Effect of Physical Work Conditions on the Work Performance of Academic Staff in Private Universities in Kenya

Abstract

The working conditions (physical and psychological) in an organization have key linkage with and work performance including academic institutions. The aim of this paper was to examine the effect of physical working conditions and performance of academic staff in private universities in Kenya. The study is informed by Fredrick Herzberg’s two factor theory on motivation of employees and work performance. The study research design is descriptive that incorporates quantitative and qualitative methods. The target population for this study involved academic staff of selected private universities in Kenya. Considering the target population was high, a sample size was chosen who were selected using stratified and purposive sampling technique. The data has been collected using questionnaire. Data analysis has been undertaken using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis. The study has found out that physical working conditions are a key determinant of employee performance in private universities in the country. Those universities with poor physical working conditions reported poor work performance amongst their academic staff compared to those that had conducive physical working conditions. The paper recommends that for private universities to remain competitive in the tertiary education sector, they have to ensure that the physical working conditions of school facilities are conducive for use by their members of staff. There is also need for the Commission for University Education in Kenya to regularly inspect universities physical infrastructure to ensure they are fit for use by both academic staff, non-academic staff and students. When all these recommendations are addressed, the academic staff productivity would significantly improve