Ghanaian Workers Research Articles

Cultural differences on work relations in Chinese companies operating in Ghana: A cross-cultural study of Chinese and Ghanaian workers

Employees' cultural values and characteristics have a significant impact on work values and outcomes. Due to the strong economic ties between China and Ghana, several Chinese companies establish their branches in Ghana and employ Ghanaians to work with them. However, the role of cultural values in Chinese-Ghanaian work relationships have not been investigated. Through a qualitative lens, we investigated the cultural influence on the working relationship between Ghanaians and Chinese at a Chinese company in Ghana. The study was conducted at Asogli Thermal Plant using a case study. This is one of the biggest Chinese companies in Ghana and has a large proportion of both Chinese and Ghanaian workers. A total of 18 participants were interviewed, and data were analysed thematically. We found that Ghanaians and Chinese staff at the Thermal Plant are sometimes unable to have a collective discourse on their needs due to language barriers. Also, cultural interpretation of politeness denied them many avenues to form a strong workers’ cooperation to seek their mutual needs. These differences affect their collaboration and bonding as co-workers. To foster collaborations and good cooperation between Chinese and Ghanaian co-workers, management of such companies are advised to implement an intentional mechanism that reduces the impact of cultural differences on work relations. Such organisations need to train all staff intermittently on diversity, inclusion, and cultural values of Ghana and China in order to help staff cultivate versatility, awareness, and acceptance of alternative values.

Cashless economy – the nexus of COVID-19 and E-wallet usage intentions: a multi-group analysis between formal and informal sector workers in Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to offer a conceptual model that bridges gaps in the current research by combining constructs from the health belief model (HBM) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Furthermore, the researchers applied the constructed model to analyse the determinants of workers’ intentions to use e-wallet payment options for business transactions rather than physical currency during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the paper examines whether there are any significant variations in the usage intentions of Ghanaian workers in the formal and informal sectors.Design/methodology/approachThe non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to compile the primary respondents among Ghanaian users of e-wallets. Based on constructs derived from the HBM and TPB, an online survey involving the use of a questionnaire was administered to collect quantitative data from 285 formal and informal sector workers in Ghana. Data collected was analysed using the partial least squares-structural equation modelling approach involving the measurement, structural model tests, hypothesis tests and multi-group analysis (MGA) tests.FindingsThis study reveals that workers’ attitudes, subjective norms and perceived susceptibility as the main determinants of intentions to use e-wallets, as the analysis of data lends support to hypotheses involving these constructs. Perceived behavioural control was however not supported by the data analysis as a determinant of workers’ intention. Finally, there were no significant differences between e-wallet usage intentions of formal and informal sector workers in Ghana.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the ongoing pandemic, the study recommends that governments of emerging economies should formulate policies that promote the use of e-wallets, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and at the same time contribute to the quest for a cashless economy. However, the results of the study are only based on data collected from workers in Ghana. Therefore, practitioners should apply the recommendations with discretion and make modifications where necessary. The results of the study also provide evidence from the context of a developing country that can support future academic pursuits.Practical implicationsThis study provides evidence that influences practitioners’ decisions and practices regarding the design and implementation of e-wallet services and innovations among workers in the formal and informal sectors of the economy.Originality/valueThis study provides useful business insights to user acquisition managers, marketing managers and business development managers during the formulation of policies, strategies and approaches for their mobile wallet subscriber base. Moreover, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first to apply the constructs of the HBM (mainly applied in health research) to the study of workers’ intentions to use e-wallets. It, therefore, makes a significant contribution to the existing literature by examining the combined effects of the constructs of the HBM and the TPB on workers’ intention to use e-wallets.

Telecommuting and cyberloafing in the Ghanaian context. The role of employees emotional exhaustion

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between telecommuting and cyberloafing among Ghanaian workers. In addition, the study investigated the moderating role of emotional exhaustion on telecommuting and cyberloafing. Design/methodology/approach The study collected quantitative data from 945 employees in banks, telecommunication and insurance sectors of the Ghanaian economy. Data was entered using SPSS v.23 and analysed with Process Macro v3.5. Findings The results indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between telecommuting and cyberloafing. It also found out that emotional exhaustion has a significant negative relationship with cyberloafing. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion moderated the relationship between telecommuting and cyberloafing. Organisations are not necessarily required to be in a particular location to achieve their goals. Through practices such as telecommuting, organisations are able to unleash the creative and innovative abilities of employees and also improve their psychological well-being for greater gains. Practical implications The practice of telecommuting psychologically empowers the individual giving some decision-making latitudes to one and making one responsible and accountable for their actions and inactions. Also, individuals who are giving the chance to telecommute will only engage in cyberloafing behaviours when they are emotionally exhausted. Thus, it is important to create conditions that establishes equilibrium and creates harmony between the individual and the work, hence eliminating any feeling of emotional exhaustion and reaping the full benefits of telecommuting. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the role of emotional exhaustion in the relationship between telecommuting workers and their engagement in cyberloafing.

The Effects of Covid 19 on Workers and Its Implications on Socio-Economic Inequalities in Ghana

Purpose: The novel coronavirus has caused havoc to the various economies throughout the world with Ghana, not an exception. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the various institutions and sectors in Ghana particularly the effects on Ghanaian workers and its implications on inequalities in Ghana be studied. 
 Methodology: The paper adopted a qualitative research approach and used discourse analysis of secondary data obtained from sources such as journal articles, online news articles, newspaper publication and other internet sources. The study is hinged on the institutional theory.
 Findings: The findings indicated that the outbreak of the pandemic have brought negative consequences to the workers of the country. These consequences are loss of jobs, reduced income and source of livelihoods.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The policies implemented by the government of Ghana to curtail the spread of the virus have rather exacerbated the already troubling inequality situation in the country. There is also a widening gender inequality, income and poverty inequality, employment inequality, and inequality in the access to education between the vulnerable and less vulnerable in Ghanaian society.

The Impact of Servant Leadership on Innovative Work Behavior in Ghana: The Mediation of Employee Voice

Innovation is a crucial concept for organizational sustenance and development. The study investigated the impact of servant leadership on employee innovative work behavior by examining the mediating role of employee voice in Ghana. This was done to contribute to fostering innovation in the nation and stimulate the idea of servant leadership behavior in Ghanaian organizations where generally, power appears to be distant.Data from 200 full-time Ghanaian workers were used in this cross-sectional study. Pearson’s correlation, linear regression, and SEM were utilized in the data analysis. The empirical findings from the study demonstrate that servant leadership and employee voice correlate significantly and positively with innovative work behavior. However, employee voice failed to mediate the effect of servant leadership on employee innovative work behavior. Servant leadership in Ghana also failed to exert positive influence on employee voice.The implication of this research infers that organizational leaders in Ghana can have confidence in putting on servant leadership behavior to increase innovative work behavior in employees as is critical for organizational productivity and survival. The deliberate attempt to augment innovation also means that organizations necessitate the intentional creation of atmospheres (climate for innovation) for breeding and nurturing practical, innovative concepts. This study also gives employers the assurance that encouraging employee voice in the workplace is critical since it keeps the lines of communication open and serves as a deterrent to operational behaviors that hamper organizational advancement. The study further elaborates a detailed discussion of the research results, implications, limitations, and prospects for future studies. Keywords: Servant leadership, innovative work behavior, employee voice, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-2-08 Publication date: January 31 st 2022

The Effect of Psychological Empowerment on Innovative Work Behavior: The Mediating Role of Employee Voice

The importance of innovative work behavior cannot be downplayed as it functions as a key variable through which novel ideas translates into innovative outputs enabling businesses to survive and thrive. The study investigated the effect of psychological empowerment on employee innovative work behavior by examining the mediating role of employee voice in Ghana. This was done to address the lack of research on this topic, as well as to contribute to the long-term strategic vision of the government of Ghana and foster innovation in the nation. Data from 200 full-time Ghanaian workers was used in this cross-sectional study. Employing Pearson’s correlation, linear regression and SEM, the empirical findings from the study demonstrates that psychological empowerment and employee voice correlates significantly and positively with innovative work behavior. Employee voice (promotive and prohibitive) sustained a favorable impact on innovative work behavior and also mediated the effect of psychological empowerment on employee innovative work behavior. The inference of this research implies that the government of Ghana and employers strengthen programs that integrate practices to increase employee psychological empowerment levels as a way of stimulating higher levels of innovative capabilities and also encourage employee voice primarily for the purpose of communicating ideas for organizational development. Keywords: Psychological Empowerment, Voice, Innovative Work Behavior, Ghana DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-18-10 Publication date: September 30 th 2021

Examining the Relationship Between Occupational Physical Activity and Hypertension Status: Evidence from the Ghana WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health.

The employment landscape has changed significantly over the past few years in emerging economies including Ghana where many people are rapidly transitioning from livelihood activities that originally involved physical exertion to work environments where performance of duties are mostly non-physical. Working under non-active conditions could, however, exacerbate the risk of developing chronic diseases that are increasingly becoming problematic in many developing countries. Drawing on a cross-sectional nationally representative sample data of 4425 adult Ghanaian workers collected by the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health in developing countries, we examined the relationship between occupational physical activity and hypertensive status. We employed the complementary log-log analysis technique to build nested models with results presented in odds ratios. After controlling for several relevant variables, the results show that performing sedentary related work (AOR = 1.23, CI = 1.06-1.42) is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of being hypertensive compared with those whose work involved moderate physical activity. Other factors that were significantly associated with being hypertensive included tobacco use (AOR = 1.33, CI = 1.05-1.70), living in an urban environment (AOR = 1.15, CI = 1.01-1.32), and being a female (AOR = 1.18, CI = 1.01-1.37) and being an older person. Policies on reducing the risk of developing chronic conditions especially hypertension need to recognize the contributions of the work environment in emerging developing economies.

‘IF YOU TROUBLE A HUNGRY SNAKE, YOU WILL FORCE IT TO BITE YOU’: RETHINKING POSTCOLONIAL AFRICAN ARCHIVAL PESSIMISM, WORKER DISCONTENT, AND PETITION WRITING IN GHANA, 1957–66

AbstractMy aim is twofold. Highlighting the value and importance of African archives in the construction of postcolonial African histories, I first reject what I call ‘postcolonial African archival pessimism’: the argument that postcolonial African archives are too disorganized or ill-kept to be of much, if any, value in configuring postcolonial African histories. Second, primarily through petition and complaint letters, I examine how Ghanaian workers protested racist and abusive workplace environments, government malfeasance, stagnating wages, and unfair dismissals in Kwame Nkrumah's Ghana. These archival gems illuminate how workers made claims to and performances of citizenship and reminded the state of their importance, politically and practically, to building the Ghanaian project. From Ghanaian and British archives, I seek to complement histories that highlight the centrality of African workers — through their letters and feet — in articulating the contradictions and aspirations of postcolonial African states.

Chinese businesses and transnational knowledge transfer under constrained environment: results from the field in Ghana

China's recent economic success has deepened its engagement with Africa offering a platform for its experience of development and achievement to be transferred to or copied by Africans. What exactly are Chinese businesses teaching Ghanaian workers? What constraints impede the knowledge transfer and the learning process? This article's findings are based primarily on the results of a field study conducted in Ghana between March and July 2019 on 26 Chinese firms, involving 360 Ghanaian workers. It employed a mixed research method of questionnaires and informal interviews to collect data. Using content analysis and IBM SPSS Statistics Version 23, the study found that although grievances exist on salary, job security, safety concerns and others, Ghanaian workers generally acknowledge significant transfer and knowledge learning from Chinese firms and employers which they believe would not only enhance their personal development but a source of impetus for Ghana's development.

Pension Policy Dimension to Ghanaian Workers’ Housing Needs Provision

The paper explores workers’ housing needs, expectations and pension policy compatibility to meeting this need using the pension system as a mortgage facility. Use was made of a cross-sectional design. A sample of 131 workers was selected through convenient sampling. The findings show that workers have need for houses with retirement in focus and that they expect government to provide them with affordable houses. Government’s provision of these housing needs can purportedly be met via the national pension system’s mortgage facility. Significantly, house acquisition situated within the context of retirement preparation is indicative of retirement portfolio diversification. The findings have implications for promoting housing provision for all workers.

Scale, local content and the challenges of Ghanaians employment in the oil and gas industry

Local content laws are essential for promoting positive synergies between extractive industries and broader economies. This paper is a critical evaluation of the employment effects of Ghana's local content law. It draws on the relational geography concept of scale – a constructed arena of activities that are highly interrelated – to examine the dynamic roles and relations between actors and how that shapes employment opportunities and outcomes for Ghanaians in the oil and gas industry. The paper shows that Ghanaians dominate onshore administrative positions and low echelon (ratings)/low skill positions offshore. There is a significant salary disparity between Ghanaians and expatriates due to poor regulation by the petroleum commission, corruption and undercutting by local recruitment agencies. It is imperative that the petroleum commission stringently enforce the regulation on skill transfer, introduce guidelines on salary and conditions of service as well as effectively monitor and regulate the activities of local recruitment agencies to limit their ability to undercut Ghanaian workers.

Organizational justice: A cross-national comparative study of ghanaian industrial workers and their finnish counterparts

The increased globalization in organizations has created the challenge to investigate and understand the organizational behaviours of employees from different cultural backgrounds. The current study investigated organizational justice from a cross-national perspective. Participants were Ghanaian (N = 320) and Finnish (N = 520) industrial workers. Data was collected with Blader and Tyler's (2003) scale. The Ghanaian participants responded to the English version, and the Finnish participants, a Finnish version. The analyses investigated differences on the three justice components (distributive, procedural and interactional). Further analyses examined which of the three best predicts job satisfaction, the relationships between demographic variables and justice perceptions. T-test, correlations, and regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Contrary to our expectations, Ghanaian respondents evaluated higher distributive and procedural justice. As predicted, they indicated more sensitivity to interactional justice than their Finnish counterparts. Significant links between all three justice components and job satisfaction were recorded in both samples. Interactional justice indicated the strongest influence. Demographic variables showed more impact on justice perceptions among Ghanaian workers than their Finnish counterparts. The study's theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Perceived Organisational Support: A Cross-National Comparative Study Between Ghanaian and Finnish Industrial Workers

Perceived organisational support (POS) refers to an employee's perception concerning the degree to which organisational management values their contributions and cares about their wellbeing. Despite the influence of culture on organisational behaviour, there is still a paucity of culture-comparative studies. The study investigated POS from a cross-national perspective with Ghanaian and Finnish industrial workers. We hypothesised and tested a model predicting differences on POS using a cross-sectional data of Ghanaian (N = 320) and Finnish (N = 520) industrial workers. The data were collected with Eisenberger, Fasolo, and LaMastro's (1990) Survey of Perceived Organizational Support. Correlational analyses, t-test and hierarchical regression analyses were used to test four hypotheses. The relationships between employee demographic factors and POS were also analysed. The hierarchical regression analysis revealed worker demographic variables as impacting more significantly on POS among Ghanaian workers. Contrary to our expectations, Ghanaian workers perceived more managerial support than their Finnish counterparts. Structural equation modelling revealed job satisfaction as a mediator in these relationships. Path analysis performed to identify specific variables that were moderated by culture revealed organisational position and job satisfaction as potential variables. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.

Religious beliefs and responsibility attributions for industrial accidents among Ghanaian workers

IntroductionAttribution theory basically deals with how people explain their social world and its many phenomena, and conceptualises their causality and responsibility assignment as either logical or biased. According to the literature on causal attribution and accidents, attributional distortions are quite common in novel and ambiguous situations (Wong & Weiner, 1981 ) such as occurrences in industrial accidents (Dejoy, 1994; Turner & Pidgeon, 1997). As industrial accidents tend to afford fertile grounds for causal and responsibility attributional distortions, the work environment seems to be the appropriate domain to examine evidence of these biases and distortions. An example of such attributional distortion occurs when people make use of self-protective mechanisms to project blame for their personal failures onto external circumstances. This has been labelled the Self-defensive Attribution Hypothesis (Shaver, 1970; Walster, 1966). The defensive attribution hypothesis has been confirmed in laboratory studies (see Chaikin 6k Darley, 1973) and received empirical support from workplace research (Gyekye, 2001; Gyekye & Salminen, 2004; Kouabenan et al., 2001).Religious Beliefs and Social BehaviourReligion plays an essential role in human meaning system by providing a frame of reference for interpreting a whole range of experiences. For example, a person's religious beliefs impact on his/her personal response to illness, tragedies, accidents and misfortunes. This relationship between religious beliefs and human behaviour has intrigued both the earlier (see Allport, 1953; Durkheim, 1951; james, 1902) and contemporary (see Chatters, 2000; Levin, 1997; Levin & Chatters, 1998) researchers in the psychology of religion. By using religious beliefs as a framework, researchers have examined and found different personality constructs for adults (Wade & Kirkpatrick, 2002), as well as important links between people's socio-religious beliefs and their attitudes and behaviour (Levin, 1997; Weaver & AgIe, 2002). In corroboration with these findings, researchers on the sociology of religion (Ajzen, 1996; Chatters, 2000; Levin, 1997; Levin & Chatters, 1998; Kenworthy, 2003) have all noted that belief in God plays a causal or explanatory role in human behaviour.Remarking on the applicability of attribution concepts to the psychology of religion, Spilka et al. (1985) have noted that attributional activity consists, in part, of an individual's attempt to understand events and interpret them in terms of some broad meaning-belief system. According to these experts, most people have at their disposal three separate explanatory systems: (i) a set of naturalistic or secular schemas, and (ii) a set of religious schemas (e.g., God, Satan, evil activities) or (iii) to some combination of these two factors, which may or may not be used in a mutually exclusive manner.The Current StudyDespite the relevance of religion and its influence on several aspects of social behaviour, studies on attribution processes, biases, and distortions have typically been limited to explanations of social behaviour outside the work environment (see Kenworthy, 2003; Weeks ?a Lupfer, 2000). In effect, socio-religious beliefs that relate to fatalism, determinism, and beliefs about accident causality, which all play a central role in attribution theory have therefore not been adequately investigated. To the degree that belief in God and the supernatural play a causal or explanatory role in behaviour, they necessitate an exploratory examination in accident causality and responsibility assignment. The current study was thus designed to fill in the paucity. Consequently, it examines how religious beliefs, as dimensions of socio-cultural values, are related to the assignment of causality and responsibility for industrial accidents among Ghanaian industrial workers. Specifically, (i) it compares causality attributions for accident occurrence between workers affiliated with Christianity, Islam and African Traditional Religions and (ii) their accident frequency. …

Post-Retirement Satisfaction among Ghanaian Workers –The Case of Teachers and Non-Teachers

The general purpose of this study was to find out the factors that contributed to or accounted for post-retirement satisfaction among Ghanaian workers; and whether teacher retirees and non-teacher retirees differ in their post-retirement satisfaction with all those factors that account for post-retirement satisfaction. After reviewing, the literature eight main research questions were formulated to guide the study. Simple random sampling procedure was used to select 230 respondents for the study. The instrument for the study was the questionnaire. Data were analysed using correlations, cross-tabulations and chi square test of independence. The major findings from the study are as follows; Retirees in general are quite satisfied with all the indicators of post-retirement satisfaction. However, a larger proportion of non-teacher retirees as opposed to teacher retirees were satisfied with their post-retirement satisfaction. International Journal of Educational Research Vol. 3 (2) 2007 pp. 319-333

Cultural Differences in Risk Perception: Comparison of USA and Ghanaian Workers

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in risk perception between two cultures — USA and Ghanaian industry workers. A twenty question modified version of a risk perception questionnaire (Leonard, Hill, and Karnes, 1989) was administered to 73 participants from both the USA and the Republic of Ghana. Significant differences in ratings of hazard situations were identified. Implications for global workplace safety training are discussed.

Social Interaction

A field study was conducted in the United States, England, and Ghana assessing the frequency of use and rated value of social interaction. Twenty-two American, twenty-six English, and nineteen Ghanaian workers from similar manufacturing plants participated in the study. Behavioral observations of the frequency of engaging in social interaction over a 14-day period as well as a survey of the importance of social interaction to the workers served as the dependent variables. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the frequency of use and rated importance of social interaction is culturally dependent. The role of societal norms and values is discussed within the framework of Organizational Behavior Modification.