Factors influencing job performance and satisfaction of teachers in Nigeria
Background
Job satisfaction can be defined as a combination of psychological, physiological and environmental circumstances that cause a person to say that he/she is satisfied with his/her job (Long &Swortzel, 2007). Brady 2001 defines job satisfaction as an emotional, effective response derived from ones job. These feelings are not limited to salary, but can also include factors like the way employees are treated and valued by management and the degree to which the company takes their input into consideration. According to Rousseau(1995), Psychological contracts are best understood when they are violated.This provides one of the reasons that might be more interesting to study breach and violation.
Education is a lifelong affair aimed at bringing positive changes to the individual, his family and the society at large. And if education is to be used as a tool to effect technological advancement in Nigeria, its quality therefore becomes something of great significance. Without mincing words, the quality of teachers dictates the level of educational advancement which cannot be attained if they (teachers) are greatly dissatisfied with their jobs. Put succinctly, job satisfaction is a sine qua non to improvement in the teaching/learning situation which will invariably give rise to high educational standards. Okoye (2011) viewed that job satisfaction as how contented an individual is with his or her job. Obineli (2010) opined that job satisfaction as an affective or emotional response towards various facets of one‘s job.
Job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is a result of employees’ perceptions of how well their job provides those things that they are viewed as important and necessary to working well and to their enjoyment. (Luthan, 2005) . Okoye (2011) defines job satisfaction as how much an individual is contented with his or her job. Robbins (2005) believes that it focuses on the feelings of a person about his or her job. Newstrom (2007) describes it as the particular views of employees, which are affected by the favourable and unfavourable feelings and attachments of one’s work. It is also considered a final state of agreement of a psychological process to work, along with its terms and conditions, which are essential for a higher competitive level. Job satisfaction shows a positive and significant link between workplace environment, the mental and physical well-being of employees (Donald & Siu, 2001), including the indoor environment (Veitch, Charles, Farley & Newsham, 2007)). Job dissatisfaction, in contrast, can be due to an absence of work-life balance, a lack of advancement and opportunities, a non-supportive working environment, lack of encouragement, lack of recognition and stress. These factors also increase the employee turnover rate (Ahmadi & Alireza, 2007). As a result, dissatisfied employees may reduce their levels of performance and efficiency and may sabotage the work or leave the job (Sonmezer & Eryaman, 2008). Teachers’ agitations and demands for improved compensation are given little attention due to the problem of the inadequate resources in the Ministry of Education to meet satisfactory needs of the workers. As a result, the government in Nigeria and the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) are in constant standoffs over the increase in salaries, benefits, and improving the working conditions of teacher (Nwachukwu, 2006). Job satisfaction is a universal phenomenon. Most of the expectations of workers somewhat correlate worldwide, although there are divergent differences due to sociological, political and cultural backgrounds.
However, there are similar expected aspects from a job from all global workers, such as good pay, good environment, recognition and respecting their human rights. On the other hand, job satisfaction, is a desired commodity worldwide. According to Jorge and Heloisa (2006), job satisfaction is a significant feature in everyday life and must be emphasized by all means if individuals and organizations can grow and develop to the desired ends.
Olando (2003) put it that teaching is a demanding job that need to be remunerated well to attract and retain teachers in the profession. This will help prevent teachers from running to other greener pastures. He further urges that for any efficient work to take place there is need for favourable conditions. Thus, an individual should be provided with an enabling environment to perform and produce the desired results. Okemwa (2003) notes that teachers working in rural centres are more disadvantaged compared to their urban counterparts due to the underdevelopment in their schools. In third world countries. it seems the issue of job satisfaction is taken lightly that is the reason to why, there has been many cases of job turnovers in schools cases of indiscipline, absenteeism and underperformance (Khan 2004). Many studies have reported teachers’ dissatisfaction with teaching (Uba & Oluchi, 2013; Mghana, 2013; Zafarullah & Vaisanen, 2017). Some of the reasons proffered for low teacher job satisfaction include lack of professional autonomy, poor salaries, and unavailability of teaching resources. The effects of teacher job dissatisfaction on teaching/learning process include lack of enthusiasm for the job, teacher absenteeism, teacher stress and poor students’ performance. Other effects of teacher job dissatisfaction include leaving the profession suddenly in search of greener pastures (Huberman, 1993), and inefficiency on the part of teachers (Tshannen-Moran & Hoy, 1998). Research into teacher job satisfaction is thus significant in order to retain teachers in the educational profession and to encourage increased teacher productivity. The role of teachers’ as facilitators of learning is crucial if their respective learners have to perform highly in the National examination.
The levels of job satisfaction of the teachers as workers of the institutions are of great importance (Karuga, 2004, Mutuku,, 2005 & Mghana, 2013). Moreover, it is important to find out the factors that account for teacher job satisfaction. When these factors are known, then it will be possible for school administrators and other educational stakeholders to adjust the school environment accordingly to foster satisfaction amongst teachers. The widely held belief in Nigeria is that there is generally low teacher satisfaction (Businge, 2011) and low morale amongst Nigerian school teachers (Daily Trust, 2010; Kayode, 2012). Furthermore, most Nigerians believe that teacher satisfaction is directly related to teachers’ salary and rewards. In other words, the belief is that the only factor that contributes to teacher job satisfaction is the quality of teachers’ take -home pay. For example, when making suggestions on how to improve the educational system, the president of National Union of Teachers (NUT) said, “Government must develop a remuneration and reward system that will promote job satisfaction” (Komolafe, 2010).
Statement of the problem
The purpose of any educational system is the preparation of skillful citizens that help in political, social and economic development of the country (Green, 2000). These are accomplished when the components of the educational systems are in good conditions. Among several components of the educational system viable, functional and productive maintenance of satisfied, committed and motivated teaching force in the system is crucial. If the teachers are not satisfied in their job, their moral would be poor and a lot of damage will be caused to the skilled man power supply. When an employee enjoys the work environment and the various tasks that characterized his/her job situation, it is expected that such a worker would have a strong desire to come to work and perform assigned duties diligently. However, secondary school teachers have a lot of negative work behaviour such as lateness, absenteeism, lack of zeal in carrying out assigned tasks, sneaking out of school to run private businesses, trading in the school premises as exhibited by them on a daily basis. This unwholesome attitude to work seems to suggest that these teachers are greatly dissatisfied with their job.
Objective of the study
The purpose of the study was to investigate factors influencing job performance and satisfaction of teachers in Nigeria.
- To determine the extent to which remuneration influences primary school teachers level of job satisfaction in Lagos state, Nigeria.
- To establish whether the working conditions influence primary school teacher’s level of job satisfaction in Lagos state, Nigeria.
- To determine the extent to which the teachers’ level of education influences the teacher’s level of job satisfaction in Lagos state, Nigeria.
- To establish the influence of workload on the teachers’ level of job satisfaction in Lagos state, Nigeria.