EFFECTIVENESS OF NON-FINANCIAL MOTIVATIONAL SCHEMES ON CONSTRUCTION WORKERS OUTPUT IN NIGERIA

EFFECTIVENESS OF NON-FINANCIAL MOTIVATIONAL SCHEMES ON CONSTRUCTION WORKERS OUTPUT IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

In Nigeria’s labour intensive construction industry, ways of motivating workers to ensure high productivity and enhanced job performance are regarded as important factors for long-term survival of firms. Financial motivation is adjudged a lower level motivator and should not be treated as a prime motivator by many authors. This study investigates the effectiveness of non-financial motivational schemes employed by construction firms within the Lagos metropolis. A survey research design was adopted. The survey instrument comprises two sets of close ended questionnaires administered to skilled and semi-skilled workers and the management staff. The findings  of the study reveal that the most effective non-financial motivation to skilled and semi-skilled workers include workers training, promotion, and workshops. The value of this study for national development is in view of the slow response of the construction industry of developing countries to mechanization of construction operation, which leaves them with large workforce, necessitating the need to adopt an effective means of motivation to enhance productivity.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of the Study

According to Mee-Edoiye and Andawei (2002), employees in the civil and building construction industry of any country are the largest compared to other single industries. The output of the industry also accounts for over  50% of the country’s gross capital formation (Fagbenle et al., 2004), and 3% - 8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in most countries (Aiyetan and Olotuah, 2006). The continuous decline in the productivity of the construction industry of developed and developing economy has been widely reported (Kaming et al., 1998; Arditi and Mokhtar, 2000; Akindele, 2003). The construction industry in Nigeria like any other developing country is labour intensive because of its slow response to mechanisation of construction operations necessitating the need to adopt an effective means of motivation to enhance productivity. Hewage and Ruwanpuwa, (2006) acknowledge the fact that Productivity improvement is one of the key focus areas in the construction industry in Alberta, as well as in North America.