JOB SAFETY AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN PORT HARCOURT.

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between job safety measures and employee performance in manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt. Guided by three objectives, three research questions, and three hypotheses, the research adopted a survey design. The study's population comprised ten manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt, with a target sample of 48 managers and supervisors. Due to the small size of the population, the study utilized the entire population as the sample. Data were collected through a well-structured questionnaire distributed randomly among employees, and instrument reliability was assessed using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient. Descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency and dispersion, were employed to address the research questions, while t-statistics were used to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings reveal significant correlations between safety training and task efficiency, safety awareness and adaptability, and safety incentives and work engagement. Specifically, safety incentives demonstrated a strong positive relationship with work engagement, indicating that effective incentive programs significantly enhance employee engagement and productivity. Based on these findings, the study concludes that robust safety measures are crucial for improving employee performance in manufacturing firms. Recommendations include implementing regular and comprehensive safety training programs to enhance task efficiency, fostering a culture of safety awareness to improve adaptability, and developing well-structured safety incentive programs to boost work engagement. These measures are expected to contribute to a safer and more productive work environment, ultimately benefiting organizational performance.