The purpose of this study is to ascertain that reprehensive behaviors at work in the public and private sectors in Cameroon result from personal issues and these issues can impede employee performance. In other words, the study is designed to investigate impulsive behavior and attitude of employees due to family/personal issues and to test the effects of these behaviors on performance.

Online questionnaires were sent to 225 employees of public and private companies across the country. A total of 24 employees were sampled to be interviewed from both the public and private companies. The sample was given representation to both male and female using stratified random sampling. The collected data were analyzed using percentages, graphs and tables. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the application of both qualitative and quantitative measures. The findings indicated that personal issues account for the reprehensible and disreputable behavior of employees that are often neglected by the organization not having structures to handle such issues. Findings showed that employees in the Public sector of Cameroon behave more irrationally than those in the private sector because they are unable to manage their personal issues which greatly affects their performance although employees in the private sector had some personal issues that affect their performance. It was also found that employee performance is affected by personal issues. Finally, the findings revealed that most organizations in Cameroon do not have a structure to assist employees struggling with personal issues and those that had structures like counselling units put in place were ineffective and inefficient. The study suggested that counseling is a distinct tool to assist employees deal with problems and feelings that perturb their performance.

Excerpt

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to ascertain that reprehensive behaviors at

work in the public and private sectors in Cameroon result from personal

issues and these issues can impede employee performance. In other words,

the study is designed to investigate impulsive behavior and attitude of

employees due to family/personal issues and to test the effects of these

behaviors on performance. Personal issues have played a key role in

determining how employees behave at work. Employee attitude and

behavior are patterns, manners or body language of an employee towards

his/her co-workers, colleagues, sub-ordinates, boss, the public etc. It is

crucial to understand an individual from within, for instance what makes

them react the way they do or say the things they say. Building a team of

employees with exceptional performance is undoubtedly one of the focal

objectives for any organization. Therefore, the implications of this study

will help organizations to understand the impact of personal issues on

employee performance and how an intervention technique such as

counseling is a handy practice to ensure that employees are healthy

mentally to perform their duties. Online questionnaires were sent to 225

employees of public and private companies across the country. A total of

24 employees were sampled to be interviewed from both the public and

private companies. The sample was given representation to both male and

female using stratified random sampling. The collected data were analyzed

using percentages, graphs and tables. Data was analyzed using descriptive

statistics with the application of both qualitative and quantitative measures.

The findings indicated that personal issues account for the reprehensible

and disreputable behavior of employees that are often neglected by the

organization not having structures to handle such issues. Findings showed

that employees in the Public sector of Cameroon behave more irrationally

than those in the private sector because they are unable to manage their

personal issues which greatly affects their performance although employees

in the private sector had some personal issues that affect their

performance. It was also found that employee performance is affected by

personal issues. Finally, the findings revealed that most organizations in

Cameroon do not have a structure to assist employees struggling with

personal issues and those that had structures like counselling units put in

place were ineffective and inefficient. The study suggested that counseling

is a distinct tool to assist employees deal with problems and feelings that

perturb their performance.

VII

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ... 1

1.1

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ... 6

1.2

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY ... 7

1.3

RATIONALE ... 9

1.4

RESEARCH QUESTIONS ... 12

1.5

HYPOTHESIS ... 13

1.6

SCOPE OF STUDY ... 13

1.7

SIGNIFICANCE OF the STUDY ... 14

1.8

METHODOLOGY... 14

LITERATURE REVIEW ... 16

2.1

introduction ... 16

2.2 Employee attitude/behavior ... 18

2.3 Performance management ... 21

2.4 Personal issues... 24

2.4.1

ANGER ... 24

2.4.2 Trauma ... 31

2.4.2.1

Childhood Trauma ... 35

2.4.3

STRESS ... 41

2.4.3.1

Work Stress ... 45

2.4.3.2

Health Stress ... 46

2.4.3.3

Non-work related stress ... 48

2.4.4

Depression ... 49

2.4.5 Low self-esteem ... 59

VIII

2.4.5.1 THE CONSEQUENCES OF IMPOVERISHED SELF-ESTEEM. ... 60

2.4.5.2

PROMOTING POSITIVE SELF-ESTEEM ... 62

2.4.6

Problems and Setbacks ... 64

2.4.6.1

DEVELOPING PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS ... 66

2.4.7

Lack of self-control ... 72

2.4.7.1

Measures to build self-control ... 74

2.4.7.2

Impact of Self-control ... 76

2.4.8

Poor communication process ... 77

2.4.8.1

Interpersonal communication: ... 78

2.4.8.2

Intrapersonal communication ... 78

2.4.8.3

Organizational communication ... 79

2.4.8.4

FORMS OF COMMUNICATION ... 82

2.4.8.5

OTHER ASPECTS OF COMMUNICATION ... 83

a.)Listening ... 83

2.4.9

NEGATIVE THINKING ... 87

2.4.9.1

PRACTISING POSITIVE THINKING... 92

2.5 relationship between personal issues, employee attitude and performance ... 96

2.5

Managerial tool to assist with employees' personal issues ... 98

2.6.1

Implementing Counseling ... 100

2.6.1.1

Why study counseling skills ... 100

2.6.1.2

Types of Counseling ... 102

2.7 Managerial tools and techniques to boost employee performance ... 106

2.7.1

Communicate clear goals and expectations ... 107

2.7.2

Encourage open communication ... 107

2.7.3

Offer Incentives ... 107

2.7.4

Provide constant feedback on the positives ... 108

2.7.5

Adopt a culture of training ... 108

2.8 Managing reprehensive and disruptive behaviors ... 109

2.8.1

Identify the behavior ... 109

2.8.2

Attack the problem, not the employee. ... 110

2.8.3

Establish disciplinary procedures ... 110

2.8.4

Follow up with the employee... 111

METHODOLOGY ... 112

3.1 INTRODUCTION ... 112

3.2 RESEARCH METHOD ... 113

3.3

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION ... 114

3.3.1 Primary Sources ... 114

3.3.1.1

Interviews ... 115

3.3.1.2

Questionnaires... 116

3.3.2

Secondary Source ... 118

3.4 PROCEDURES ... 118

3.5 DATA ANALYSIS ... 121

3.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY ... 123

STRATEGY AND TECHNIQUES ... 126

4.0 INTRODUCTION ... 126

4.1 Public companies ... 127

4.1.1

Analysis of section I: ... 127

4.1.1.1

Distribution of respondents according to demographic information ... 127

4.1.2

Analysis of section II: ... 135

4.1.3

Analysis of section III: ... 136

4.1.4

Analysis of section IV: ... 139

QUESTION 23 E ... 141

4.1.5

Analysis of section V:... 142

4.4

Private companies ... 145

4.2.1 Analysis of section I: ... 145

4.4.1.1

Distribution of respondents according to demographic information ... 145

... 149

4.4.2

Analysis of section II: ... 153

4.4.3

Analysis of section III: ... 156

4.4.4

Analysis of section IV: ... 158

QUESTION 22 E ... 161

QUESTION 23 E ... 161

4.4.5

Analysis of section V:... 162

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS ... 172

5.1 INTRODUCTION ... 172

5.2

INTERPRETATION OF FINDINGS ... 173

5.2.1 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COMPANIES ... 173

5.3 Testing OF the hypothesis ... 177

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 179

6.1 INTRODUCTION ... 179

6.2 CONCLUSION ... 180

6.3 Recommendations for Future Research ... 182

6.3.1 Inclusion of counseling practices ... 182

6.1.1

Employee and family assistance programmes: ... 183

6.3.3 Improved Communication ... 184

6.3.4 Educational programs ... 184

6.3.5 Management commitment ... 185

6.4 Future Research ... 185

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Symptoms of stress: ...42

Table 2: Showing questionnaire distribution and return rate...126

Table 3: Distribution of respondents according to gender...127

Table 4: Distribution of respondents according to age group...128

Table 5: Distribution of respondents according to married status...130

Table 6: Distribution of respondents according to educational level...131

Table 7: Distribution of respondents according to length of service...132

Table 8: Responses to question 1-10...135

Table 9: Responses to statements 11-21...136

Table 10: Responses to question 22-24...140

Table 11: Responses to question 25...141

Table 12: Responses to question 26...142

Table 13: Showing questionnaire distribution and return rate...144

Table 14

Distribution according to gender...145

Table 15:

Distribution of respondents according to age group...146

Table16: Distribution of respondents according to marital status...147

XII

Table 17: Distribution of respondents according to educational level...149

Table 18: Distribution of respondents according to length of service...151

Table 19: Responses to questions 1-10... 153

Table 20: Responses to questions 11-21...155

Table 21: Responses to questions 22-24...158

Table 22: Responses to question 25...161

Table 23: Responses to question 26...163

XIII

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1- Presumed relationship between variables...122

Figure 2- Pie chart showing the distribution of respondents...127

Figure 3- Pie chart showing gender distribution...128

Figure 4- Bar chart showing the distribution of respondents according to

age group...129

Figure 5- Bar chart showing the distribution of respondents according to

marital status...130

Figure 6- Bar chart showing the distribution of respondents according to

level of Education...132

Figure 7- Bar chart showing the distribution of respondents according to

length of service...133

Figure 8- Bar chart showing employee suggestions on how to tackle

personal issues...142

XIV

Figure 9 - Bar chart showing employee suggestions on how to improve

performance...143

Figure 10- Pie chart showing the distribution of respondents...145

Figure 11- Pie chart showing gender distribution...146

Figure 12- Bar chart showing the distribution of respondents according to

age group...147

Figure 13- Bar chart showing the distribution of respondents according to

marital status...148

Figure 14- Bar chart showing the distribution of respondents according to

level of Education...150

Figure 15- Bar chart showing the distribution of respondents according to

length of service...151

Figure 16- Bar chart showing employee suggestions on how to tackle

personal issues...162

Figure 17 - Bar chart showing employee suggestions on how to improve

performance...164

DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to the Holy Spirit and my Lord, Jesus Christ of

Nazareth who did not just give me the desire to pursue a doctoral study

but also saw me through to the end of this thesis.

XVI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor and advisor

Dr. Jack Rosenzweig for his patience, motivation, and immense knowledge.

I am also grateful to the following university staff: Catherine Gutarra,

Nadia Gabaldon & Arturo Gonzalez for their unfailing support and

assistance.

I thank in a special way the managers and supervisors who gave me the

opportunity to do a study in their organization as well as the employees

from the various organizations who took part in the study without being

compensated. Without your participation this research would not have

been possible.

For hours of discussion, valuable comments and contributions on this

research, my sincere thanks go to Dr. Ayompe-Mody Lacour and Dr.

Agbor Terence. Thank you Dr. Ayompe-Mody Lacour for the advice and

explanations each time I had concerns about my research. Dr. Agbor

XVII

Terence without your motivation and inspiration, I would not have

considered doing a doctoral study.

A very special thanks goes out to my sister, mother & aunty; Nicole Okie,

Pastor Regina Okie and Mrs. Ayompe-Mody Emilia Okie respectively, for

their moral, financial and spiritual support. I am also grateful to my other

family members, friends particularly Mr. Njang Emmanuel who have

supported me along the way.

I must also acknowledge my husband Njang Elvis for the continuous

encouragement throughout these years of study and through the process of

writing this thesis. Without his love and editing assistance, I would not

have finished this thesis.

I express my very profound gratitude to Mrs Omoregie Judith Mercy for

her assistance in the collection of data, to Dorcas Pokua for her continuous

encouragement and to my colleagues who have been very supportive.

Appreciation also goes out to the Atse's family in Bedford, United

Kingdom who have also been a support system at every given milestone in

XVIII

my life particularly in the course of undertaking this research. I doubt that I

will ever be able to convey my appreciation fully.

In conclusion, I recognize that this research would not have been possible

without the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Thus, I am grateful to the

Almighty God for the good health, strength and wellbeing that were

needed to complete this thesis.

CHAPTER ONE

1 INTRODUCTION

Employee wellbeing, while it may sound less important, deserves just as

much attention as any broken bone.

Gennard & Judge (2005) assume that

roubled employees facing various personal issues in their lives are out

rightly less efficient as far as performance is concerned, they are known to

be quite rude, reprehensive, impatient, ill-mannered, discourteous and

uncivil; which ultimately translates into poor organizational performance

with its entire negative indices manifesting. By nature, human beings are

highly complex and unpredictable. In spite of available motivational

techniques and incentives, the average worker may still be struggling with

issues that will take a toll on their performance. It is on the strength of this

fact that it is worth identifying personal issues that may negatively affect

the performance of employees and counsel them on the best ways to

provide support. This is in a bid to deduce appropriate measures or

techniques to minimize the occurrence of having employees left all by

themselves to handle issues which would have been also handled by the

organization (Cameroon private and public sectors) they work for, and by

that; making them feel neglected. The main idea behind this research is to

get organizations realize that everyone has an issue, two or even more they

are dealing with

(Marchington & Wilkinson 2005)

. Sometimes these issues may

be those which they have grown up with, others may simply be

experiencing these issues at adult age. Having all these baggage would

definitely have a toll on employee performance. Unfortunately this is rarely

ever considered as important. To every organization, an employee must

turn up for work (recruited) at the time he was contracted to do so, get

paid(reward) for services rendered or goods produced, gets trained for new

equipment or new procedures in order to get that employee improve on

their output and results (training and development), resolves unavoidable

conflicts between themselves and management or other employees,

(employee relations and conflict management) and get some incentives and

benefits for the purpose of motivating them. Now after all these measures

have fully been applied, the employee still struggles with performance

sometimes barely a week after all these measures.

It is widely believed that a decline in performance in both the public and

private sectors generally and in Cameroon in particular can be attributed to

both internal and external factors that impede employees' capabilities at

work. This trend is occasioned by the incidence of different forms of

unproductive and reprehensible behaviors, stemming from all the baggage

which an employee drags with him to work that may result from his

present, past and childhood experiences. Every organization desires in one

way or the other to improve its performance, either in a formal or an

informal way in order to meet the generally expected standard and goals of

the organization. How to ensure that this performance increases at an ever

increasing rate depends on numerous factors; however this study would

limit itself to investigating employee performance by tackling personal

issues that have long stood as obstacles to employee performance either

through counseling techniques or measures as it is believed that the easier

way to get through to an individual is to talk with him, hear him out and

counseling is one of those forms through which an organization can reach

out to its employees facing difficulties. A look into most organizations has

shown that many organizations have neglected the role of counseling in its

strategic activities. Board meetings are held with stakeholders, top level

management, long term and short term goals are put forth, strategies to

achieve are proposed but in all of these counseling the very individual who

are the main wheel drivers of the machinery of organizations to its success

are usually undermined especially when these very individuals are of the

worst behavior towards their co-workers and the public. Not identifying

what problems your employees have, what state of mind they had when

they walked in through the doors of the organization is like expecting a hen

to lay eggs for you without nurturing it.

As per Jackson & Schuler (2000), if employee performance is paramount to

the prosperity of an organization. Thus, organizational success is a

derivative of employee performance. Therefore employees' mental health

and state of mind which could be catered for through counseling is

paramount to organizational success. Murphy and Cleaveland (1991)

mention that the human capital of an organization gives life and meaning

to the organization. In other words the performance of an organization is

predicated upon the attitude of the human capital.

One would realize that this is quite costly for organizations that undergo

these processes and procedures as a cycle. The answer may just be looking

at the bigger picture and thinking outside the box. A lot of research has

been done on performance of which most of it was inclined towards

performance in a holistic manner and how reliable and valid the

instruments used in appraising performance are instead of investigating the

views of those individuals who are being appraised as to what actually

hinders or enhances their performance (Cook & Crossman 2004).

Conclusion from various studies shows that unless an organization takes it

upon itself to support its employees with their struggles or personal issues

particularly in the areas where their performance is most affected, the

organization is bound to suffer as goals would not be met, employees

would not be motivated to bring in their best, or buy the vision and

mission of the organization and to work as though they were in a team

(IIgen et al., 1979).

This study would limit itself to personal issues that pertain to the society in

question, which in this case is the Cameroonian society.

1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to ascertain that reprehensive behaviors at work in

the public and private sectors in Cameroon result from personal issues and

establish that these issues can impede employee performance. The study

would help to find out the views and difficulties of the individuals who are

subjects of performance appraisal and to identify the best measure to help

them overcome or minimize these personal issues so that they do not

influence their performance negatively.

The specific objectives of this research work are:

To investigate into disreputable behavior and attitude of

employees at work.

ii.

To explore personal issues that employees are most likely to bring

with them to work that may make them act reprehensibly.

iii.

To create a link between personal issues and employee

performance.

iv.

To identify and apply measures that can be put in place to assist

employees with personal issues in order to improve performance.

v. To make appropriate recommendations on the possible ways to

assist employees with personal issues in order to enhance their

performance

1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Cameroon

an African country in the central part of this continent that

shares it's boundaries with Nigeria to the west; it is bordered by Chad to

the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial

Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south

Having

French and English as the two official languages of country, Cameroon has

an array of companies and parastatals. The country has a huge economic

sector in the Littoral region known as Douala which is named the

"economic capital of the country" Also, in the central region of the

country, Yaoundé which is being named as the "administrative hub", has

vast number of ministries named according to the activities they are

involved in. For example Ministry of Higher Education is in charge of

implementing and developing government policies and programs in

universities and professional school. Cameroon operates in both the public

and private sectors to boost its economy. By private sectors, it implies

companies in the national economy that are not under direct government

control, usually run by individuals and groups although they are legally

regulated by the government. This sector is composed of the business

sector that is intended to earn a profit for the owners of the enterprise. The

private sectors in Cameroon are commonly called corporations, limited

companies, limited liability companies, or unlimited companies. . It is

worth mentioning that the private sector in Cameroon should account for a

higher percentage of the population's energetic workforce although the

public sector is the main recruiting force. The public sector is that part of

the economy which provides various governmental services and accounts

for one of the largest sectors of the economy. Services provided by the

public sectors include: Law enforcement (the military

and police), infrastructure, social services, public hospitals and public

education. Also, the public sector in Cameroon runs at three levels, the

national, regional, and local (municipal). Funding for public services is

usually raised through taxes. There are also times when the public sector

would partner with an organization in the private sector to create a public-

private partnership. In some cases, the public sector is taken over by the

private which is known as privatization. Furthermore there are three

economic sectors in Cameroon, the primary sector constituting mainly raw

materials, the secondary sector- the manufacturing and tertiary for services.

Cameroon is the largest and one of most diversified economy in the

Central Africa region, but still largely depends on agriculture and oil

revenue to support growth and job creation. In order to achieve the main

aim of this study, both the private and public sectors in Cameroon would

be sampled.

1.3 RATIONALE

This study addresses the problem of misconduct or reprehensible behavior

likely resulting from personal issues that employees demonstrate at work that

impede their performance in spite of all measures an organization may put

in place to motivate its employees. It is not uncommon to walk into a public

office in Cameroon and get snubbed and yelled at for no good reason. It is

very usual to be insulted by an individual ranging from top to bottom

management extending to staff for merely raising a concern, a suggestion or

a problem. It is not strange to get to an office and get ignored for half an

hour simply because the receptionist or the individual to attend to you is lost

in their own world, day dreaming or simply not in the mood to talk to

anyone. The nonchalant attitude of employees towards their work, their

colleagues and the public is becoming notorious even when management

sometimes sees into it that employees are provided with the best incentives

and other benefits, absences are extremely high. Mistakes at work are

eminent, focus and concentration levels are low, unpleasant and impulsive

behavior amongst employees is alarming. It has been the practice of some

employees to feign illness when the level of supervision from superior is

intense or they have personal business to attend to. In other words, work to

an average employee is a burden regardless of how management tries to

accommodate them. These employees most often than not come late to

work, some show up at mid-day; others close earlier than scheduled This

attitude and behavior has gradually but successfully crept into the private

sector too. It is quite disturbing because one would think that these attitudes

occur in the public sector only, nonetheless this attitude is creeping into the

private sectors which ought to be a standard from which the public sector

can look up to. Poor and impulsive behaviour and an indifference towards

work in whatever guise translates to manpower wastage and; profoundly

affects the performance of employees negatively. Therefore, it is imperative

that a serious investigation be conducted on the state employees find

themselves in, what they may be dealing with that they may not be able to

handle. So they bring along with them to work personal issues that make

them harsh to their colleagues, customers and the public as a whole, this in

no doubt hugely affects their performance. Abang et al. (2013) state ``It is

obvious that some organizations are faced with poor level of attitudes such

as erratic provision of services has become an increasing persistent problem

facing the corporation and seriously affecting the general public, careless and

casual handling of the existing tools and machines and general nonchalant

attitude of staff in the discharge of their duties". Following the above

quotation, it is apparent that the attitude and behavior employees bring to

work and exhibit have a significant impact on their performance. This brings

us to the realization that there is a serious problem that could cause monetary

loss and unnecessary expenditures as a result of poor performance leading

to mistakes that would eventually affect the public and the economy. In a

developing country like Cameroon, where all available resources, human and

materials, are adequately utilized for sustainable development, it is important

to investigate what the causes of such erratic behaviors are for employees in

both the public and private sectors. It is assumed that these sectors ought to

be very efficient and effective, as they have a major impact on the economy

of the country, considering the fact that both sectors are substantial

employers of labor in Cameroon today.

For the purpose of this study, both the public and the private sectors of the

various regions would be sampled (stratified random sampling).

Consequently, the findings of this study would reflect to a large extent,

employee performance with regards to social issues in all units of both the

public and private sectors in Cameroon. The question posed is what could

really be the problem? This brings the researcher to asking some questions.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

i. Are personal issues the cause of public and private employees behaving

reprehensibly and disreputably at work?

ii. Are employees with personal issues poor performers?

iii. Should counseling be considered as a helpful talking therapy for

employees to discuss and talk about their problems and feelings?

1.5 HYPOTHESIS

The null hypotheses (H

Employees in the public sector have less personal issues that do not

interfere with their performance since they gain from stability,

benefits, relaxed and flexible schedules

The alternative hypothesis (H

ii.

Both public and private employees with reprehensible

behavior/attitude have personal issues and these organizations do

not have structures such as counselling units to pay attention to these

personal issues that affect their employees.

iii. Personal issues may be big stumbling blocks to employee

performance.

1.6 SCOPE OF STUDY

This research work is limited to seven companies/ministries (public and

private) in Cameroon. It was intended to cut across all ten regions of the

country, however it would be limited to seven major regions of the country

with the Adamawa region to represent the three Northern areas (Maroua,

Garoua and Ngaoundere). Buea to represent the South West, Bamenda to

represent the Northwest, Bafoussam to represent the West region. Douala

to represent the Littoral region, Ebolowa to represent the South and Bertoua

to represent the East and Yaoundé will represent the Center region. These

seven majors regions would provide seven companies as a stratified form of

sampling.

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study would be of immense help to the human resource

practitioners in the public and private sectors in Cameroon in ensuring a

considerable reduction in insolent and reprehensible behavior and thereby

enhancing performance

Furthermore, the implications of this study will help organizations to

understand the impact of personal issues on employee performance and how

an intervention technique is a handy practice to ensure that employees are

healthy mentally to perform their duties.

1.8 METHODOLOGY

The stratified random sampling approach is used in this study and data will

be collected from different sources. The two sources of data collection for

this study are:

i. Primary source which would involve collecting raw data directly from the

field, which in this case is the public and private sectors of Cameroon.

Questionnaires will be administered through an online survey, Interviews

will be conducted through direct phone calls, Skype and WhatsApp.

ii.

Secondary source which involves the collection of data from published

books, journals and articles.

CHAPTER

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

A study done by

Richard & John (1998) points out that

changes in employee

behavior is an indication that an individual may have personal issues that

are interfering with their work. Personal issues ranging from depression,

rape, child abuse, domestic violence amongst others ought to be looked

into diligently and such issues are noted to be destructive in the lives of

those suffering from them. Depression is real, too many people are

unhappy. Depression is not only from relationships be it erotic or filial, but

from work places too. Societal pressure is causing these behavioral patterns

portrayed in most offices particularly the public and private sector offices

in general and particularly in Cameroon. (

Boyne et al.1999).

In this chapter, relevant literature from articles, journals, books, academic

literature and professional publications on personal issues, employee

behavior and performance as well as measures of intervention such as

counseling would be covered. The chapter discusses the various individual

problems or issues that individuals/ employees are faced that trigger

reprehensive or poor behavior which influences their performance

negatively.

2.2 EMPLOYEE ATTITUDE/BEHAVIOR

In an attempt to analyze the causes of poor attitude at work, several

researches have been done before on employee behavior. Employee

behavior is the way in which an employee responds to his environment, his

colleague or the task assigned to him (Locke et al. 2002). Negative

behaviors in the workplace range from making rude, condescending,

insulting and demeaning statements to others, using angry and hostile

tones, shouting or yelling, throwing things or slamming doors when

displeased, belittling colleagues in front of others to being physically or

verbally abusive toward others, attacking immediately if criticized or

questioned, laziness, rumor mongering or gossiping etc.

Greenberg & Baron

(1995) in their book "Behavior in Organizations: Understanding and Managing the Human

Side of Work

" explained that there are "red flags" in an employee's behavior

that can be used as clear indicators that the individual is struggling with

some issues. However, these signs may seem harmless initially but taken

together they may represent a serious problem specifically on the climate in

the organization and/or performance .It is therefore very important to

avoid ignoring the initial indicators of these red flags.

Stranks (2007) believes

that t

here are some of the signs and patterns that might help to identify an

employee who has a problem or who is struggling with individual issues.

These patterns include: Changes in mood, defensiveness and inappropriate

outbursts, changes in workplace performance, changes in productivity or

the quality of work, attendance problems, frequent conflicts over trivial

matters, procrastination, inability to concentrate, accidents or incidents,

complaints from other workers, customers or the public, confusion,

forgetfulness, sadness, harshness, continuous lateness to work, changes in

appearance (Mawhinney et al. 2001).

According to George & Brief (1992), employee behavior can be

understood as an employee's reaction to a particular situation at the

workplace. It is fundamental that employees behave sensibly at the

workplace not only to gain appreciation and respect from co-workers and

the public but also to maintain a healthy work culture. One needs to adhere

to the rules and regulations of workplace set by the organization. It is

imperative to know that the work place is not a place where employees can

shout on fellow workers, spread rumors, criticize one another, quarrel and

be less serviceable to the public or be rude with team members. Such

climate of poor behavior not only affects the business but the reputation of

the organization as a whole. All these put together would bring down

productivity due to poor performance.

2.3 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Performance management is an all-important practice in Human resource

management because the cost of poor performance is a lot greater than any

other practice in HR worth mentioning because it can lead to low quality

products, loss of customers. If deadlines are not meet or are inferior, the

entire activity of the organization is slowed down. (Huczynski & Fitzpatrick,

1989).

Stredwick (2005) asserts that in the private sector, the performance of an

organization is measured in terms of its profits made and the increase in

value of its shares while in the public sector performance measures are more

controversial. Armstrong (1992) defined performance management as a

process or set of processes that is used to establish a shared understanding

on what is to be achieved as per goals set for an organization. According to

Armstrong & Baron (1998), performance management is an approach that

is seen as strategic and integrated which is expected to deliver success to

organisations through the improvement of performance of the individuals,

thus not having employees attain this height of performance is seen as a

major hindrance to the existence of an organization.

Furthermore, Heathfield (2007) puts it in a better way, he identifies it as a

process where a work environment that people are able to perform to the

best they can is created. This implies that if the environment is hostile, then

performance is not feasible. This gives us a more elaborate understanding

of the work behaviors and attitude vis-à-vis performance. If employees find

their colleagues hostile to them, there is no doubt that outstanding

performance would be far-fetched. Let's not forget that the benefits of

good performance cannot be under rated. If employees perform as

expected, there would be reputational advantages with customers/the

public, superior productivity and ease of facilitating continuous

improvement and change.

Cummings & Schwab (1973) mention that becoming a high performance

working business will produce benefits in terms of customer attraction,

customer retention, customer loyalty, and will in turn, therefore, yield other

consequential advantages in terms of workforce planning, production

planning, product/service quality and profitability. Initially for the

organization, these rewards will not necessarily comprise of financial

benefits, but also of job security, which is now envisaged as a sustainable

competitive advantage, a major asset of the business as a high performance

working enterprise, and so forth.

High performance cannot be disregarded, such practices can improve

motivation, job satisfaction and employee commitment. As seen earlier,

organizations that have adopted high performance working practices have

seen improved quality and innovation. As a result, customer loyalty has

increased, prices remain competitive and the organization too remains

competitive in its marketplace

2.4 PERSONAL ISSUES

Goewey (2014) admits that if an employee has a personal problem or issue,

that's a different ball game altogether but if it is affecting their performance

in the work environment and affecting other employees, that's where the

organization needs to get interested and get involved. However, for an

organization to intervene or get involved, management needs to

understand what some of these personal issues are in the first place.

Personal issues are wide and extensive ranging from internal and external

factors but for the sake of feasibility, the list of personal issues for this

study would be exclusively narrowed down.

2.4.1 ANGER

Different people feel and show anger in various and different ways. Anger

is a feeling that is sequel when we are not happy about something, when we

are disappointed, when we are experiencing failure or seeing something

that is not fair or someone not treated fairly (Carter & Minirth 2004).In

modern society, anger is seen as an immature or uncivilized response to

frustration, threat, violation, or loss. The norm is to keep calm and to be

coolheaded. These are considered more socially acceptable and of good

conduct. Furthermore, anger that is constantly entrapped can lead to

persistent violent thoughts or actions. So the question is how much of

anger should be tolerated. Everyone gets angry over something; however

the anger the researcher will be discussing is the anger that is destructive;

that which can hurt or harm people. Put forward by Tafrate & Kassinove

(2009)

, t

he anger that affects our health, lives and relationship with people

or that which occurs very often and is destructive to even property and

must therefore be managed adequately so as to live a happy life. Edmiston

& Scheff (2010) allege that anger is said to be destructive when the

following signs are present in employees:

The tendency of always starting a fight or always getting involved in fights with

other workers or other individuals outside work.

Easily provoked to violence

Having anger that lasts longer than it should.

Unable to control their anger.

Easily irritated at the slightest opportunity

Always venting anger at innocent parties

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Title: Personal Issues and Employee Performance. A study about the impulsive behavior and attitude of employees of public and private companies
Author: Edith Endale (Author)
Publication Year: 2017
Pages: 213
Catalog Number: V387558
ISBN (eBook): 9783668625426
ISBN (Book): 9783668625433
Language: English
Tags: personal issues employee performance

Quote paper: Edith Endale (Author), 2017, Personal Issues and Employee Performance. A study about the impulsive behavior and attitude of employees of public and private companies, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/387558

Personal Issues and Employee Performance. A study about the impulsive behavior and attitude of employees of public and private companies

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