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Journal of Advances in Management Research

ISSN : 0972-7981

Article publication date: 11 February 2019

Issue publication date: 11 July 2019

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize the fragmented literature on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), leader–member exchange (LMX), learning, innovative work behavior (IWB) and employee performance across different countries, disciplines and organizations, thereby broadening the literature breath and making gap identification comprehensive. Second, it provides information on how much studies have been concentrated on Africa with the goal of provoking scholarly work in a unique cultural setting on the interrelatedness of these concepts.

Design/methodology/approach

Relevant literature search was undertaken using key search terms, “employee performance,” “OCB,” “LMX,” “IWB,” “individual learning” and “team learning.”

The findings show positive relationships between the behaviors and employee performance. They also reveal an interesting diversity in the study across multidisciplinary fields holding both cultural and contextual significance for academia and practitioners.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of literature to peer-reviewed journals from the authors’ university library might have missed important information not in this domain. Further studies must make use of additional search terms and engines excluded from this study to provide a more comprehensive analysis.

Practical implications

The paper has important managerial implications for practitioners. The analysis can support the understanding of employee performance from a broader and more diverse view points; and help in providing insight into real-life opportunities, constraints and solutions in enhancing performance management.

Originality/value

This systematic literature review highlights important knowledge gaps which need to be explored especially in the African and Ghanaian contexts.

Innovative work behaviour
Leader-member exchange
Organizational citizenship behaviour
Employee performance
Individual learning
Team learning

Atatsi, E.A. , Stoffers, J. and Kil, A. (2019), "Factors affecting employee performance: a systematic literature review", Journal of Advances in Management Research , Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 329-351. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-06-2018-0052

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Strengthening the impact of career development on job performance: the important role of organizational and individual factors

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JOB SATISFACTION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A THEORETICAL REVIEW OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO VARIABLES

In today's increasing competitive environment, organizations recognize the internal human element as a fundamental source of improvement. On one hand, managers are concentrating on employees' wellbeing, wants, needs, personal goals and desires, to understand the job satisfaction. And on the other hand, managers take organizational decisions based on the employees' performance. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing job satisfaction and the determinants of employee performance, and accordingly reviewing the relationship between them. This study is an interpretivist research that focuses on exploring the influence of job satisfaction on employee performance and vice, the influence of employee performance on job satisfaction. The study also examines the nature of the relationship between these two variables. The study reveals the dual direction of the relationship that composes a cycle cause and effect relationship, so satisfaction leads to performance and performance leads to satisfaction through number of mediating factors. Successful organizations are those who apply periodic satisfaction and performance measurement tests to track the level of these important variables and set the corrective actions.

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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.

Peer Review reports

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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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

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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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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.

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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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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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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-021-00077-6

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Int J Environ Res Public Health

Correlation between Employee Performance, Well-Being, Job Satisfaction, and Life Satisfaction in Sedentary Jobs in Slovenian Enterprises

Zinka kosec.

1 Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Stella Sekulic

2 Dental Division, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

3 National Institute for Public Health, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Susan Wilson-Gahan

4 Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield Central 4300, Australia

Katja Rostohar

Matej tusak, associated data.

The data reported in this study are available on request from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. The data are not publicly available due to its proprietary nature.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between employees’ work performance and their well-being, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction in sedentary jobs in Slovenian enterprises using a mixed-methods research design. The quantitative component of the research included the responses to four selected questionnaires of 120 employees in 22 identified enterprises (out of 81), with more than 20 employees, having more than 85 percent sedentary jobs. Each of four questionnaires was chosen to cover one area of enquiry under the research foci of work performance, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and well-being. The statistical program STATA was used for data analyses. The analysis shows statistically significant positive correlations between employee performance and job satisfaction (r = 0.35), employee performance and life satisfaction (r = 0.28), life satisfaction and well-being (r = 0.33), and job satisfaction and well-being, whereas the correlation between well-being and work performance did not prove to be statistically significant. The qualitative component of the mixed-methods research design included systematic observation combined with one-to-one discussions. The results indicated that job satisfaction and life satisfaction are more significant in determining work performance in sedentary jobs than employee well-being and that being unwell is still considered a sign of weakness; therefore, employees who are unwell do not want to expose themselves and refuse to cooperate in activities and studies about well-being. Further research examining the impact on work performance of organizational climate measurements in sedentary jobs is recommended.

1. Introduction

A person’s patterns of thinking and feelings are affected by internal and external environments in their life, including their profession and work conditions as some of the most important factors [ 1 ], which in turn have a negative impact on their lifestyle and work performance. Employers should be aware of the many factors that influence work environment, job and life satisfaction, well-being, and mental health, especially in sedentary jobs, since sedentary behavior has become a significant health issue in a post-industrialized world [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] and part of the dissatisfying lifestyle of many employees. Workplace environments are target settings for introducing processes of intervention to reduce sedentary behavior [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Different approaches designed to implement employees’ greater range of motion and standing during work hours have come to the fore [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Standing desks or desks that can accommodate standing or sitting have been introduced into work environments. Many companies provide different programs and equipment for their employees, active breaks during work hours, and policies about taking a break from the screen [ 3 ], which is especially recommended for older employees [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. There is a lot of evidence that sedentary behavior influences the quality of life [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ] and productivity [ 11 ]. Several studies have found that prolonged sitting time leads to cognitive impairment [ 10 ], mobility limitation [ 8 ], increased risk of mortality [ 12 ], and reduced quality of life in general [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].

Many companies have been trying to gain a sustainable competitive advantage by improving the effectiveness of work engagement interventions [ 13 ]. Work engagement, i.e., work performance, refers to a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption [ 14 ]. Work performance is defined as the total expected value to the organization of discrete behavioral episodes that an individual carries out over a standard period [ 15 ].

Organizations that focus on their employees’ welfare believe that employees’ attitudes and behaviors play a key role in improving the performance of an organization [ 13 , 16 ]. The organizational climate reflects employees’ perceptions of the policies, practices, and procedures that are expected, supported, and rewarded through the human resources department of the organization [ 17 ]. The organizational climate is a meaningful component with significant implications in human resource management and organizational behavior [ 16 ]. A complete reference guide, interventions, and policies to enhance employees’ well-being exist [ 17 , 18 ]. Environmentally sound behavior can be recognized through employees’ well-being and satisfaction, which are fundamental to employees’ quality work performance within organizations, particularly for employees in sedentary jobs, who often perform cognitive tasks that need a clear mind [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. The effectiveness of physical activity interventions in improving well-being across office-based workplace settings [ 22 ], the association of sedentary behavior with metabolic syndrome [ 23 ], as well as the relation between financial incentives, motivation, and performance [ 24 ], are issues that fueled a great deal of research in the fields of management, occupational health, work and organizational psychology [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].

Although there is no consensus about a single definition of well-being, there is a general agreement that well-being includes the presence of positive emotions and moods (e.g., contentment), the absence of negative emotions (e.g., depression and anxiety), satisfaction with life, fulfillment, and positive functioning [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Well-being has been defined as the combination of feeling good and functioning well; the experience of positive emotions such as happiness and contentment as well as the development of one’s potential, having some control over one’s life, having a sense of purpose, and experiencing positive relationships [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Researchers from several areas have examined diverse aspects of well-being [ 17 ], i.e., physical, economic, social, emotional, and psychological well-being, development and activity, life satisfaction, domain-specific satisfaction, engaging activities, and work [ 17 , 18 ].

Empirical studies report strong correlations between social contact as well as health and subjective well-being [ 19 ]. Research on employees’ well-being operating in organizations was only developed a few decades ago. The examination of the relationship between employees’ well-being and the cardiovascular system, for example, revealed that physical and psychological well-being should be understood as a source of effectiveness [ 12 , 19 ]. In the past two decades, considerable development in the economics of subjective well-being is reflected in the great number of research studies published reporting the quality of life and its determinants [ 14 , 15 , 18 , 21 , 22 , 24 ].

Subjective well-being is a concept generally operationalized as multifaceted in nature, with both affective and cognitive components [ 17 , 18 , 25 ].

Among the constituent components of subjective well-being, life satisfaction was identified as a distinct construct representing a cognitive and global evaluation of the quality of one’s life as a whole [ 17 ]. Although life satisfaction is correlated with affective components of subjective well-being, it forms a separate factor from the other types of well-being [ 18 , 25 ]. Comprehensive assessment of subjective well-being requires separate measures of both life satisfaction and affective components of subjective well-being [ 21 ].

Life satisfaction is a cognitive evaluation of the overall quality of one’s life [ 21 ] and is one of the many overlapping facets of subjective well-being [ 25 ]. Life satisfaction is related to self-perception [ 26 ] and is a significant predictor of employees’ productivity in sedentary jobs [ 11 ], specifically in older adults [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].

Various studies [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] analyzed factors associated with life satisfaction and well-being and investigated what makes people happy [ 31 ]. The effect of age and body composition of office employees was examined [ 32 ], as well as stress and resilience potential [ 33 ] in different professions [ 34 ]. In such studies, the authors mentioned methodological limitations relevant to measurement scales [ 35 ], empirical models’ validations [ 36 ], statistical power analyses in behavioral science [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], and other principles and applications of qualitative research [ 41 ].

Life satisfaction judgments are mostly based on a person’s subjective criteria rather than necessarily reflecting outward conditions [ 25 , 26 , 29 ]. However, the assessment of life satisfaction can be only marginally influenced by mood and context since life satisfaction is a temporally stable construct [ 26 ]. Life satisfaction evaluations are broadly associated with other stable traits. The empirical relationships are consistent with the theory regarding core self-evaluations, which suggests that dispositions are important explanatory variables for predicting various forms of subjective well-being [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 22 , 27 , 28 ].

Job satisfaction is the result of a person’s attitude towards work and the factors associated with their work and life in general [ 15 , 16 , 21 , 22 ] and is closely related to work performance [ 15 , 16 , 21 , 22 , 31 ]. Several studies found a positive correlation between job satisfaction, the organizational climate [ 16 ], and overall performance [ 21 , 22 ].

Many authors mentioned other methodological dilemmas, i.e., different measurement scales [ 35 ] and empirical validations [ 36 , 40 ], i.e., also the calculation of posterior distributions by data augmentation [ 41 ], and different variations of satisfaction surveys [ 42 ]. Unfortunately, many studies on workplace characteristics, well-being, and life and job satisfaction rely primarily on cross-sectional self-reported surveys [ 8 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 43 ], making it difficult to disentangle the relationship between constructs. It has been a trend lately to develop work environment by various systematic approaches, e.g., the Human Resources Index [HRI] measurement [ 43 ]. In addition, motivation, and more specifically intrinsic motivation, was an important determinant of psychological well-being, gaining greater influence among male participants who had a higher level of physical activity, highlighting the need to increase one’s intrinsic motivation [ 44 ]. There are also always questions connected to lifestyle, in modern society especially related to eating habits [ 45 ]. The dynamic, adaptable complex approaches are especially important in recent years in response to COVID-19, connected with changes in general lifestyle, physical activity patterns, and sedentary behavior and associations with mental health [ 44 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ], especially in computer workers, as one of the most typical sedentary works. In recent years, authors have suggested different models for the balance between work and life for subjective well-being, e.g., the moderated mediation model [ 50 ], or they have written about exploring the nature and antecedents of employee energetic well-being at work and job performance [ 51 ]. A special case is also well-being at work after a return to work [ 52 ]. This was considered as not under the special focus of our research; however, it was recognized as part of the organizational culture in the enterprises.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between employees’ work performance and their well-being, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction in sedentary jobs in Slovenian enterprises with more than 80% sedentary workplaces, using a mixed-methods research design. This is the first time that research has been conducted into the correlation between employee performance, well-being, job satisfaction and life satisfaction in Slovenian enterprises, making the research a unique contribution to the field. The main gaps, which are supplemented by our studies, encourage similar further studies in sedentary jobs in Slovenia with the final goal to improve not only work performance but also the organizational culture in enterprises with sedentary jobs in Slovenia.

2. Materials and Methods

Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied. All authors collaborated to design the procedure, while the first author carried out data collection. The possibility of a face-to-face or telephone conversation to explain further details of this study was offered to all participants and eleven of them used the opportunity to be provided with further information, while the remaining participants provided their consent to participate without asking for further explanation.

The methodological tool of this study was questionnaires, which have been used and proven in similar studies [ 15 , 25 , 36 , 38 , 42 ]. In addition, selected human resource management (HRM) professionals reviewed the questions to test the acceptance and feasibility of the questionnaire for our sample. To pilot test the questionnaire prior to the beginning of the trial, HRM professionals were approached that had been identified as being willing to volunteer to use the questionnaire. The data sets were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and analysis of reliability (STATA).

2.1. Quantitative Methodology

The first part consisted of a set of broad, self-report, psychometrically valid questionnaires conducted by the first author in the 22 organizations that have mostly (more than 90%) sedentary workplaces in Slovenia. A short explanation of the basic terminology used was added as an introduction to the questionnaires relating to work performance, well-being, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction.

2.2. Study Participants and Data Collection

The research team initially sent invitations with an explanation of the purpose of this study to the 81 identified enterprises, spending more than 85% of working time in sedentary positions. After detailed explanations, 22 of the invitees agreed to cooperate. Permissions and guidelines for the testing protocols and the design of this study, as well as any additional information required, were established through several face-to-face meetings and telephone conversations with executive managements and HRM specialists of the selected enterprises participating. In the pre-phase, the participant–employees were also offered the possibility of a face-to-face or telephone conversation about any details or additional information they required about this study. Eleven employees asked for additional information. Data collection was carried out from September 2018 to April 2019, with one day spent in each enterprise. Completion of all measurements for this study took approximately two hours per participant, between 9:00 A.M. and 3:00 P.M. To ensure standardized conditions, data collection took place in a designated meeting room which was intimate while also being large enough for completing all required measurements. Employees were from different levels of the organizational hierarchies and were categorized according to their role, gender, age, and education level ( Table 1 ). Each employee was required to work an eight-hour day, starting between 6:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. and finishing between 2:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. ( Table 1 ).

General characterization of the participants.

Note: N (number of participants); SD (standard deviation). Body mass index classification: underweight <18.4; normal weight 18.5–24.9; overweight 25.0–29.9; obesity ≥30.0.

2.3. Procedure

All authors collaborated to develop the design of the procedure, while data collection was carried out by the first author.

Study participants were informed in advance of the purpose of this study, guaranteed anonymity and that the data analysis would be based on the responses of all organizations as a whole and not at the individual company level.

In the first phase of the procedure, conversations with employees who wanted further explanation were carried out. The questions referred to the aims of this study, the topics, the hypothesis, if any, as well as the conducted research and their results. The remaining participants provided consent to cooperate without asking for further explanation. After a positive response from all the participants, the testing procedure was carried out in the participants’ workplace. A short explanation of basic terminology used was also added as an introduction to the questionnaire.

The aim of this study was to collect information about four components of work: (i) employee performance; (ii) well-being; (iii) job satisfaction; and (iv) life satisfaction. The first part consisted of a set of broad, self-report, psychometrically valid questionnaires. The adapted self-assessment questionnaires were validated and translated into Slovenian.

The following self-reported questionnaires were used; one for each of the four components of work being researched. That is, employee performance, well-being, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction.

Employee performance: The Employee Performance Questionnaire (EPQ) [ 38 ] (Capital Associated Industries, Inc. (Raleigh, NC, USA), 2011) is a valid [ 36 ] measure that assesses individuals on different parameters related to a wide range of working skills (e.g., working at full potential, quality of work, consistency of work, communication, independence, taking initiative, teamwork, productivity, creativity, honesty, integrity, relationships with colleagues, relationships with customers, technical knowledge, reliability, accuracy, and presence). It consists of 23 items with one reverse question and five response options: One participant indicated that the suggested questions did not apply to them, while five participants indicated aptitude. The EPQ is characterized by a total score with a possible range of scores from 23 to 115.
Well-being: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) [ 42 ] is a consistent, reliable self-report questionnaire designed for use in a variety of settings and cultures in general population samples. There are several versions of the GHQ [ 42 ]. In this study, we used the GHQ-12 due to the simplicity of application in practice and research. The selected version consists of 12 items that examine the mental health of individuals by rating a specific symptom experience or current behavior on a 4-point scale (less than usual, no more than usual, rather more than usual, or much more than usual). It is characterized by a total score of 12–36.
Job satisfaction: The Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (JSQ) [ 42 ] is a psychometrically valid self-report questionnaire that measures an individual’s job satisfaction [ 42 ]. It consists of 13 questions and five response options, with 1 indicating strong disagreement and 5 indicating strong agreement with the suggested statements. It is characterized by a total score in the range of 13–65.
Life satisfaction: The Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSQ) [ 15 , 25 ] is a brief psychometrically based 5-item instrument designed to measure global cognitive assessments of life satisfaction. It consists of five items and seven response options, from 1 indicating strong disagreement to 7 indicating strong agreement. The LSQ has excellent psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and test–retest reliability. It is characterized by a total score in the range of 7–35.

The data collected from the questionnaires were accompanied by systematic observation, which was introduced as an objective, well-ordered method for close examination of the selected aspects of this study. Systematic observation involved questions about the participants’ opinions on concrete activities to promote health and well-being in the organizations, on life and job satisfaction in sedentary jobs, and on why some employees decided to cooperate and some not. Systematic observation and a number of in-person, one-to-one discussions were undertaken in the same session of the preparation phase, especially with people who supported the authors in organizing data collection in the company (mostly HR specialists or directors), and later with the respondents while conducting the survey.

The Ethical Committee at the Faculty of Sports, the University of Ljubljana (No. 5) approved this study in March 2018.

2.4. Data Analyses

The statistical software STATA (Stata Statistical Software: Release 14.2, rev.19; 2016, StataCorp LP, College Station, TX, USA) was used to analyze sample data.

Using descriptive methods, the sample was analyzed by taking measurements of the frequency and percentages of responses to all questions. The statistical analysis was blinded to the researchers and conducted independently. Descriptive statistics, such as proportions for categorical variables and mean values and standard deviations for numeric variables, were used to summarize respondents’ characteristics.

Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances ( p = 0.05) was used to calculate the differences between groups according to:

Age (range 19–35; age range 36–70),
Gender (man/woman),
BMI (normal weight = 18.5–24.9; pre-obesity = 25.0–29.9), and
Education level (high school degree = 2; college and university degree = 3).

Respondents’ self-report EPQ, GHQ, JSQ, and LSQ scores were summarized with an average score for each question (for each individual). The correlation between the results of the self-assessed variables from the questionnaires (the EPQ, the GHQ, the JSQ and the LSQ) was applied, where the magnitude of correlation coefficients was explained according to Hemphill [ 39 ]. The effect size was considered as low when the value ranged from 0.1 to 0.3, moderate when it ranged from 0.3 to 0.5, and large when it ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 [ 41 ]. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between one dependent variable calculation (the EPQ, which consisted of 23 variables), and three independent variables (the GHQ consisting of 12 items, the JSQ of 13, and the LSQ of five items). R-squared (R 2 ) was used to measure a proportion of explained variance represents the fit of the data to the model. The effect size was considered low when R 2 was <0.3, no effect or very weak when R 2 was 0.3, medium when R 2 was 0.5, and large when R 2 was 0.7 [ 41 ].

Adjusted R-squared measures were used to test the fit of the model.

2.5. Qualitative Methods

The qualitative research methodology was mostly followed according to Evans et al. [ 41 ].

Question-focused analysis was used as a starting point when organizing the raw data, and the responses that had similar themes and that represented the same points were grouped together. All the information was transcribed verbatim and read through several times by the authors. The first-named author then conducted a thematic analysis according to Braun and Clark and Evans et al. [ 41 ], whereby initial comments, codes and memos were categorized systematically into broader themes and concise phases as evident in Table 2 . The six phases identified were (i) becoming familiar with the data, (ii) generating initial codes, (iii) identifying potential themes, (iv) reviewing themes, (v) defining and naming the themes and (vi) producing the report.

Estimated correlation matrix and the significance of self-report instruments.

Note: * Significance p < 0.05.

The qualitative method involved information about specification of the exact actions, attributes, and other variables that were systematically written in the preparation phase and after each data collection, through administration of questionnaires in all organizations. With this observation, the authors aimed to explore how decisions were made and provided the researchers with detailed insight. The data analysis followed the principles of qualitative methodologies [ 41 ].

The main questions in the one-to-one discussion were:

What is the reason that you agree to participate in actives connected with work performance, job satisfaction and life satisfaction measurements (also in this study)?
What is your opinion about the significance of job satisfaction, life satisfaction and well-being measurements for work performance?
What is your opinion about employees’ willingness/unwillingness to participate in actives connected with work performance and your opinion about the general organizational climate in the enterprises?
Should companies in Slovenia invest more in employees’ work performance (in their well-being, job, and life satisfaction)? If yes/no, what are your reasons?

3.1. Demographic Data of the Participants

A convenience sample of 120 employees from 22 organizations—65 of whom were female, with an age range from 25 to 69 years, and 55 of whom were male, with and age range from 22 to 70—participated in this study. The main criterion was having a sedentary job. Employees were of different levels of the organizational hierarchies: operational workers (57%), management (9.8%), division management (9.1%), directors and owners (3.3%), and sole traders (14.0%). The study participants were also categorized according to their education level ( Table 1 ).

A total of 120 respondents from 22 organizations completed the EPQ, the GHQ, the JSQ, and the LSQ ( Table 1 ).

The mean age of the participants (SD) was 35.1 (±12.9) years and more than half of them were female (53.3%). The mean height and weight of the participants were 1.7 m and 74.3 kg, respectively, which was considered ‘normal weight’ when assessing the body mass index (BMI) of the participants according to the World Health Organization BMI classification [ 45 ].

Among the organizations, 39.3% of all employees worked in a small organization with the working group of less than 10 employees, which is the highest proportion in the sample; 20.5% worked in a group of 11–50 employees; 28.7% in a group of 51–250 employees; only 11.5% of all employees worked in a group with more than 250 employees.

The majority of study participants (41.0%) had a secondary school diploma or bachelor’s degree prior to the Bologna Process, while 38.5% had completed secondary schooling and 16.4% a master’s or specialization or Ph.D.

EPQ: The EPQ was measured on a on a scale of 1–5. Employees assessed their own work performance as high; the mean score of the EPQ reached 4.2 (SD = 0.04), which is a high score. Accordingly, the differences between the respondents were minor. The lowest value was 3.1, and approximately 80% of the estimates were higher than 4.0.

GHQ: The mean value of the GHQ on a scale of 0–3 was 1.38 (SD = 0.04). The scores were almost symmetrically distributed. The differences between respondents were typical of normal distribution.

JSQ: The JSQ was measured on a scale of 1–5. The mean value of the JSQ was 3.84 (SD = 0.06). Similarly to the EPQ, the JSQ scores showed progress in a positive direction and little difference between respondents. The lowest score was 0.17, while the highest score was 2.75.

LSQ: The LSQ scores were measured on a scale of 1–7, where the mean value was 4.86 (SD = 0.11). The differences between respondents were significant. The lowest mean value was 1.67, and the highest was 7.0. Nearly ten percent (9.8%) of the respondents reported dissatisfaction with work, with a mean value of <3. More than 80% of respondents reported their satisfaction with work, with a score of four or more.

3.2. Employee Work Performance and the Selected Variables (Well-Being, Job and Life Satisfaction)

The correlations between the Employee Performance Questionnaire (EPQ) and the selected factors from the GHQ (well-being), by the JSQ (job satisfaction) and by the LSQ (life satisfaction) were measured with correlation and regression analysis.

The analyses of the results showed statistically significant positive correlations between estimates of the EPQ and the JSQ (r = 0.36) and between estimates of employee performance and life satisfaction (r = 0.29). Cohen’s effect size was medium, showing no correlation between employee performance and general health (r = −0.08), possibly a negative correlation between the two measures although not statistically significant ( p = 0.33) ( Table 3 ).

Regression analysis between one dependent (EPQ) and three independent variables results (GHQ, JSQ, and LSQ).

Note: Coeff. (coefficient); t (t-statistic); N (number of participants). The standardized coefficient estimates the mean change in the dependent variable for a 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in the independent variable.

Multiple linear regression was calculated to predict work performance based on the GHQ, JSQ and LSQ results. A significant regression equation was identified, F (3, 116) = 7.70, p = 0.0001, with an R 2 of 0.166.

Participants’ EPQ result was equal to 3.109 ± 0.066; GHQ 3.109 ± 0.181; JSQ 3.109 ± 0.076; LSQ (with GHQ, JSQ, and LSQ scores measured as means).

Both the JSQ ( p = 0.001) and LSQ results (0.021) significantly affected the EPQ values, while the GHQ results (0.444) did not. A graphical representation of the correlation from the regression model is shown in detail in Figure 1 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is ijerph-19-10427-g001.jpg

Scatter plots of the EPQ associated with the GHQ, JSQ, and satisfaction with life scale (SWLS = LSQ) means in the regression model. Coeff. (coefficient), SE (standard error), and t (t-statistic).

3.3. Qualitative Method Results

Thematic analysis was used as a starting point after organizing the raw data, and the responses that had similar themes and that represented the same points were grouped together.

More than expected results and themes were found for the final report from thematic analysis:

Systematic observation

Employees who explain their overall status as ‘healthy and wealthy’ and themselves as ‘a productive employee’ are ready to cooperate in research.
Employees who are not in good health try to hide their condition and are not ready to speak about it in a company setting.
Employees who are not in good health feel vulnerable and deny all sorts of activities in the enterprises.
In the testing process, the study participants insisted that the data only be analyzed as part of the whole sample and not on an individual basis or within one company.
Employees who were not ready to cooperate are also not ready to take part in other healthy lifestyle activities being organized in the frame of company.
Employees who are not ready to take part in this research also in general refuse nearly all ‘well-being and social lifestyle’ activities in the enterprise and in their leisure time.

One-to-one discussions:

The respondents (employees in the enterprises who were ready to take part in this research) reported that employees from all companies in general are divided into two groups concerning work performance topics—those willing to participate and those who would absolutely not. They were always on the opposite ends of the spectrum, which could mean that cohesion in not high and that the organizational climate is not optimal.
Employees who were ready to participate reported their opinion that they represented the better part of employees in the organizations, that they always cooperate, that they are more motivated for better work performance and that they are more productive. They call themselves cooperative employees.
The cooperative employees reported that there are some employees in the enterprises who are not cooperative, because they try to hide their level of well-being, their health and lifestyle status.
According to management representatives, employees who are not in good health feel vulnerable and refuse to participate in all sorts of activities organized in their company.
Respondents reported that employees who were not ready to take part in this research (called ‘those others’) also in general refuse to participate in nearly all well–being and social activities in their company and in their leisure time.
Respondents reported that “those others” are not motivated and are not concerned with creating a good organizational climate.
Although anonymity in the testing process was provided to all, the participants reported concerns and doubts, insisting that the data should only be analyzed as part of the whole sample and not on an individual basis or within one company.

Thematic analysis (coding and iterative comparison) gave some interesting conclusions ( Table 4 ).

Results of systematic observations and one-to-one dissuasions.

4. Discussion

The labor market is constantly changing, and sedentary work behavior is nowadays, due to technological advancement and new lifestyles, becoming even more pervasive worldwide. One of the questions is how the new conditions influence work performance, responsibilities, and ability to do the job well. This motivated our research on sedentary jobs for the first time in Slovenia together with well-being and other characteristics. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between work performance and different factors (well-being, job, and life satisfaction) in sedentary jobs. The results show statistically significant correlations between work performance and two measured factors—job satisfaction and life satisfaction. On the other hand, the correlation between well-being and work performance surprisingly did not prove to be statistically significant. Nevertheless, our results showed that well-being is significantly correlated with job and life satisfaction, which are correlated with work performance. On that basis, it can be concluded that there is some indirect relationship between work performance and well-being, which was also established in some earlier studies [ 19 , 23 , 26 ].

The correlations between job satisfaction [ 14 , 15 ], life satisfaction [ 5 , 6 ], and work performance have already been proven in many countries. It has also been found that sedentary behavior negatively correlates with an active lifestyle [ 4 , 6 ] and with less effective work performance [ 14 , 35 ], which also supports our conclusions. Furthermore, our systematic observation findings indicate specific problems in the organizational climate among employees and point to a significant division between the groups and consequential low team cohesiveness, which is essential for team or group effectiveness and work performance [ 50 ]. In our study, the group of employees who were willing to participate called themselves ‘cooperative employees’, whereas employees who were not ready to take part in this study were referred to as ‘those others’, those who never cooperate and always complain. We regret that we were not able to conduct one-to-one discussions with the ‘those others’ group and determine the reasons for their refusal to participate. Many respondents reported their opinion that those who refused to participate in this study in general create a negative working atmosphere in the studied companies. Such opinions were also confirmed by the opinion of management representatives. This calls for new approaches for improving the general organizational climate in Slovenian enterprises, as a base for other necessary improvements. Our findings could, therefore, also serve as an incentive to develop new practical interventions and approaches to improving the organizational climate, as the main goal is to improve work performance and thus all factors that might affect it.

Job satisfaction can be improved in practice by encouraging employees and making them encourage other employees [ 14 , 15 , 20 , 21 , 30 ], which also improves team cohesion [ 37 ], by giving them access to information and all necessary resources to perform their job efficiently, giving them real-time feedback on their job performance [ 43 ] and by providing them with opportunities to explore and show their skills and talents. Furthers studies are needed to confirm whether the employer’s trust and faith in their employees are crucial, a subject studied by others [ 21 , 30 , 44 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. The participants, however, believe that the biggest hindrance to achieving such improvement are employees who are not ready to cooperate.

The findings from this study also led to the conclusion that sedentary jobs in the studied companies require complex human resource management. Therefore, more complex studies are needed in this field, with special monitoring and maybe even with human resource index (HRI) measurements, e.g., [ 43 ], which is the current trend in economics, as well as the new reality in economics [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ] and in society.

5. Conclusions

As in most of Europe, Slovenia is also facing the challenge of sedentary behavior as part of modern work conditions. This is the first time that Slovenian enterprises were researched in terms of sedentary work conditions, concerning job satisfaction, life satisfaction and well-being on work performance, which is the main novelty of the work and presents the possibility of comparing findings with other studies [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ], such as the effect of COVID-19 [ 5 , 47 ], remote job options and cross-country differences [ 53 ] or socio-economics status in the relationship between leadership and well-being [ 54 ]. The main gaps, which are supplemented by our studies, are, in addition to finding the correlations between some factors and work performance in sedentary jobs, encouraging similar further studies with the final goal of determine the factors that correlate most with job performance in sedentary work conditions. The aim was to highlight that the study found many employees do not cooperate. In general, our study confirms that for employees in sedentary jobs in Slovenia, work performance is correlated with life and job satisfaction. Nevertheless, it is not directly correlated with well-being as this may have been predicted based on the findings of previously published studies. This can be explained by the small sample size and data collection limitations due to distrusting the research, discomfort, or poor well-being in the work environment. This may suggest that the enterprises involved in our study are confident about their organizational climate. Our practical recommendation is to expand the focus from work performance to improving cohesion and the organizational climate in enterprises in order to create the optimal work environment in sedentary workplaces in Slovenia. The results indicate important conclusion as well as making clear the significant need for further research on the impact of well-being on employees’ productivity in sedentary jobs, in order to face the new reality requiring the need to organize sedentary jobs in different forms, e.g., providing remote job options which might be critical economically in this new decade.

Funding Statement

The research was partly conducted as part of the research program, Bio-psycho-social context of kinesiology, code P5-0142, funded by the Slovenian Research Agency.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, M.T., M.B. and Z.K.; methodology, S.S. and K.R.; software, S.S.; validation, M.T. and S.S.; formal analysis, Z.K. and S.W.-G.; investigation, Z.K. and S.S.; resources, Z.K. and M.B.; data curation, Z.K.; writing—original draft preparation, Z.K., M.B. and S.W.-G.; writing—review and editing, S.S. and S.W.-G.; visualization; supervision, M.T.; project administration, M.T. and M.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The Ethical Committee at the Faculty of Sports, the University of Ljubljana (No. 5) approved this study in March 2018.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in this study.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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A “Growth-at-All-Costs” Mindset Can Stall Your Company

If leaders don’t consider employees in their growth strategies, then disengagement, burnout, and lack of innovation will persist.

The strength of any organization depends on its people. Research has found a strong positive relationship between employee well-being and firm performance. When people feel healthy and engaged, their work performance improves, their relationships are stronger, and they’re better motivated to impact change. This is what’s at the heart of “human sustainability”— a concept introduced in Deloitte’s “2023 Global Human Capital Trends” report. It’s about creating value in people’s lives — from their physical and mental well-being to their career skills and overall sense of purpose. It starts with individuals, but ultimately has a ripple effect to the people they encounter and the organizations they’re part of. Research shows that a focus on human sustainability drives stronger business results. All organizations need a business growth strategy where people feel they’re prioritized. Before you launch your next growth initiative, make sure you’re not sabotaging your employees, and your company in turn. This article offers five questions to ask yourself as you’re setting your own growth strategy.

Sustainable growth can be elusive. Research has shown that only about 15% of the companies in the top growth quartile in 1985 were able to sustain their top-quartile performance for at least 30 years. While factors such as operating systems, financial health, and internal processes are all critical in determining whether growth can continue, studies show that of all the resources a company has, human capital is the most important. In other words, consistent and profitable growth is never easy, but it’s nearly impossible without “the quality, talent, and mindset of its people.”

Jenn Lim is a global workplace expert , one of the World’s Top 50 Keynote Speakers, the bestselling author of Beyond Happiness , and CEO/Cofounder of Delivering Happiness .
Jen Fisher is Deloitte’s Human Sustainability leader in the United States. She’s also the bestselling author of the book, Work Better Together , a TEDx speaker , the Human Sustainability Editor-At-Large for Thrive Global , and the host of the WorkWell podcast series .

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Job opportunity: contracts officer, vanderbilt university, nashville, tn.

Posted by hagansa2 on Monday, April 8, 2024 in Job Opportunities .

Job description

The Contracts Officer is part of the Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization (CTTC) at Vanderbilt University and is a key individual contributor who drafts, reviews, negotiates, finalizes and monitors performance for technology transfer-related agreements on behalf of the organization, under guidance and in collaboration with CTTC licensing officers and staff. Reporting directly to the Corporate Contracts Manager, the Contracts Officer negotiates various technology transfer agreements (including without limitation, materials license agreements, industry sponsored research agreements, material transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, data use agreements, and similar transactions), tracks new agreements and agreements in process, conducts compliance reviews of existing agreements to ensure 3rd party compliance with their obligations thereunder, reviews contract work product of the licensing staff to insure integrity of CTTC technology transfer agreements, and maintains the integrity of the contract tracking database.

Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization’s mission is to provide professional commercialization services to the Vanderbilt community, thus optimizing the flow of innovation to the marketplace and generating revenue that supports future research activities, while having a positive impact on society.

We accomplish this by serving as an efficient and effective conduit for the transfer of promising intellectual property to industry; contributing to regional economic development by licensing locally and supporting new venture creation; and encouraging greater translational research collaborations between academia and industry.

Drafts and negotiates material transfer agreements, data use agreements and confidentiality agreements with academic institutions and for-profit companies to facilitate the advancement of research projects and programs.
Drafts and negotiates materials license agreements and elements of industry research contracts with commercial partners to support R&D and product development.
Reviews incoming contracts and manages docketing/record system for agreements.
Works collaboratively with licensing officers to determine the impact of the aforementioned agreements on intellectual property and to negotiate practical resolutions that balance scientist and industry needs with the mission of CTTC.
Aids in the contractual structuring of biobanks, to support large scale biomedical research investigation.
Oversees the transfer of research tools in compliance with patient privacy laws, rules, statutes and guidelines.
Coordinates reviews of incoming and outgoing research tool transfers with Export Control, legal affairs, and patient de-identification authorities.
Oversees contract compliance for CTTC technology transfer agreements, and aids in collection of payments in arrears and in resolving 3 rd party contract breaches, including renegotiation and termination duties.
Creatively solves problems by analyzing and interpreting law and policies as well as information from other sources.
Collaborates with and disseminates information to research staff to ensure that contractual terms accurately reflect the likelihood of intellectual property and publication and evaluates the effect of possible restrictions created by contract terms.
Implements quality assurance and contracting strategies to achieve goals and assure compliance with all applicable requirements. Recommends changes to policies, procedures, or resources to support new strategy.
Performs oversight and verification of, and maintains the integrity of, database entries.
The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

Qualifications

A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is required.
A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in science or engineering from an accredited institution of higher education is preferred.
A Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school is strongly preferred.
Excellent writing and verbal communication, project management, conceptual, and analytical skills are necessary.
Proficiency with negotiating material transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, and data use agreements is required.
Experience with drafting and negotiating industry sponsored research agreements is required.
Experience negotiating industry materials license agreements and similar transactional documents is required.
Experience with drafting and interpreting technology license agreements is preferred.
Knowledge of healthcare regulations and patient privacy statutes, including HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and the Common Rule in the U.S., and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) in Europe, is required.
Experience in interpreting statute sand regulations is preferred.
Knowledge of technology transfer and the Bayh-Dole Act is preferred.
Knowledge of contract compliance processes is preferred.
An ability to work effectively and productively as a member of a team and with senior management is preferred
Ability to promote a positive culture of support and compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements is preferred.
Ability to prioritize and multi-task in a collaborative, fast-paced environment is preferred.
Experience with campus academic & administrative platforms or other industry related software is preferred.
Knowledge and experience with regulatory compliance guidelines in the postsecondary education industry or a related sector is preferred.
Significant experience working with postsecondary institutions is preferred.

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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 ...
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Work stress and employee performance. From a psychological perspective, work stress influences employees' psychological states, which, in turn, affects their effort levels at work (Lu, 1997; Richardson and Rothstein, 2008; Lai et al., 2022 ). Employee performance is the result of the individual's efforts at work (Robbins, 2005) and thus is ...
Correlation between Employee Performance, Well-Being, Job Satisfaction
Each of four questionnaires was chosen to cover one area of enquiry under the research foci of work performance, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and well-being. The statistical program STATA was used for data analyses. The analysis shows statistically significant positive correlations between employee performance and job satisfaction (r = 0 ...
A "Growth-at-All-Costs" Mindset Can Stall Your Company
Research has found a strong positive relationship between employee well-being and firm performance. When people feel healthy and engaged, their work performance improves, their relationships are ...
Mediating Role of Employee Engagement: Job Involvement, Job
SUBMIT PAPER. Close Add email alerts. You are adding the following journal to your email alerts. New content; Management and Labour Studies: ... Job satisfaction and organizational commitment effect in the transformational leadership towards employee performance. European Research on Management and Business Economics, 25(3), 144-150. Crossref ...
Job Opportunity: Contracts Officer, Vanderbilt University, Nashville
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JOB SATISFACTION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A THEORETICAL REVIEW OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO VARIABLES

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BMC Health Services Research

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

Introduction

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

SDT and job performance

Conceptual framework and hypothesis development

Hypothesis 1

Hypothesis 2

The aim, design and setting of the study

Sampling technique and data analysis

Hypothesized theoretical equation

Results and discussion

Availability of data and material

Abbreviations

Acknowledgements

Author information

Contributions

Corresponding author

Ethics declarations

Additional information

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JEL Classification

Correlation between Employee Performance, Well-Being, Job Satisfaction, and Life Satisfaction in Sedentary Jobs in Slovenian Enterprises

Stella Sekulic

Susan Wilson-Gahan

Katja Rostohar

1. Introduction

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Quantitative Methodology

2.2. Study Participants and Data Collection

2.3. Procedure