06,{\rm TLC}=0.94,{\rm CFI}=0.94)\) .

Performance management system was assessed using a 9-item scale based on these inferences (e.g., “number of times supervisor visits” ( \(\alpha =0.69)\) , “how often are you visited by the municipal director of education” ( \(\alpha =0.78)\) , “work recognition” ( \(\alpha =0.72)\) , etc.). All constructs were rated as 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important.” A confirmatory factor analysis reveals that the hypothesized two-factor structure was in line with the data ( \({\chi }^{2}/df=2.86, {\rm RMR}=0.05,{\rm RMSEA}=0.06,{\rm TLC}=0.94,{\rm CFI}=0.94)\) .

The last but not the least concept explored was job performance. It was assessed on a 12-item scale based on the inferences such as (e.g., “are pupils treated with respect?” ( \(\alpha\) =0.77), “do you help pupils work on their social-emotional skills?” ( \(\alpha\) = 0.69), “are you fair and consistent with pupils” ( \(\alpha\) = 0.87), etc.). All items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important.” A confirmatory factor analysis reveals that the hypothesized two-factor structure was in line with the data ( \({\chi }^{2}/df = 2.06, {\rm RMR} = 0.05,{\rm RMSEA} = 0.06,{\rm TLC} = 0.94,{\rm CFI} = 0.93)\) . The study proceeds to make use of the proposed measurement models to assess the relationship outlined in the conceptual model in Fig.  1 .

Hypothesized theoretical equation

Based on the conceptual model in Fig.  1 , the study makes a number of hypothesis on the relation between motivational factors and motivation itself and subsequently the link between motivation and performance. Consequently, the study model leads to two structural equations as presented below:

where JM = job motivation, CP = compensation package, JDWE = job design and working environment, PMS = performance management system, TD = training and development, JP = job performance.

Results and discussion

The study begins with a frequency distribution and descriptive statistics to capture the responses of teachers regarding the itemized construct identified in the conceptual model. Beginning with these two is borne out of the fact that the data category used in the study included categorical, ordinal and nominal variables which may be difficult to have a summary descriptive statistic.

With the understanding that every statistical approach is guided by certain principles or in most cases what has come to be known as assumptions, a diagnostic check was undertaken. Multicollinearity and singularity, for instance, look at the relationship among the independent variables. Thus, multicollinearity exists when the independent variables are highly correlated (r = 0.5 and above). The study was particular about these assumptions because multiple regression abhors them (singularity and multicollinearity). Issues concerning outliers (i.e., very high and low scores) was dealt with given the fact that multiple regression is sensitive to them. On normality, the results of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov statics were used to assess the distribution of scores. The test result was insignificant (i.e., sig. value of more than 0.05), which pointed to normality. Having done these, the study was sure there were no errors in the data and that the descriptive phase of the data used can begin.

Consistent with the general distribution of gender in the demographic characteristics of Ghana, about 63 of the teachers were female (39.6%) with 59.1% made up of male and 1.3% being transgender. The transgender teachers were foreign teachers who were here on an exchange program. Most of the teachers in the sample taught at the primary level (46.5%), followed by junior high level (43.4%) and kindergarten (8.8%), respectively. About 34.6% of the respondent responded they have taught between 6 and 10 years and 22.0% had spent between 11 and 20 years teaching. In terms of educational background, about 50.3% of the respondent have had first degree, with the remaining 49.7% being holders of teachers Cert. A or Diploma from the training colleges, and master’s degree of the returned samples. The average number of years participants have taught was observed to be 2.34 years with a corresponding standard deviation of 1.010. We present the demographic characteristics of our participants in Table 1 .

As shown in Table 2 , the compensation package scale has good internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient reported to be around 0.725. According to Pallant [ 40 ], Cronbach alpha values above 0.7 are considered acceptable; however, values above 0.8 are preferable. Therefore, the threshold value of 0.725 means our scale is internally consistent and acceptable. Similarly, the job design and working environment scale recorded a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.793.

Performance management on the other hand had a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.70, yet training and development recorded a lower Cronbach alpha of 0.53, which meant it lacked internal consistency. The study had to drop training and development as factor for job motivation and proceed with the others. Job performance, however conspicuously recorded a Cronbach alpha of 0.83. In terms of the output from the correlation matrix, it can be visibly seen that the scales computed were not highly correlated and fallen below the threshold of 0.8 as recommended (see [ 40 ], p. 56). Both the assumption of singularity and multicollinearity by extension have not been violated (see Durbin Watson results) and thus the study can proceed to run the regression as per the set objectives and the conceptual model.

We go further to examine the causal effect of the factors identified as triggers of motivation on teachers’ level of motivation using ordinary least square method with multiple regression as the exact approach. Having gained credence from the test of reliability and validity, examining the causal effect becomes imperative. Using the baseline model in Eq. ( 1 ), the study concurrently runs the regression with the output shown in Tables 2 , 3 and 4 .

In model one, the study regresses compensation package with the dependent variable without controlling for other related factors. By implication what the results in model (1) seeks to explain is that, as the value of compensation package for teachers increases by 73 percentage points in the municipality, the mean of job motivation increases by that same margin. The high compensation is evidenced by government of Ghana reform in salary structure and bolstered by the effort of the Member of Parliament (MP) through the sharing of teaching and learning materials (TLMs) in the municipality. By this gesture by the MP, teachers feel appreciated and derive high motivation. Moreover, the presence of a university (University of Education, Winneba) has helped to deepen the level of motivation. The model has cross-variable variance of 52 percentage and with close to about 48 percentage unexplained as inferred from the coefficients of both coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) and adjusted coefficient of determination. Generally, the model is jointly significant ( F  = 170, p  < 0.01) with a corresponding tolerance and variable inflationary factor (VIF) of 1.

In model (2), the study varies the variables used with the inclusion of job design and working environment to examine how well the model can be through it cross-variable variance. Controlling for job design and environment shows a significant drop in the coefficient of compensation package from 0.73 to 0.53 although highly significant. Job design and environment recorded a coefficient of 0.49 which meant this indicator increases teachers’ satisfaction and thus motivation by 49 percentage points. In explaining this phenomenon, one would say that jobs that are rich in positive behavioral essentials such as autonomy, task significance and identity and feedback contribute to employees’ motivation. Government has since the introduction of its flagship program on free senior high education emphasized the significance of education across all the strata. The autonomy of heads of unit was by this directive curtailed. Heads of unit were barred from initiating policies to ease their operations. This finding is supported in the literature [ 7 , 30 , 46 ] and is aligned with the SDT. For example, head teachers who had levied pupils with printing fees were sanctioned for such initiative. Thus, by this gesture, the autonomy of the profession was in doubt and this explains why the level of motivation when this parameter is mentioned is low. With this addition, model (2) marginally sees an improvement of 0.73 in the cross-variable variance which is a significant. Model (2) was jointly significant ( F  = 170, p  < 0.01).

All the identified job motivation variables are concurrently used in model (3) to infer whether there was going to be a significant increase in the coefficient of determination and a drop in the residue. As a confirmation to the priori assumption, there was a marginal improvement of the explanatory strength of the model (R 2  = 0.88). However, the model witnessed significant drop in the coefficients. Thus, compensation package dropped further from 0.53 to 0.42 and job design and environment from 0.49 to 0.34.

It is important to note that the value of Durbin Watson test results when all the identified factors are brought together in model (3) indicate a no autocorrelation in the model which validates the earlier point of having dealt with critical assumptions that borders on autocorrelation. Moreover, both our VIF and tolerance were within the acceptable level. For instance, models (1)–(3) had a VIF score less than or equal to 1, which meant there were no issues concerning a possibility of high multicollinearity. For tolerance, there are no clear-cut cut-off point, but there is a suggestion of a tolerance greater than 0.40 according to Allison [ 3 ]. Yet Weisburd and Britt [ 59 ] are of the view that anything below 0.2 is an indication of serious multicollinearity. Inferring from these, it therefore goes to suggest that the tolerance levels of above 1 meant no multicollinearity.

In examining the relationship between the aggregated motivational factors and performance, the study brings to the fore the following findings as shown in Table 3 . The study presents four (4) different models on the relationship between motivation and performance. Model (1) regresses the aggregate motivational factors on job performance, and the findings are quite interesting to note. The job performance indicator is increased by 46% for every unit increase in motivation. This relationship can further be explained to mean a teacher within the municipality with a sense of satisfaction with his/her teaching job may feel more inclined to be at post no matter what the prevailing circumstances are. The snowball effect of this phenomenon is the reduction in absenteeism with a corresponding curb on teachers’ turnover. Although the coefficient of determination which explains the cross-variable variance is by far lower than expected ( R 2  = 0.214), the model is jointly significant ( F  = 41.44, p  < 0.01). The VIF and tolerance levels are within acceptable threshold with a Durbin Watson of 2.04 that signals a no concern of autocorrelation in the model.

Models (2)–(4) regress the decomposed job motivation factors on performance to ascertain their level of significance, and indeed, as theorized, these factors were positively significant except with lower coefficient of determinations ( R 2 ). To explain the relation in model (2), it is important to note that compensation is the output and the benefit that a teacher within the municipality receives in the form of pay, or even any form of exchanges (in kind or in cash) to increase performance. The Member of Parliament for the area as part of effort to ensure teachers are well compensated shared over 700 laptops to teachers within the municipality for effective teaching and learning. This certainly explains why the attrition rate in the municipality is low vis-à-vis high morale of teachers which largely explains the level of motivation and satisfaction.

Model (3) touches on the psychological state the teacher finds him or herself owed to the nature and state of the job. This may include the job environment and the degree of specialization. Yet in model (4), there is an exponential increase in the coefficient of performance management systems as it increases job performance within the municipality by 51 percentage point. It should be noted that performance management sets expectations for teachers’ performance and thus motivates them to work harder in ways expected by the municipal directorate of education under GES. The results in model (5) confirm earlier ones, but the inclusion of the other variables as control seems to have increased the coefficients of the various motivational factors. This partly explains the performance of the municipality in the central region in successive BECE.

Further investigation is made to understand which of the age groups is responsible for the ensuing level of performance in the municipality. To do this, the study relies on one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Here, the mean scores of more than two groups are compared using a continuous variable as the dependent variable. Having transformed the ordinal variables to continuous, it makes it quite straightforward to do this. Using the categorical independent variable of age which has more than three categories and the job performance variable which we have transformed to be continuous variable, the study undertakes a one-way between groups ANOVA with post hoc tests. Teachers were divided into four groups according to their ages (group 1: 20–30 yrs.; group 2: 31–40 yrs.; group 3: 41–50 yrs.; group 4: above 51 yrs.). There was a statistically significant difference at the \(p<0.10\) level in job performance scores for the four age groups: F (4, 159) = 0.042, p  = 0.10. Despite reaching statistical significance for one of the groups, the actual difference in mean scores between the groups was quite small. The effect size was calculated using eta squared (eta squared = 179.1/8513 = 0.02) which in Cohen’s ([ 10 ], pp. 248–7) terms is considered far too small a size. Note should be taking that Cohen categorizes 0.01 as a small effect, 0.06 as a medium effect and 0.14 as a large effect. Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for group 1 (56.12, SD = 4.26) is significantly different from the other three groups which were insignificant. The result has theoretical soundness. Group 1 was made up of young teachers who had either returned from training colleges after completion or on internship and thus had cause to perform for a possibility of being retained or given a very good report since internship supervision forms part of the trainees’ assessment.

In this study, we examined among a host of autonomous and controlled motivational factors and their relationship to performance among basic schools’ teachers in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana. A conceptual model was developed with the necessary hypotheses formulated. Using multiple regression and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the causal effect as shown in the model is tested.

The study finds compensation package, job design and environment and performance management system to be positively significant factors in explaining teacher’s motivation in the municipality. These job motivation factors were significant predictors on job performance. The aggregated job motivation indicator when regressed on job performance reveals a positive and significant effect. Based on the results from the ANOVA, the study recommends the municipal directorate of education to make more room for young teacher trainees who are at the formative stage of their career to be engaged to augment the experienced staff strength. More should be done to make the profession attain some level of autonomy in the discharge of duty to breed the next genre of innovative educators in the municipality. A limitation of the study is its inability to treat job motivation as a mediatory variable as captured in the framework. The study recommends future research to explore this connection.

Availability of data and material

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

Analysis of variance

Self-determination theory

Single spine salary structure

Fair wages salary commission

Teaching and learning materials

Member of parliament

Job motivation

Job performance

Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin

Confirmatory factor analysis

Standardized root mean square residual

Root mean square error of approximation

Statistical package for social science

Variable inflationary factor

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Effutu Directorate of Education, particularly the Municipal Director of Education for the support during the data collection stage. We thank all the basic school teachers in the municipality who devoted time to fill and return questionnaires sent to them. We are also grateful to the Directorate for the secondary materials given to the team.

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Department of Educational Administration and Management, University of Education, Winneba, Winneba, Ghana

Rosemary Afrakomah Opoku

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JAF contributed 50%, EOD contributed 25%, RAO contributed 20%, and SEA contributed 5%, respectively. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

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Forson, J.A., Ofosu-Dwamena, E., Opoku, R.A. et al. Employee motivation and job performance: a study of basic school teachers in Ghana. Futur Bus J 7 , 30 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-021-00077-6

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Workplace Stress and Productivity: A Cross-Sectional Study

1 University of Oklahoma at Tulsa, Tulsa, OK

Rosey Zackula

2 Office of Research, University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, KS

Katelyn Dugan

3 Department of Population Health, University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, KS

Elizabeth Ablah

Introduction.

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between workplace stress and productivity among employees from worksites participating in a WorkWell KS Well-Being workshop and assess any differences by sex and race.

A multi-site, cross-sectional study was conducted to survey employees across four worksites participating in a WorkWell KS Well Being workshop to assess levels of stress and productivity. Stress was measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and productivity was measured by the Health and Work Questionnaire (HWQ). Pearson correlations were conducted to measure the association between stress and productivity scores. T-tests evaluated differences in scores by sex and race.

Of the 186 participants who completed the survey, most reported being white (94%), female (85%), married (80%), and having a college degree (74%). A significant inverse relationship was observed between the scores for PSS and HWQ, r = −0.35, p < 0.001; as stress increased, productivity appeared to decrease. Another notable inverse relationship was PSS with Work Satisfaction subscale, r =−0.61, p < 0.001. One difference was observed by sex; males scored significantly higher on the HWQ Supervisor Relations subscale compared with females, 8.4 (SD 2.1) vs. 6.9 (SD 2.7), respectively, p = 0.005.

Conclusions

Scores from PSS and the HWQ appeared to be inversely correlated; higher stress scores were associated significantly with lower productivity scores. This negative association was observed for all HWQ subscales, but was especially strong for work satisfaction. This study also suggested that males may have better supervisor relations compared with females, although no differences between sexes were observed by perceived levels of stress.

INTRODUCTION

Psychological well-being, which is influenced by stressors in the workplace, has been identified as the biggest predictor of self-assessed employee productivity. 1 The relationship between stress and productivity suggests that greater stress correlates with less employee productivity. 1 , 2 However, few studies have examined productivity at a worksite in relation to stress.

Previous research focused on burnout, job satisfaction, or psychosocial factors and their association with productivity; 3 – 7 all highlight the importance of examining overall stress on productivity. Other studies focused on self-perceived stress and employer-evaluated job performance instead of self-assessed productivity. 8 However, most studies examining this relationship have been occupation specific. 8 , 9 Larger studies examining this relationship were performed in other countries. 1 , 5 , 9 , 10

The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the study sought to elucidate the relationship between stress and productivity in four worksites in Kansas. Second, the study sought to examine potential differences in stress and productivity by sex and race.

Recruitment and Sampling Procedures

The target population was employees from four WorkWell KS worksites. WorkWell KS is a statewide worksite initiative in Kansas that provides leadership and resources for businesses and organizations to support worksite health. Because access to employee emails was unavailable, a URL link to an online survey was sent to the worksite contact, who was responsible for ensuring the distribution of the URL link to a cross-section of employees at the worksite. Following a WorkWell KS workshop (held in Topeka, Kansas on November 6, 2017) attendees from the four worksites were recruited to distribute a link to an online survey to their employees. Workshop attendees were members of wellness committees or were worksite representatives. Employee responses to the online survey were collected through mid-December 2017. No compensation was given for disseminating the survey link or for participating in the study. This study was approved by the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita’s Human Subjects Committee.

Online Survey

The online survey comprised demographic items with two instruments, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), 11 and the Health and Work Questionnaire (HWQ). 12 Demographic items included employee, sex, race, age, marital status, and highest level of education completed.

Perceived Stress Scale

Stress was measured by the PSS, a 10-item questionnaire designed for use in community samples. The purpose of the instrument is to assess global perceived stress during the past month. Each item is measured with a Likert-type scale (0 = Never, 1 = Almost Never, 2 = Sometimes, 3 = Fairly Often, 4 = Very Often). This scale is reversed on four positively stated questions. Scoring of the PSS is obtained by summing all responses. Results range from zero to 40, with higher PSS scores indicating elevated stress: scores of 0 – 13 are considered low stress, 14 – 26 moderate stress, and 27 – 40 are high perceived stress. The results for perceived stress were used by this study as an indication of psychological well-being.

Health and Work Questionnaire

The HWQ is a 24-item instrument that measures multidimensional worksite productivity. Productivity is assessed by asking respondents how they would describe their efficiency, overall quality of work, or overall amount of work in one week. All items are scaled with Likert-type response anchors, each ranging from 1 to 10 points. Most are positively worded items with response scales from least (scored as a 1) to most favorable (scored as a 10). Exceptions are items 1 and 16 through 24, which are negatively worded and reversed scored. Items are divided into six sub-scales: productivity, concentration/focus, supervisor relations, non-work satisfaction, work satisfaction, and impatience/irritability. As part of the HWQ, employees assessed productivity two ways: on themselves and how their supervisor or co-workers might perceive it. Accordingly, productivity is stratified into a self-assessed sub-score and perceived other-assessed sub-score. HWQ scores are tallied and averaged for each sub-scale, with higher scores generally indicating greater productivity.

The Consent Process

Representatives who participated in the WorkWell KS workshop sent an e-mail to their employees with a request to click on the link and complete the online survey. The link opened the electronic consent, which was the opening remark, followed by the two assessment instruments and the demographic items. Consent was implied by participation in the survey. To encourage survey participation, representatives also sent employees a few e-mail reminders at their own discretion.

Statistical Analysis

The statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, measures of association, and comparisons of survey responses by sex and race. Descriptive statistics comprised response summaries; means and standard deviations were used for continuous variables, while frequency and percentages were used for categorical responses. The relationship between stress and productivity measures were assessed using Pearson correlations. Sex and race comparisons for PSS and HWQ subscales were evaluated using two-sided t-tests; alpha was set at 0.05 as the level of significance. Study participants with missing values were excluded pairwise from the analysis.

Response Rates

Four of nine worksites participated in the study, including two health departments (89 participants), one school district (76 participants), and one non-profit for the medically underserved (21 participants). A total of 188 employees opened the survey link, 186 employees answered the first question of the survey, and 174 employees completed the survey items. The 12 study participants with missing values were excluded from the pairwise analysis. The response rate, defined as those participants who completed the survey, was 58.6% (n = 174). To protect the confidentiality of respondents, data were aggregated and no other comparisons were made by location.

Participants who completed the survey included 174 employees from four worksites in Kansas. Of those who responded, 94% (155 out of 165) reported being white, 85% (142 of 167) reported being female, 81% (124 of 153) reported being between 30 and 59 years, and 60% (99 of 166) reported having a bachelor’s degree or higher ( Table 1 ).

Participant demographics.

With regard to measures of stress, the mean PSS was 16.4, with a standard deviation of 6.2, suggesting that employees have moderate levels of stress at these locations. This result was consistent with the HWQ question regarding “overall stress felt this week”, with a mean score of 4.7 (SD 2.5; 10 is “very stressed”). Regarding measures of productivity, the mean overall HWQ was 6.3 (SD 0.7). With the exception of reverse items, as noted below, scores of 10 indicated high levels of productivity. Mean scores by scale were: 7.3 (SD 1.0) for overall productivity, with 7.5 (SD 1.3) for own assessment, and 7.5 (SD 1.2) for perceived other’s assessment; 7.1 (SD 2.7) supervisor relations, 7.8 (SD 1.8) for non-work satisfaction, and 7.3 (SD 1.7) for work satisfaction. The mean scale for the reverse items scores were concentration/focus at 3.4 (SD 2.0), and impatience/irritability 3.2 (SD 1.6).

Correlations between the PSS and the HWQ subscales ranged from −0.61 to 0.55 ( Table 2 ). A negative association was observed between the PSS and the overall HWQ, r(177) = − 0.35, p < 0.001. While each of the positively-coded HWQ subscales was associated negatively with the PSS, the strongest correlation occurred between work satisfaction and PSS, r(177) = −0.61, p < 0.001, suggesting that as stress increases work satisfaction declines.

Measures of correlation within and between the PSS and HWQ.

HWQ: Health and Work Questionnaire mean score; PSS: Perceived Stress Scale mean score

In evaluating differences by sex, mean scores were significantly higher for males compared with females for the HWQ Supervisor Relations subscale (8.4 (SD 2.1) versus 6.9 (SD 2.7), respectively; p < 0.005; Table 3 ). No other sex differences were observed for either instrument. Similarly, there were no significant differences by race.

Comparing results of the PSS and the HWQ by sex.

Findings suggested there is an inverse association between overall stress and productivity; higher PSS scores were associated with lower HWQ scores. These findings are consistent with other cross-sectional studies comparing productivity and other measures of psychological well-being. 1 , 8 , 9 , 10 Thus, employer efforts to decrease stress in the workplace may benefit employee productivity levels.

In addition, males scored higher for supervisor relations in the HWQ than females. This finding may suggest that males have stronger relationships with their supervisors. Indeed, there is compelling evidence to suggest the main factor affecting job satisfaction and performance is the relationship between supervisors and employees. 13 Although, this relationship may be mitigated by employee-supervisor interactions of sex, race/ethnicity, status, education, age, support systems, and other factors, none of which were evaluated in the current study.

For example, Rivera-Torres et al. 14 suggested that women with support systems, defined as co-workers and supervisors, experienced less work stress than males. Results from this study seemed to support Rivera-Torres et al. 14 in that females tended to report higher levels of stress compared with males (although not significant) and reported weaker relationships with their supervisors. In addition, Peterson 15 evaluated what employee’s value at work and found that males and females differed significantly. When asked to rank work values, men valued pay/money/benefits along with results/achievement/success most, whereas women valued friends/relationships along with recognition/respect. Perhaps, more research is necessary to understand the nuances between co-worker and supervisor regarding work satisfaction and productivity.

The study contributes to the literature in the use of different metrics for psychological well-being, defined as stress. Multiple organizations within Kansas were evaluated for both productivity and stress. To our knowledge, the PSS and HWQ have never been used together to measure the relationship between stress and productivity. Results suggested that overall productivity (HWQ) was associated with the HWQ “work satisfaction” subscale. Perceived stress also had the strongest inverse relationship with HWQ sub-scale “work satisfaction” when compared with HWQ sub-scale “productivity”.

This study suggested that productivity, stress, and job satisfaction were correlated, therefore, additional research needs to include each of these variables in greater detail as the current literature has been mixed on their relationships and potential collinearity. For example, one study examining two occupations suggested psychological well-being (defined as psychological functioning) was associated with productivity, whereas job satisfaction did not. 7 In contrast, another study suggested that psychological well-being has been a bigger factor in job productivity than work satisfaction alone, but both are associated with job productivity. 9 This current study was able to examine this relationship by using the PSS and the HWQ together.

More research is needed to understand these differences by standardizing terminology. In this study, psychological well-being was defined as stress. However, other studies have defined psychological well-being as happiness or as one’s psychological functioning. 7 , 8 This study also expanded the relationship between psychological well-being and stress. Previous research focused more on the relationship between productivity and burnout or job satisfaction.

This study had limitations such as a small sample size (in number of organizations and number of employees). The sample size assessed small organizations in the United States, whereas many other large scale studies on stress occurred over multiple large organizations in other countries. 1 , 10 There was limited racial diversity in the current study, as 6.1% (10 of 165) reported being non-white. The population studied was also primarily female, limiting the strength of comparisons made between sexes. Furthermore, because worksites often share computers, questionnaires may have been completed using the same IP address; thus, we were unable to prevent multiple entries from the same individual.

The current study did not detect a difference in productivity or stress by race. This differed from other research. For instance, non-whites experience greater overall stress than whites potentially attributable to poorer employment status, income, and education. 16 Non-whites experience stress secondary to racial discrimination. 17 , 18 In one study, when examining productivity among university faculty, non-whites reported greater stress and produced less research (productivity) compared to whites. 16 Further research needs to be conducted on productivity and stress by race and ethnicity, and associated variables, such as employment status, income, education, and occupation, need to be accounted for in analysis. Differences between other research and the current study regarding race may be attributed to the fact that only 6% of respondents who answered race reported being non-white, making racial diversity in this study limited, although representative of the population sampled.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggested there is a negative correlation between overall stress and productivity: higher stress scores were significantly associated with lower productivity scores. This negative association was observed for all HWQ subscales, but was especially strong for work satisfaction. This study also suggested that males may have better supervisor relations compared to females, although no differences between sexes were observed by perceived levels of stress. There was no difference in productivity or stress by race. The results of this study suggested that employer efforts to decrease employee stress in the workplace may increase employee productivity.

• Open access
• Published: 18 April 2024

Relationship between resilience at work, work engagement and job satisfaction among engineers: a cross-sectional study

• Bassma Abdelhadi Ibrahim 1 &
• Sarah Mohamed Hussein 1  

BMC Public Health volume  24 , Article number:  1077 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

269 Accesses

Metrics details

Workplace challenges can negatively affect employees and the organization. Resilience improves work-related outcomes like engagement, satisfaction, and performance. Gaps exist in studying resilience at work, particularly in relation to engagement and satisfaction. Therefore, this study aims to investigate relationship between Resilience at Work, Work Engagement and Job Satisfaction among engineers in an Egyptian Oil and Gas Company.

It was a cross-sectional study. The target population was the engineers who are working in Egyptian Oil and Gas Company. The study was performed on 100 engineers. Participants were enrolled by simple random sampling technique via an online questionnaire. The study was conducted from May 2023 to the end of September 2023. The data were collected in the duration of June to August 2023. Data was obtained through a structured and personally accomplished questionnaire, which was disseminated electronically via email. The questionnaire comprises of personal information, work experience, a Resilience at Work scale consisting of 20 items, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale with nine items to evaluate work engagement, and the 20-item Short-Form Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire was utilized to determine employee satisfaction. The bivariate analysis employed independent samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. The associations between scores were measured by Spearman rho correlation. Simple linear and multiple linear regressions were used to predict work engagement and job satisfaction.

A statistically strong positive correlation was observed among all the aspects of work engagement, including vigor, absorption, and dedication. This study demonstrated a significant correlation between resilience and work engagement ( r  = 0.356, p  < 0.05). There was a strong correlation between resilience and job satisfaction ( r  = 0.608, p  < 0.05). A significant moderate correlation was determined between job satisfaction and work engagement ( r  = 0.396, p  < 0.05). Both gender with a female coefficient of -15.517, and resilience with a coefficient of 0.235 significantly predicted work engagement. Whereas, the significant predictors of job satisfaction were resilience (β = 0.294), and work engagement (β = 0.283).

Conclusions

Resilience greatly affects work engagement and job satisfaction. Thus, organizations need to promote resilience in employees to create a positive work environment and increase productivity.

Peer Review reports

Resilience has become an essential element in the success and well-being of employees in today’s fast-paced and demanding work environment. This is especially evident in high-pressure industries like oil and gas sector. Most oil and gas industry workers experience various stressful conditions and encounter numerous challenges and pressures in their daily work, impacting their health [ 1 , 2 , 3 ].

The Oil and Gas industry is widely recognized for its challenging and hazardous work environment in terms of safety and occupational risks. Consequently, employees in this field especially engineers frequently encounter intricate obstacles such as working under immense pressure, complying with strict safety protocols, meeting tight project timelines, and keeping up with evolving technologies and market dynamics. An Egyptian survey conducted on a group of 409 workers in the oil and gas industry showed that the work environment had a high level of psychosocial hazards, as well as mild levels of anxiety and moderate levels of depression and stress [ 4 ]. Similar studies in Nigeria and Iran also found high levels of occupational stress among employees in the Oil and Gas industry [ 5 , 6 ]. One important factor that has been found to be crucial to deal with these challenges and stress is the development of resilience and positive psychological well-being among employees. This is necessary to ensure operational efficiency, safety, and overall wellness for professionals in the industry.

Resilience is commonly referred to as the ability to recover from adversity, conflict, or failure. It can also apply to positive events, progress, and increased responsibilities. So, resilient employees have better awareness and ability to be more flexible, improvise, and adjust quickly to change [ 2 ]. Resilience has a positive impact on work outcomes like engagement, satisfaction, and performance [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Resilient personnel could create a problem-solving pattern that allows them to contribute best to their workplace. Also, resilient individuals are successful in dealing with workplace adversity, producing persistent and favorable work attitudes leading to engagement [ 10 ].

Work engagement is a state of mind that involves concentration, energy, and enthusiasm in one’s work. It is described as being vigorous, dedicated, and absorbed. It is beneficial for both individuals and organizations as it promotes motivation and commitment [ 10 , 11 ]. In Indonesia, a study conducted among 205 respondents working as merchandisers in Fast Moving Consumer Goods field under outsourcing companies demonstrated a positive association between employee resilience and work engagement ( r  = 0.346, p  < 0.01). The findings showed that employees who possess high resilience levels tend to exhibit greater work engagement [ 12 ]. Another study by Aggarwal (2022) unveiled a significant correlation between resilience and work engagement among employees ( r  = 0.024, p  < 0.05) suggesting that resilience and work engagement are interrelated and have a mutual impact on each other [ 13 ]..

Furthermore, resilience not only serves as a protective factor, but it can also influence employee job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be defined as a positive feeling about one’s job as an outcome of an individual’s perception and evaluation of his work. Its level is closely associated with employee motivation and productivity [ 14 ]. An Iranian study conducted among employees of an Iranian petrochemical company revealed that the level of employees’ job satisfaction was moderate [ 6 ]. Also, a research conducted by Bernard (2021) aimed to investigate the connections between resilience, job satisfaction, and anticipated turnover among chief nursing officers throughout the United States and found a significant link between resilience and job satisfaction, with a positive correlation coefficient of 0.28 [ 15 ].

While there is existing literature on resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction in various industries, there is a significant research gap in specifically addressing these constructs within the unique context of the oil and gas industry. Furthermore, in this context understanding engineers’ resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction as well the factors that contribute to them is essential for maintaining a highly skilled and motivated workforce [ 2 ]. So, this study aims to investigate the complex relation between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction among engineers working in the oil and gas company with core concerns revolving around understanding how resilience affects work engagement and job satisfaction, and how these relationships manifest within this organizational setting. This study holds significant implications for both organizational leaders and employees. By gaining insights into the interplay of these constructs, organizations can develop targeted interventions and strategies to enhance employee well-being and performance, leading to a more resilient and satisfied workforce. The subsequent sections of this research will begin by the methodological approach employed in this study. Following this, the findings and their implications will be discussed, concluding with recommendations for future research and practical applications.

Study design

It was a cross-sectional study to examine the relation between workplace resilience, work engagement and job satisfaction. The study was conducted from May 2023 to the end of September 2023. The data were collected in the duration of June to August 2023.

The study was carried out on engineers working in an Egyptian Oil and Gas Company. Among the 3,000 employees working in the Egyptian Oil and Gas Company, 500 were engineers.

Inclusion criteria

Both males and females with the job title “engineer” and who graduated from the faculties of Engineering, Science, and Computers and Information were eligible to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria

New engineers hired for less than a year, part-time engineers were excluded from the population.

Sample size

G*Power 3.1.9.7 software calculated sample size using exact test family, two tails, and the α error was determined at 0.05 and power = 0.80, r = correlation ρ H1 was determined twice based on correlation between resilience at work and job satisfaction ( r  = 0.28) [ 15 ],, and correlation between resilience and work engagement ( r  = 0.346) [ 12 , 16 ].

After estimation of the sample size for each outcome, the largest sample size = 97 participants. We added 10% of the sample size to adjust for non-response, so the sample size was raised into108 participants. The questionnaire was sent to those engineers, only 100 engineers responded and agreed to participate in the study which covers the required sample. So, the final recruited number of participants were 100 engineers, which represents 92.5% response rate.

Sampling technique

Engineers were recruited into the study by simple random sampling. A sampling frame of all eligible engineers was formulated by contacting the human resources department. By random generator of SPSS software program version 22, the authors selected the chosen engineers. Through the technology information department, the authors received the email addresses of the engineers. The authors sent invitations to the chosen engineers including the titles of the study, its purpose researchers’ contact information, and informed consent. By accepting the informed consent, the respondents took part in the research.

Tool of data collection

We gathered data by using a well-structured and self-administered questionnaire. The structure of the study consisted of four distinct sections. Three tools used to assess resilience, work engagement and job satisfaction are valid and reliable tools [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. The initial section encompassed personal data, while the second section evaluated resilience by using the Resilience at Work (RAW) scale created by Winwood et al. (2013) [ 17 ]. This scale consisted of 20 items and employed a seven-point Likert scale for rating. The scores on the scale ranged from 1, indicating strong disagreement, to 7, indicating strong agreement. It is reliable instrument as the calculated Cronbach’s alpha = 0.94.

The third section explored work engagement, utilizing the nine-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) established by Schaufeli et al. (2006) [ 18 ]. This scale encompassed the three aspects of work engagement: vigor, absorption, and dedication. The scoring of responses is done on a 6-point Likert scale that ranges from ‘0’ (never) to ‘6’ (always), with a reliability coefficient of α = 0.96. Lastly, the assessment of job satisfaction involved the utilization of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (twenty-item Short-Form) (MSQ). The items on this scale were rated on a five-point Likert scale, with 1 indicating very dissatisfied and 5 indicating very satisfied. Item responses were aggregated to create a total score, where lower scores indicated lower levels of job satisfaction [ 19 ]. The MSQ is a reliable questionnaire whereas the calculated Cronbach’s alpha for MSQ was 0.91.

The original questionnaire in English was bidirectionally “back–back” translated into Arabic. The English-to-Arabic translation was first done by a bilingual translator. Face validity of the Arabic translated version was tested whereas it was reviewed by another bilingual translator for accuracy. Discrepancies resolved through discussion. The questionnaire was back-translated from Arabic to English by a third translator. Adjustments are made to ensure meaning is preserved. A pilot study was carried out on 10 engineers to test the questionnaire to ensure language clarity and feasibility. Data from the pilot study was excluded from the final analysis. After performing any modification in the question’s language according to the pilot participants’ response. The final form of the translated questionnaire was distributed. It was an online Google form survey that was sent to the employees through their emails. The researchers will obtain the participants’ informed consent before starting to fill out the questionnaire.

Data management

The SPSS software program version 22 was utilized for data entry and statistical analysis. Qualitative variables were described in frequency and percentage form. While quantitative variables were summarized in the form of mean (standard deviation) or median (interquartile range). The normality of continuous data was tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The bivariate analysis employed independent samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. The associations between resilience, work engagement and job satisfaction scores were measured by Spearman rho correlation. Simple linear and multiple linear regressions were used to predict work engagement and job satisfaction. A significance level of p -value less than 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance.

This work has been carried out on 100 engineers working in Egyptian Oil and Gas Company. Table  1 displays the participants’ characteristics. Most were male (87%) and married (87%), had a university education (88%), and lived in urban areas (88%). The average work experience was 14.34 ± 5.93 years. Table  1 also shows the scores for resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction: 109.25 ± 18.97, 39.82 ± 12.41, and 79.53 ± 11.67, respectively. The scores for vigor, absorption, and dedication were 12.88 ± 4.14, and 13.40 ± 4.38, 13.54 ± 4.50, respectively.

As seen in Fig.  1 , the median resilience score was 113.00 and the interquartile range (IQR) was 21.75. While the median work engagement score was 43.00 and the IQR was 20.75. However, the job satisfaction median and IQR were 80.00 and 14.75; respectively.

Box-and-whisker plot of resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction scores ( n  = 100)

Table  2 summarizes the relation between the sociodemographic characteristics and the 3 parameters of the study. By using Mann-Whitney U test, the only significant factor was the gender for work engagement, whereas the work engagement was significantly higher among males 41.95 (11.54) than females 25. 54 (8.00).

As shown in Table  3 , there were significant correlations observed between resilience, work engagement, job satisfaction, and the subscales of work engagement such as vigor, dedication, and absorption. The correlation between resilience and work engagement was found to be significantly positive with a moderate correlation coefficient of rho = 0.356. Similarly, the correlation between work engagement and job satisfaction was also significant with a correlation coefficient of rho = 0.396. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation observed between resilience and job satisfaction (rho = 0.608). Additionally, all the subscales of work engagement showed a significant positive strong correlation.

Table  4 demonstrates the significant predictors of work engagement by simple linear and multiple linear regressions as follows: gender, (female coefficient = -16.416, 95% CI= -23.00 - -9.83, -15.517, 95% CI=-21.597 - -9.436; respectively), resilience (coefficient = 0.254, 95% CI = 0.133–0.375, 0.235, 95% CI= -21.597- -9.436; respectively).

With regards to job satisfaction predictors, as seen in Table  5 , resilience and work engagement were significant predictors, resilience coefficient by univariate analysis was 0.366, 95% CI = 0.266–0.465, and by multivariate regression was 0.294, 95% CI = 0.192–0.395. Moreover, the coefficients of work engagement were 0.457, 95% CI = 0.293–0.622 and 0.283, 95% CI = 0.128–0.438 by univariate and by multivariate analyses respectively.

Engineers in oil and gas industry may face high pressures at work due to ongoing global change, economic recession, and work intensification.These pressures can negatively impact their psychological and physical health, as well as their engagement at work. In this study, we aimed to examine the relation between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction among engineers working in an Egyptian gas and oil company.

This study therefore set out in a sample of 100 engineers. The mean age was 39.02 ± 6.92 years. The male gender constituted the majority (87%) of the sample population, while an equal proportion of the sample (87%) were reported to be married, and the sample’s educational attainment was a university education (88%). The mean duration of employment was 14.34 ± 5.93.

Resilience refers to individuals’ ability to effectively handle significant change, adversity, or risk by raising the threshold at which stress arousal occurs [ 20 , 21 ]. Based on the present study, the mean resilience score among the surveyed engineers was 109.25 ± 18.97. This indicates that, on average, the engineers in our study demonstrated a relatively high level of resilience. In contrast, an Ethiopian study examining burnout and resilience levels among healthcare professionals reported a lower mean resilience score compared to our study’s engineers, with a score of 78.36 ± 17.78 [ 22 ]. The difference can be explained by various factors. These factors include differences in the sampled populations, like the specific industry or qualifications of the engineers and the challenges faced by health professionals. Cultural and contextual factors, such as societal norms and work environments, may also have affected resilience levels differently in the two groups. Additionally, Chen et al. (2017) conducted a study on Canadian construction workers and found that higher resilience scores were linked to better stress management abilities at work [ 23 ].

Work engagement is made up of three dimensions: vigor, dedication, and absorption. Employees who are engaged demonstrate a high level of energy and mental resilience, and they willingly put in a significant amount of effort into their assigned tasks. Additionally, they express enthusiasm and take pride in their work [ 24 ]. In our study, the mean work engagement score among engineers was 39.82 ± 12.41. While, the mean job satisfaction score was 79.53 ± 11.67. Regarding, dimensions of work engagement, the most obvious finding was that vigor was strongly linked to both absorption and dedication ( r  = 0.835, 0.865, p  < 0.05), respectively. Also, a strong correlation was observed between dedication and absorption ( r  = 0.885, p  < 0.05). A similar finding has been identified by Abd Elhamed and Hessuin, (2022) who reported a significantly strong positive correlation between all features of work engagement vigor, dedication, and absorption [ 25 ].

Another important finding was the presence of a statistically significant and moderate correlation between resilience and work engagement ( r  = 0.356, p  < 0.05). The multivariate analysis further revealed that resilience significantly predicted work engagement, as indicated by the coefficient value (B = 0.235), indicating that engineers with higher levels of resilience were more likely to experience higher levels of work engagement. It is worth mentioning that vigor, absorption, and dedication exhibited significant correlations with resilience ( r  = 0.393, r  = 0.286, r  = 0.296, p  < 0.05), respectively. This can be clarified by referring to the conservation of resources theory (COR) which focuses on resources and suggests that individuals are motivated to protect and develop their personal resources in order to flourish and deal with stress. Individuals with high levels of personal resources are more likely to show resilience [ 26 ]. As a result, resilient individuals are better prepared to handle job demands and setbacks, preserving their resources and maintaining high levels of work engagement. Additionally, resilience can positively affect work engagement as they allow employees to maintain positive attitudes and create conditions that facilitate achieving goals, also enable individuals to appraise themselves and adapt to their environment effectively [ 10 ]. This association was confirmed in a study of German healthcare professionals, showing a significant link between resilience and work engagement [ 27 ]. Similarly, in a study conducted on 106 South African call center employees, Simons and Buitendach provided evidence of a statistically significant strong correlation between work engagement and resilience ( r  = 0.82, p  ≤ 0.01). In relation to the subscales of work engagement, They found a statistically significant correlation between vigor and resilience ( r  = 0.48, p  ≤ 0.01). A statistically significant link was also observed between dedication and resilience ( r  = 0.33, p  ≤ 0.01), while absorption showed a similar statistically significant correlation with resilience ( r  = 0.34; p  ≤ 0.01) [ 28 ]. In previous studies conducted by Malik and Garg (2018) focusing on Indian employees in the Information technology sector, as well as Abd Elhamed and Hessuin (2022) examining Egyptian nurses, a noteworthy correlation between work engagement and resilience was observed [ 2 , 25 ].

Contemporary evidence indicates that a significant relationship can be observed between resilience and work happiness, job satisfaction, job performance, and organizational commitment [ 21 , 29 , 30 ]. Interestingly, we also noticed a strong correlation ( r  = 0.608, p  < 0.05) between resilience and job satisfaction. This implies that as resilience is enhanced, job satisfaction also increases. It is worth noting that also resilience emerged as a significant predictor of job satisfaction (B = 0.294).

One potential reason is that resilience enables the maintenance of effective performance and the ability to deal with challenges. Additionally, it promotes the fulfillment of developmental objectives and is related to mental well-being and overall wellness. Accordingly, highly resilient people have good self-esteem and health and can handle work challenges well, leading to increased efficiency, productivity, and eventually job satisfaction. The relationship could also be clarified using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. In this model, job characteristics are divided into job demands and resources. Job demands, such as workplace adversity and demands, along with job resources, like resilience, can predict a range of positive and negative job-related outcomes, including burnout and job satisfaction, as well as personal outcomes such as health and well-being [ 31 ]. Piotrowski et al. (2022) have employed a similar design to examine resilience, occupational stress, and job satisfaction among nurses and midwives in Poland during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to their findings, there is an average correlation between job satisfaction and resilience ( r  = 0.30, p  < 0.01). In addition, their study has identified resilience as a statistically significant predictor of job satisfaction (coefficient = 0.17, p  < 0.001) [ 14 ]. Similarly, Srivastava and Madan (2020) have investigated the relationship between resilience and career satisfaction among middle-level managers in private banks in India. They have discovered a significant association between resilience and job satisfaction (B = 0.22, p  < 0.01) [ 9 ]. Kim et al. (2011), Rahmawati (2013), Hudgins (2016), and Ghandi et al. (2017) have all found evidence to support the notion that there is a significant correlation between job satisfaction and resilience. These researchers have reported correlation coefficients of 0.380, 0.366, 0.51, and 0.56, respectively, all of which are statistically significant at p  < 0.05 [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Comparably, research conducted in Singapore revealed a strong correlation between resilience and the level of job satisfaction experienced by psychiatric nurses (B = 0.109, p  = 0.003) [ 36 ]. The varying degrees of correlations could be partly related to the nature of the job as well as different tools used to assess job satisfaction and resilience.

This study’s findings further indicated a significant moderate association between job satisfaction and work engagement ( r  = 0.396, p  < 0.05). In this study, vigor, dedication, and absorption had significantly moderate correlation with job satisfaction ( r  = 0.416, r  = 0.341, r  = 0.322, p  < 0.05), respectively. It is worth noting that work engagement was a significant predictor of job satisfaction (B = 0.283). This implies that engineers who were more involved in their work expressed greater levels of satisfaction with their job. Consequently, these findings highlight the significance of work engagement as a crucial factor in determining job satisfaction. A likely explanation for this might be that work engagement contributes to a sense of accomplishment, experience of personal growth and job enrichment as well as perceiving work as rewarding and meaningful, resulting in job satisfaction. Similarly, job satisfaction enhances motivation, commitment, and enthusiasm toward work, creating a positive environment. It leads to increased work engagement and a sense of belonging. Together, job satisfaction and work engagement create a positive cycle. Our findings align with the work done by Jenaro et al. (2011), which concluded that vigor and dedication were significantly linked to job satisfaction [ 37 ]. Similarly, a study in Turkey revealed that work engagement of certified public accountants is positively relate with job satisfaction demonstrating that employee’s higher resilience and work engagement were more satisfied with their job [ 38 ]. In line with the findings, a study by Ge et al. (2021) on Chinese healthcare workers also discovered that work engagement and job satisfaction are correlated ( r  = 0.525, p  < 0.01) [ 39 ].

Clearly, it is evident that comparable trends have been identified in numerous sectors in numerous research studies which have demonstrated a positive correlation between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction across various occupations. This suggests that these factors play a crucial role in overall job satisfaction and well-being. Moreover, despite the diverse demands and stressors faced by different professions, the overarching theme of the significance of resilience and work engagement in improving job satisfaction remains constant.

Regarding the relationship of sociodemographic and work-related characteristics with resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction, this study showed that gender specifically being male was significantly associated with higher mean work engagement ( p  < 0.05). Additionally, in this study, the multivariate analysis revealed that among demographic and work-related variables only gender was a significant predictor of work engagement (female coefficient =-15.517). Males may seem more engaged at work for various reasons. Stereotypes and biases linking engineering to masculinity may deter women from pursuing careers in this field. Consequently, there may be fewer female engineers and potentially lower engagement levels among those who do enter the field. Furthermore, Societal expectations and traditional gender roles can hinder women from balancing work and family responsibilities, making it harder for them to fully engage in their careers.

However, this study has been unable to demonstrate associations between other sociodemographic, work-related characteristics, resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction. The reason for this is not clear but it might be explained in this way; sociodemographic data (e.g., age, gender, education) and work duration may shed some light on individuals’ experiences, but they do not fully determine job satisfaction, resilience, or work engagement. Also, multiple factors, including the nature of the work, work-life balance, relationships with colleagues and supervisors, growth opportunities, and personal characteristics (e.g., psychological factors, emotional intelligence), can influence job satisfaction, resilience, as well as work engagement [ 40 ].

The objective of our research was to examine the relationship between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction among engineers in an Oil and Gas company. By investigating these relationships, we aimed to provide insights into the factors that contribute to engineers’ job satisfaction within this specific industry context. Our findings successfully addressed this objective and shed light on the interplay between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction among engineers. Therefore, the results of our study have important implications for occupational psychology. Our research provides evidence of the relationship between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction, which improves our understanding of these concepts. The findings also emphasize the significance of resilience and work engagement in boosting job satisfaction for engineers. Accordingly, it is crucial to the Oil and Gas sector which is a high-pressure industry to implement strategies to support and enhance these factors among its employees by offering opportunities for growth, and creating a supportive work environment.

Study limitations

While this study sheds light on the link between resilience, work engagement, as well as job satisfaction, several limitations should be acknowledged. Firstly, this study utilized a cross-sectional survey design, which makes it challenging to establish causal relationships among the variables. To address this issue, future research should employ longitudinal designs to examine the temporal relationships between these variables. Secondly, the study was performed within a specific oil and gas company, limiting the generalizability of the findings to other organizations within the industry or to engineers in different sectors. Further research should explore these relationships in diverse companies and industries to provide a broader understanding of the associations between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction. Thirdly, the data were gathered through self-report measures, which may introduce information bias. Future research could incorporate objective measures or multiple sources of data to enhance the validity of the findings.

In conclusion, our study highlights the positive associations between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction among engineers within an Oil and Gas company with resilience was a significant predictive factor of both work engagement and job satisfaction. Additionally, this study indicates a significant positive correlation between work engagement and job satisfaction, highlighting the crucial role of resilience and work engagement in fostering job satisfaction among employees.

Recommendations

Overall, this research strengthens the idea that organizations particularly in the Oil and Gas sector should prioritize initiatives and programs that focus on improving the resilience of their staff members. This can involve providing resources for stress management, workshops or training to enhance resilience, and promoting a culture that values emotional well-being and personal growth. Furthermore, it is recommended that companies actively promote work-life balance in order to assist employees in building and sustaining resilience and engagement at work, with a particular emphasis on female workers. In the future. Longitudinal studies could be conducted to examine the causal relationships between resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction among engineers in the Oil and Gas industry. Moreover, qualitative research could be employed to delve into the specific mechanisms and factors that contribute to resilience and work engagement within this particular industry. Lastly, it would be beneficial to examine the effects of organizational interventions and support systems on resilience, work engagement, and job satisfaction in order to develop evidence-based practices and policies.

Data availability

The datasets utilized and/or analyzed in the present study can be accessed by reaching out to the corresponding author through a reasonable inquiry.

Abbreviations

Resilience at Work

Utrecht Work Engagement Scale

Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire

Standard Deviation

Interquartile Range

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Both authors, BAI and SMH, actively participate in the selection of the topic, formulation of the research proposal, and collection of data. SMH takes charge of analyzing the data and composing the results, while BAI assumes responsibility for writing the discussion. The manuscript is a collaborative effort between both authors, who diligently work together to ensure its quality. Furthermore, they thoroughly review and give their approval to the final version.

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The study received approval from the Research Ethics Committee of Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University approval No. 5363# on 22/6/2023. The participants agreed on the ethical consent before starting to fill out the survey. The ethical consent agreement was a required section before the questions. The informed consent described the aim of the study, purpose of research, researchers’ information, and voluntary participation. Questionnaires were anonymous to ensure confidentiality of data.

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Ibrahim, B.A., Hussein, S.M. Relationship between resilience at work, work engagement and job satisfaction among engineers: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health 24 , 1077 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18507-9

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18507-9

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