Regional crises and corruption: the eclipse of the quality of working life in Nigeria
| Pages | 571-591 |
| Published date | 01 April 2019 |
| Date | 01 April 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-02-2018-0043 |
| Author | Toyin Ajibade Adisa,Gbolahan Gbadamosi |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
Regional crises and corruption:
the eclipse of the quality of
working life in Nigeria
Toyin Ajibade Adisa
School of Business and Law, University of East London, London, UK, and
Gbolahan Gbadamosi
Department of Leadership, Strategy and Organisation, Bournemouth University,
Bournemouth, UK
Abstract
Purpose –In recent years, there has been a rapid decline in the quality of working life (QWL) of Nigerian
workers at all levels. This phenomenon is cryptic and knowledge thereof is inadequate due to a dearth of
compelling research on QWL in Nigeria. The purpose of this paper is to a deeper understanding of QWL
among Nigerian workers by investigating the impact of corruption and regional crises on QWL in this
non-western context. The study also examines what QWL means to Nigerian employees.
Design/methodology/approach –The study employs qualitative data gleaned from semi-structured
interviews.
Findings –The research reveals that corruption has a strongly negative effect on employees’QWL, which in
turn affects their motivation, attitude towards their job and the psychological contract between them and
their employers. Furthermore, the findings revealed that regional crises (such as the heinous activities of the
Boko Haram sect in the north–east, the continuing agitation of the secessionists (e.g. the Indigenous People of
Biafra), in the south–east, and the tumultuous activities of the Niger Delta Avengers in the south–south) have
combined to reduce employees’QWL.
Research limitations/implications –The extent to which the findings of this research can be generalised
is constrained by the selected sample of the research (public sector employees).
Originality/value –These results and the practical implications thereof will be useful to the Nigerian
Government, policymakers and organisations for creating and enhancing good QWL in Nigeria.
Keywords Corruption, Work, Quality of working life, Nigerian workers, Regional crisis
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Work occupies a major part of daily life and our thoughts. It determines who we are and
how we want to connect with our world. For many people, the presence or indeed absence of
work represents the connection that links us to the outside world (Martel and Dupuis, 2006).
Ideally, work provides satisfaction (Clark and Farmer, 1998) and gives a sense of purpose
and accomplishment to employees (Gambles et al., 2006; Guest, 2001). Thus, an enabling
environment wherein employees’quality of working life (QWL) will be enhanced remains
essential (Askari et al., 2018). The environment should be serene and devoid of
environmental, political and economical crises. Research on QWL has a long tradition,
vestiges of which are rooted in classic job satisfaction and employee motivation research
(see Blauner, 1964; Herzberg, 1966; Maslow, 1943). The intervening years were characterised
with a broad, sometimes contradictory, literature identifying the variables affecting QWL.
However, the need for and the potential value of good QWL cannot be underestimated.
Enhanced QWLhas been associated with a wide rangeof benefits, such as improved business
performance,greater creativity, enhancedemployee commitment, low employee turnover, low
absenteeism and so on. This is perhaps why employees have been identified as the most
important resource in an organisation (Gabčanová, 2011). QWL is predicated on a set of
objectives, organisational conditions, practices and employees’perceptions that they are safe
at work and thatthey will be able to grow and developas human beings (Teryima et al., 2016).
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 41 No. 3, 2019
pp. 571-591
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-02-2018-0043
Received 13 February 2018
Revised 28 May 2018
25 July 2018
Accepted 25 July 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
571
Regional crises
and corruption
The administrative system and the workand social environments of an organisation also play
a vital role in determining employees’QWL (Cunningham and Eberle, 1990). Furthermore,
QWL also considers employees’professional well-being and the degree to which employees’
work experience is rewarding, fulfilling and devoid of negative personal consequences
(Shamir and Salomon,1985). The quality of work deservedlymatters as much as the quantity
thereof. Therefore, all work should be fair and decent, with realistic opportunities for
development and fulfilment (Taylor, 2017).
Over the years, there has been a plethora of studies undertaken on employees’QWL,
mostly in western countries (Fields and Thacker, 1992; Martel and Dupuis, 2006; Sirgy
et al., 2008). Many studies have also been done in developing countries such as China
(Shen et al., 2014), Hong Kong (Ng and Chiu (1997), South Africa (Van der Berg and
Martins, 2013), Tai wan (Lai et al., 2012) and Nigeria (Ogungbamila and Idemudia, 2016;
Tongo, 2015). Moreover, in developing countries, fulfilling one’s obligations to one’s
families is often priority in QWL, and when a job provides such opportunities, then it is
often deemed a high-quality job (Kiggundu, 1982). However, Africa, specifically Nigeria,
remains an under-researched context. This study assumes that the organisational
parameters, the economy, employees’needs, and the cultural and institutional frameworks
of organisations in many developed nations are not the same as in Nigeria. Therefore,
Nigerian-focused study, which this paper seeks to contribute, is needed.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, Nigeria has continued to seek economic growth
and prosperity. According to the Nigerian High Commission UK (2017), Nigeria has
undergone a major economic transformation and is now one of the fastest growing
economies in Africa. The questions, however, remain: does Nigeria have the enabling
environment to succeed? Does its workforce have the required QWL to excel? This paper
takes a two-pronged approach to these questions.
First, unethical practices and corruption are some of the greatest challenges to African
society and its leaders, threatening to undermine economic growth, democratic stability and
sustenance, and general development efforts (Gbadamosi, 2006). The issues of good
governance and transparency are critical in all societies, but more so in poor countries
seeking to break the cycle of poverty and lack of development (Gbadamosi, 2006). This is
because corruption restricts investments and economic growth and undermines poverty
alleviation, which are critical for Nigeria –and Africa at large. Corruption remains perhaps
one of the greatest threats to the development of nations and it is perhaps therefore
unsurprising that countries that have successfully controlled it are among the most
developed. The relationship between QWL and a well-run society with a minimal level of
corruption is therefore palpable.
Second, national and regional conflicts tend to hinder economic development and QWL.
This is evident in countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, the Democratic
Republic of Congo and South Sudan (among others) given the evidence of the devastation of
war and sectional crises. In the last decade, Nigeria has been in the news for many national,
regional and religious crises (Alao and Iyanda, 2017; Okpaga et al., 2012). Most of these
crises have been debilitating for development; for example, the Boko Haram conflicts in the
north–east, the militia groups in the south–south, the separationist agitations
predominantly in the south–east and most recently the migrant herdsmen killings largely
in the north and sporadically in the south as well.
The combination of corruption and internal strife hinders cohesion and development
among the citizenry and debilitates QWL of workers. The root cause of the recent decline in
employee morale and commercial growth, the economic recession, the high rate of inflation
and the high unemployment rate (which is causing many organisations to reduce the sizes of
their workforces) have primarily been attributed to pervasive regional crises and
interspersed corruption (Fapohunda, 2013; Lawal et al., 2017; Onuba, 2017; Riti et al., 2017).
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