Measuring employees’ well-being among Nigerian bankers: Exploring the socio-cultural indicators

Abstract

Employees’ well-being, the overall quality of workers’ life experience and functioning at work, is multidimensional and context-dependent. The reality of present society suggests that not only the psychological and physical, but social factors are essential in measuring employees’ well-being. In many developed countries, crime and other societal issues received adequate attention; however, in Nigeria, workers are confronted with many social- and cultural-related challenges like insecurity and community and family conflicts, even outside the work environment, which lead to well-being problems. Previous studies in Nigeria have focused more on psychological and physical well-being, without sufficient attention to occupational stress and the work environment. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the social and cultural factors related to the well-being of workers in the Nigerian banking industry. Four-hundred and twenty copies of questionnaires were administered and 30 interviews were conducted using a multi-stage sampling technique among bank workers in Ibadan, Nigeria. Twenty-eight items evaluating psychological, physical, and socio-cultural well-being were examined using a five-point Likert scale. Researchers analyzed data using descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and content analysis. The findings revealed that socio-cultural factors are important sources of happiness and well-being of bank workers. Over 77% of the respondents viewed robbery attacks, family, and public trust as having a severe effect on their state of mind. Social well-being was significantly correlated with physical (r = .884; p < .001) and psychological (r = .921; p < .001) well-being. Results from the interviews showed that family and community relationships, security, and public trust in leadership affect employee’s well-being even more than a pay raise. This study demonstrates that the overall life experience of workers is an equally important determinant of workers' well-being as their psychological and physical well-being. These findings suggest that sociocultural attributes like culture, family, and community relationships are an important aspect of workers’ overall life experience, and should be considered in the measurement of workers' well-being.