Workplace Environment Dimensions and Employee Performance in the Public Sector

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between the workplace environment and employee job performance using a multidimensional approach (relationships, personal growth, and system maintenance and change). It also examines the potential role of perceived organisational support (POS) in enhancing this relationship in the public sector. A cross-sectional research design with a focus on a quantitative approach was employed, with data collected from 169 public sector employees in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS SEM). The findings show that system maintenance and change significantly influence employee job performance, while workplace relationships and personal growth positively correlate with job performance but have an insignificant impact. Also, perceived organisational support did not have a mediating effect in the relationship between workplace environment dimensions and employees' job performance.  The study highlights that not all aspects of the workplace environment equally influence employee job performance. This specificity aids in pinpointing that public sector efforts should prioritise clarity of organisational goals, innovation, flexibility and opportunity for development for maximum impact. The study contributes to existing literature by extending Person-Environment Fit and Social Exchange Theories within a developing economy context, showing the context-specific limitations of POS as a mediating mechanism and offering a more targeted understanding of workplace dynamics in public sector organisations.