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JOB SATISFACTION AND ITS EFFECT ON TEACHERS’ JOB PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The levels of theoretical and empirical activities involving motivation which ultimately give job satisfaction to workers in formal organizations have escalated. The study of job satisfaction has become more intensified in industrial and organizational setting and more recently, in educational and psychological management. This is brought about by the contention of early human relation theorist that a happy worker is a productive worker (Rothliberger and Dickson, 1999). The need to motivate teachers to enhance job performance has been emphasized by numerous researchers since the pioneering efforts of Hoppock and Houser in the 1930s.

The major goal of personnel management in any organization is the production of satisfied employees who will remain on the job to contribute their best towards achieving the organizational aims and aspirations at minimum cost. Therefore, the executive of any organization or institution should be highly concerned with the need of his or her subordinates. Formal organizations have an obligation to ensure the mental health of their employees, Muskel (1990).

In the secondary school system in Nigeria, the frequent debates and write ups on what is referred to as the falling standard of education might be a pointer to the greater concern of the general public over the quality of education in our secondary schools.

In a recent West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) result released (Punch Paper of Friday August 20, 2010, page 37). The result showed a drop of 1.04 per cent when compared with previous year’s result. For those who obtained credits in five subjects including English and Mathematics, this falling standard of education has bearing on teachers’ motivation and job performance (Gabadeen, 2002).

It is necessary for various government, school boards, ministries and even principals to develop ideas which will make work more attractive to teachers and motivate them to give their best. It is worthwhile to note that this involves much more than increase in salary and promise of good promotion because these cannot make for dedication which is essential for the expected success in our secondary schools (Onuoha, 2006).

For any nation to be self reliant and free from poverty, there is need for advancement in her educational achievement. This is because education has been adjudged as the means by which any nation could permanently close the door to poverty and ignorance and simultaneously open the door of prosperity in term of socio economic advancement, Ajibade, (1993). As at 1969 the estimated number of studies on job satisfaction have exceeded four thousand (Grunebery, 1987:10).

Among all employees, teachers are unique because they constitute a fundamental and indispensable factor in the development of an educational system. Oyedeji (1995) was of the opinion that teachers’ needs and morale are very important elements which influence individuals and groups to perform in order to achieve school objectives.

Attitude to work is a critical determinant of staff level of job performance in any organization. It has to do with the feelings, habits and beliefs that affect the behaviour of staff members at work. It has been observed that the Nigerian civil servants have poor attitude to work which impinges on their job performance. This fact laid the basic fact that many employees lack appropriate training, which do not motivate staff to do well in their daily work in the schools and other organizations.

When an employer of labour, whether government or private recruits people into his/their organization, the purpose is to make them work effectively or perform their duties optimally so that the objectives of the organization can be realized. But the empoloyers’ objectives and that of the employees are usually at variance. Therefore, the employer(s) must harmonize these objectives and channel them to productive use through motivation. Motivation plays a very important role in determining the level of performance of employees, which in turn influence how effectively the organizations goals will be met.

It is the general view that no matter how well an organization is structured, it is unlikely to attain its objectives if the motivation of its employees is low or they are demotivated. If motivation is low, employees performance of their assigned job will suffer as if ability were low. It is therefore, pertinent that employers of labour and those managing the labour force on their behalf recognize this impact of motivation and then employ it so as to elicit employees’ optimal performance. Employers and managers must motivate their employees to greater effort, productivity and performance on the job. It is obvious that the motivation of civil servants especially the teachers in the country has sagged so low in the last two decades as a result of unfulfilled expectations, that belonging to the system no longer confers pride and social recognition. According to Aniemeka (2003), this has lowered the morale of teachers who do not see any satisfaction in the work they perform in the schools.

Nigerian teachers are not adequately motivated. They lack working tools and equipment. This makes the working situation to be so frustrating for the teachers. It gives rise to a non-committal attitude to government programmes, apathy and low morale which leads to ineffectiveness, inefficiency and low productivity. This makes the working conditions to be so unattractive.

With regards to motivation, Herzberg identifies the factors that motivate people to be lodged in 1) the nature of work that they do, 2) the sense of achievement that they acquire from their work, 3) the recognition that they receive, 4) the responsibility that is bestowed upon them, and 5) their personal growth and advancement. The main idea behind such factors is that they may spell the difference in the perceptions that employees hold with regards to their work and their relationship with their organisation of choice (Ayo, 2000). They are able to form a perception of how much their organisation values them, and they are also able to assess their own self-worth. Herzberg believes that such factors are the main driving force of satisfaction and that they help boost the employee to work harder and better, due to the motivation that is brought about. Put simply, motivators are able to increase internal happiness. On the other hand, hygiene factors are only able to boost external happiness.

According to Obi (2003) the relationship between satisfaction and dissatisfaction by using the traditional concept and Herzberg’s Two factor theory.

Herzberg’s work has shown the world that aside from a person being satisfied from his job and being dissatisfied, the employee can also not be satisfied at all. In other words, ‘the opposite of job satisfaction is not job satisfaction, but rather, no job satisfaction.’ In addition, ‘the opposite of job dissatisfaction is not job satisfaction, but no job satisfaction.’ It must be noted that both factors (hygiene factors and motivation factors) must exist in order for the employee to be motivated in his work, in the best way that he/she possibly can. If there are missing factors (whether they may be hygiene factors or motivation factors), it is possible for the employee to be dissatisfied and not able to perform in the best way that they can. If all the hygiene factors are present and even when there is more than enough of hygiene factors present, then it is possible that the employee would still not be motivated. Thus, in order for managers to successfully motivate their employees, there is a need for them to determine the appropriate and the sufficient motivation factors to use.

It has been shown by Adamu (2005) that even though dissatisfying factors are removed, there is a possibility that the job will not make the employee satisfied. It is not uncommon to see managers committing a mistake with regards to removing a dissatisfying characteristic.

Statement of the Problem

Many workers in Nigeria labour market, especially, the teaching profession, do not perform well at work due to lack of satisfaction in their jobs. This may be as a result of lack or inadequate rewards or motivation of the teachers by their employers. For instance, the teaching profession has become all-comers job, where every Tom, Dick and Harry carries the chalk to teach in the classroom. This has made people in the society to neglect the teachers who passed through the teacher-education and rigorous training to acquire the teaching knowledge.

Government’s brazen neglect of the teaching profession, in the sense that remuneration is poor, condition of teaching service is poor, other worker’s rewards such as incentives and fringe benefits such as housing loans, car loans, leave allowances, hospital allowances and benefits that accrue to other workers in other public services in other professions, are non-existence in the teaching profession. Therefore, teachers’ work performance is affected negatively because when they remember that their rewards for teaching is poor, coupled with the non-recognition of their profession by the society and significant others in the community, their morale is lowered, and the resultant effect is poor or dismal job performance and productivity, which is the result of low standard of education in Nigeria today.

Nigerian teachers are not adequately motivated. They lack working tools and equipment. This makes the working situation to be so frustrating for the teachers. It gives rise to a non-committal attitude to government programmes, apathy and low morale which leads to ineffectiveness, inefficiency and low productivity. This makes the working conditions to be so unattractive.

The above problems, gave rise to the examination of the issue of job satisfaction and its effect on teachers’ job performance in schools.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to

(1)         find out whether teachers are satisfied with their jobs in the school.

(2)         examine whether poor remuneration affects teachers’ job performance in the school.

(3)         investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and teachers’ productivity in the school.

(4)         assess whether there is relationship between reward and job performance amongst teachers in schools.

(5)         find out whether there is relationship between motivation and job performance amongst teachers in the school.

(6)         examine whether gender difference exists in the job performance of teachers due to job satisfaction.

(7)         find out whether teachers’ profession is regarded by the society/government or not.

Research Questions

The following research questions were raised in this study:

(1)         Are teachers satisfied with their teaching profession in Nigeria?

(2)         Does poor rumneration affect teachers’ job performance?

(3)         Is there any relationship between job satisfaction and teachers’ productivity in the school?

(4)         Is there any relationship between reward and job performance of teachers in the school?

(5)         Does there exists any relationship between motivation of teachers and their job performance in school?

(6)         Is there any gender difference in the performance of teaches due to job satisfaction?

(7)         To what extent is the teachers’ profession regarded in the society or by the government? 

Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated to guide this study:

(1)         There is no relationship between job satisfaction and job performance of classroom teachers.

(2)         There is no significant relationship between motivation and job productivity amongst teachers in the school.

(3)         There is no significant relationship between reward and teachers’ job productivity in the school.

(4)         There is no significant gender difference in the performance of teachers due to job satisfaction.

Significance of the Study

The study would be of much benefit to the entire management of the selected secondary schools in District IV of the Ministry of Education Lagos State and entire Nigeria with regard to developing teachers’ positive attitude towards job satisfaction and its attendance maximum productivity. Also, the teachers themselves would benefit from the awareness which this study would have created among institutions managers because, their welfare would be taken care of. The organisational output would also increase since workers are expected to put in their best, after working with positive job satisfaction and being rewarded thus, promoting the general productivity of the institutions where they teach. Furthermore, the whole society would enjoy relative peace as teachers and their employers’ conflict would have been curtailed as a result of the good treatment the former would have received from the latter and so on.

Scope of the Study

The study covered the effect of job satisfaction on teachers’ performance in selected secondary schools in District IV of the Ministry of Education Lagos State.

Definition of Terms

Job Satisfaction: This is defined as the contentment an employee gets towards his job from various factors.

Teacher: Accordign to Owuegbu (1986) a teacher is one who motivates the learner. One who is knowledgeable in his field and direct the learner in the class and makes sure he achieves his goal.

Performance: This means the act of carrying out a responsibility in accordance with laid down rules (the new Lexican Websters Dictionary of English Language).

Motivation: This is the process by which management enables employee to direct their energies towards maximum attainment of goals and objectives of the organization.

Theoretical Framework

Reward is that which is given in return for performance or service. Reinforcement is compensation. It is the fruit of men’s labour or work. Often, the term reward is used as a synonym for positive reinforcement.

A positive reinforcement (or reward) is anything that strengthens or increases the frequency of a desired behaviour. According to Ilogu (2005) positive reinforcement involves the presentation of a reward (verbal, social or material reward) following the performance of a desirable act on the assumption that a pleasant consequence closely increases the likelihood of its recurrence. The positive reinforcer must be given immediately after the expected response occurs. Positive reinforcement can be utilised in three ways.

i.             When anew behaviour is to be incorporated in the workers’ repertoire,

ii.            When the strength of an existing behaviour pattern is to be increased, and 

iii.           When by increasing the strength of a particular behaviour, the effect will cause an undesirable incompatible response to diminish in strength.

Ilogu (2005), further said, there are two classes of positive reinforcers. Those provided by others and those provided by oneself.

1.            Those provided by others. The tangible reinforcer in the workplace include the use of sweets, food, money, privileges and incentives. The intangible or social reinforcers consists of smiles, pats on the back, compliments and nods.

2.            Those provided by oneself. The tangible reinforcers under this class comprise giving oneself a treat, engaging in leisure activity or purchasing of a valuable object. The intangible reinforcers in this category include the use of self praise, self appreciation and so on.

There are various schedules of reinforcement. Ekeruo, Ikediashi, Ekwe and Nwamuo (1988) classify the schedules into continuous reinforcement schedule and intermittent reinforcement schedule. The intermittent reinforcement schedule could be on a time basis or performance basis. There are two time basis – fixed time or interval basis (fixed interval or variable interval schedules). There are also two performance basis known as fixed performance and variable performance schedules.

To develop a new behaviour, continuous reinforcement schedule is employed whereby you present a reinforcer each time the behaviour is performed. When the behaviour is relatively established, change to intermittent reinforcement schedule.

A reinforcer may lose its potency after sometime. Three ways to identify what reinforces a person according to Potect (1995) are: (a) observe the worker and see what he/she chooses to do when on his free time, (b) ask the individual what he/she would like to do, (c) ask what some of his/her choice behaviours are.

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