Impact of Motivation on the Job Performance of Public Enterprise Employees in Ethiopia: The Case of Ethio-Telecom

Abstract

This study investigates the nexus between employee motivation and job performance in public enterprises in Ethiopia with specific focus on ethio-telecom. A structured questionnaire was administered to 56 human resource management employees of the enterprise. The research used descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive analysis shows the mean and standard deviation of respondents score on intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and job performance; the result shows that the employees have above average scores on the dependent and independent variables. In order to determine the influence of motivation on job performance, multiple regression was utilized. To assess whether the mean scores of respondents on the motivation and job performance factors are statistically different from one another based on demographic variables, independent t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed. Hence, the result of the study shows that the relationship between intrinsic motivation and job performance is statistically insignificant; the coefficient of the variable demonstrates that the employee’s high level of intrinsic motivation might have led them to perform worse. On the other hand, the link between extrinsic motivation and the human resource management employee’s performance is positive and significant; it indicates that ethio-telecom’s attempt to enhance the level of its employee’s extrinsic motivation is effective in improving their job performance. The result of the independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance points out that there are no statistically significant differences in intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and job performance based on the employees gender, age, work experience, salary, and marital status. Nevertheless, there is a statistically significant difference in motivation across educational qualifications; employees with advanced degrees have significantly lower mean scores on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors. This article recommends ethio-telecom to provide moderate levels of intrinsic motivation to its human resource management employees. Moreover, the organization can generate better performance from its employees if it works to improve the motivation level of workers who have advanced educational qualifications.