De-motivators of Employees in the Public Sector in Arua District, Uganda

Abstract

De-motivation of the public sector employees is a key aspect in Public Administration as far as human resources management is concerned. It is argued that people are without a doubt the most valuable resource to any organization. It is upon this ground that this study sought to assess the factors that de-motivated staff in the public sector of Uganda, specifically Arua District Local Government. In this study, 15 district staff (Heads of departments and office assistants), 30 sub county staff (Community Development Officers, Sub County Chiefs, Accounts Assistants and Extension staff) were used as the research subjects. Self-administered questionnaires were used as research instruments. The priority de-motivators were lack of autonomy and variety, low salary, organizational politics, unending clients’ demands and ineffective communication. The study recommends that, the government should initiate low cost housing schemes including soft loans for the public sector employees. In addition, official residences should be built for the staff at their work stations, this specifically would apply to the Sub County staff who would need to endure residing near their work places and this scheme would most likely contribute to the conduciveness of work environment.