Job characteristics, employee well-being, and job performance of public sector employees in Malaysia

• Pages: 102-119
• Published date: 14 January 2019
• Date: 14 January 2019
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-09-2017-0257
• Author: Johanim Johari,Faridahwati Mohd Shamsudin,Tan Fee Yean,Khulida Kirana Yahya,Zurina Adnan
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management,Politics,Public adminstration & management

Job characteristics, employee

well-being, and job performance

of public sector employees

in Malaysia

Johanim Johari

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia,

Sintok, Malaysia

Faridahwati Mohd Shamsudin

Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia,

Sintok, Malaysia, and

Tan Fee Yean, Khulida Kirana Yahya and Zurina Adnan

School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia,

Sintok, Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examin e the structural relation ships between the job itself

(i.e. job characteris tics), employee well-b eing and job performance in l ight of the new administrat ive

reform called the Government Transformation Program in Malaysia that stresses on measurable

performance outputs.

Design/methodology/approach –A total of 208 public sector employees from various public agencies and

departments in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia were surveyed. Some of the agencies that took

part in the study include state departments, the fishery department, agriculture-relatedagencies and the rural

development agency.

Findings –The authors observed that feedback positively influenced employee well-being, which served as a

significant mediator in the relationship between feedback and job performance. The results indicated that

26.4 percent of the variance that explained employee well-being was accounted for by the different

characteristics of a job. The authors also demonstrated that employee well-being accounted for 41.8 percent of

job performance.

Research limitations/implications –The authors recommended that public sector managers consider the

element of feedback and enhance employee well-being to improve job performance.

Originality/value –This study offers an insight into the effect of perceived changes in the job itself on

employee well-being and subsequent job performance in light of government reforms.

Keywords Job performance, Malaysia, Public sector organizations, Employee well-being, Job characteristics

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Since the early 1980s, the Malaysian Government has embarked on several administrative

reforms aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery

(Boyne et al., 2006; Siddiquee, 2006, 2014). The first wave of reform, the New Public

Management (NPM), was introduced in 1981–2005 to make public organizations much more

business-like or market-oriented (Diefenbach, 2009; Siddiquee, 2006, 2014). To ensure more

accountability, the second wave of reform, called the Government Transformation Program

(GTP), took place in 2009 in which seven National Key Results Areas (NKRA) were

identified as areas of priorities for change. Each NKRA was assigned clear targets and

measurable outcomes to facilitate performance assessment at various levels (Siddiquee,

2014). However, despite the changes, the performance of public sector organizations as a

whole in Malaysia was still lagging. The competitiveness ranking (Global Competitiveness

International Journal of Public

Sector Management

Vol. 32 No. 1, 2019

pp. 102-119

© Emerald PublishingLimited

0951-3558

DOI 10.1108/IJPSM-09-2017-0257

Received 28 September 2017

Revised 4 June 2018

Accepted 5 June 2018

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-3558.htm

102

IJPSM

32,1

Report, 2010–2014; IMD World Competitiveness Report, 2015) saw Malaysia’s ranking

declined from 12th place in 2013 to 14th place in 2014.

The poor performance of public sector organizations could be tackled at various levels.

We attempted to address this issue at the individual level. Since public sector employees

(PSEs) are the backbone of excellent public service delivery (Kim, 2006; Lee et al., 2006),

implementing measures at the individual level may result in the improvement of the overall

organizational performance. However, despite its importance, researchers have given scant

attention to the job performance of PSEs.

Among the various factors purported to influence job performance, we were interested in

the job itself (i.e. its characteristics). The literature has mainly focused on the motivation of

PSEs (Anderfuhren-Biget et al., 2010; Bright, 2008; Leisink and Steijn, 2009). However, less

attention was paid to examine the perceived motivational value of the job. If reforms

demand changes to the current practices, then the job of PSEs has to be assessed. According

to Bryson et al. (2014), the characteristics of the job and workplace are typically more

amenable to policy influence.

Employee well-being is an important consideration in Malaysia’s vision of becoming a

developed country by 2020. According to the Legatum Prosperity Index, the World

Happiness Report and the Gallup-Healthways Glocal Well-Being Index, Malaysia was

ranked in the top 25–28 percent globally for prosperity, happiness, well-being and

productivity compared with other ASEAN countries, such as the Philippines, Indonesia,

and Vietnam (Malaysia Productivity Corporation, 2017). Using Scandinavian countries

such as Sweden as a benchmark, Malaysia has outlined various measures to enhance the

well-being of its people to achieve its national productivity agenda (Malaysia Productivity

Corporation, 2017). Since well-being is an important national agenda, we sought to

examine to what extent job characteristics influence well-being and subsequent job

performance. By focusing on the role of the job itself as a potential contributor to the

effective delivery of public services, the present research has significant implications for

job design in public sector organizations.

Literature review

Job characteristics and job performance

As public service organizations have been continuously under pressure to improve their

services, many studies have been carried out on the factors that contribute to their

effectiveness. We add to the literature by examining job characteristics as a potential

contributor to the job performance of PSEs by using job characteristics model ( JCM)

(Hackman and Oldham, 1980). This model postulates that a job is motivational and

enriching when it has five key characteristics: skill variety, task significance, task identity,

autonomy and feedback. According to Hackman and Lawler (1971), these dimensions

combine additively to determine the psychological meaningfulness of a job while autonomy

and feedback determine the responsibility and knowledge of results. Experienced

meaningfulness of the work refers to the degree to which the individual experiences the job

as one which is generally meaningful, valuable, and worthwhile while experienced

responsibility for work outcomes refers to the degree to which the individual feels

personally accountable and responsible for the results of the work he or she does.

Knowledge of results refers to the degree to which the individual knows and understands

how effectively he or she is performing the job on a continuous basis. In essence, Hackman

and Lawler postulated that an employee experiences positive situation to the extent that he

or she learns (through knowledge of results) that he or she has performed well (through

experienced responsibility) on a task that he or she cares about (through experienced

meaningfulness). This positive circumstance is reinforcing to the employee, which also

serves as a motivational drive for him or her to perform better in future assigned tasks.

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Public sector

employees in

Malaysia