Assessment of the factors affecting government employees’ productivity in Nigeria: Using Electronics Development Institute (ELDI) Awka as a Case study

Employee productivity is one of the basic determinants of business success. The growth rate of any organization to a large extent depends on the productivity of its employee. A comparison of the level of advancement between productivity in governmental organizations and those in the private sector shows that the government establishments have not kept pace with the rate of increase in productivity as found in the private sector. Thus, identifying the productivity factors relevant to government staff and the degree of impact of each factor will present an opportunity for enhancement. In this study, the factors affecting government employees’ productivity in Nigeria were assessed through a cross-sectional survey design using ELDI Awka as a case study. A total of 98 ELDI staff were enrolled into the study via a random sampling technique. The quantitative approach used was regression analysis and statistical package for social sciences [SPSS] software window version 20 was employed to process the large volume of data gathered. Literature review of the classical management theories, contemporary research and field work on employee productivity led to the identification of eight factors affecting government employee productivity in Nigeria as Staff Training, Time Management, Use of modern Equipment, Employees’ Attitude towards work, Leadership Style, Orientation/Duty Awareness, Staff Welfare, and Academic/Professional Qualification. When considered together, all the factors significantly affect employee productivity with 0.001 significant level of confidence. However, Staff Training, Leadership style, Staff Welfare, Employees’ Attitude towards work and Time management are the only significant factors affecting staff productivity when considering the individual effect of the factors. The study showed that there is a strong correlation between leadership and productivity as poor and uninspiring leadership tends to kill productivity. It also revealed that training aimed at boosting workers capacity is the most influential factor of government employees’ productivity in Nigeria. Lastly, employees’ welfare has direct impact on their motivation and the more motivated employees’ are, the higher the likelihood of greater level of productivity.