Job motivation as a correlate of job performance among newspaper workers in Nigeria

Abstract

Studies show significant correlation between job motivation and job performance in many industries. Such studies are, however, scanty to the Nigerian newspaper industry. Motivation embodies the factors which propel employees to attain high job performance. Since job motivation is instrumental to job performance, literature suggests that its inadequacy could cause low job performance. This is cause for concern, given the importance of job performance in the newspaper industry. Therefore, this study examined job motivation as a correlate of job performance among newspaper workers in Nigeria. The survey method was adopted while questionnaires were used to collect data. The respondents were selected through a combination of stratified and quota sampling techniques. The data were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypotheses were tested at 0.5 per cent level of significance. The study found that there was low job motivation among the workers; there was high job performance among them; and job motivation was not a significant correlate of job performance. This suggests that the workers maintain high job performance despite their low job motivation. The study recommends that employers in the newspaper industry should address ways of increasing job motivation in order to avoid industrial rancor and unethical practice. Future studies should attempt a comparative study of job motivation and job performance among Nigerian newspaper workers and those of some other African countries.