The role of work environment to Organizational productivity: a case of some selected public Institutions in jimma town

Abstract

The physical work environment may be one of the many elements influencing organizational performance. It is essential to make sure that human assets, the most important asset of organizations, are happy and satisfied with their work environment. This study is therefore being conducted to investigate how the physical work environment affects job performance in the public sectors in Jimma Oromia, Ethiopia. To achieve this purpose, both descriptive and explanatory research designs were used in order to identify the physical work environment that affects organizational performance. Mixed approach was used for answering research questions. 150 employees were selected by using stratified random sampling from eight public sectors in Jimma. In the process of answering the basic questions, structured questionnaire that include demographic profiles, the working environment and performance of employees, was designed in open-ended, closed ended and likert scales. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with top officials of the public sectors and observation of each sectors were included in the study. Descriptive statistics involved the use of frequencies and mean. Inferential statistics were used to observe the variation in the performance of employees among the different levels of each of the explanatory variables with the aid of SPSS. Multiple Regression Model is used to test the hypotheses stated in this study regarding the performance of employees in relation to each of the independent variables of the study. The R2 result shows that there is a significant strong and linear relationship between the dependent variable employee’s performance and the independent variables. Accordingly, result of the study indicates that inconvenient lighting, ventilation, sound or noise, landscape or space office and temperature has the most effect on job performance. The findings further indicate that, most respondents feel they are not satisfied with their indoor physical work environment. Even if they believe that their indoor physical work environment of the sector they work in has effect on their job performance, the overall finding of the self-rating implies that employees feel that they have good performance. So, if the physical environment of their work place is improved they could perform better. The study also attempted to forward some possible recommendations. These among others include: public sectors should Create roomy and well-organized work space for the employees, make the working environment better; re-design the space to facilitate more comfortable and efficient work environments, use sound and visual barriers, keep workplace furniture and work surfaces away from line of sight distractions and also it is better if the government should pull offices together to solve infrastructural problem.