Employee Motivation and Job Satisfaction in Ghanaian Academic Libraries: A Comparative Study of Sam Jonah and Osagyefo Libraries

Abstract

Employees constitute an essential resource for every organization. Just as employers are particular about ensuring the input of employees to achieve their goals, it is equally important that the conditions of work of employees are favourable enough to ensure responsive inputs. The study aimed at comparing the extent to which employee motivation and job satisfaction promote productivity among staff of Sam Jonah and Osagyefo libraries and the various strategies adopted by management of both libraries to provide motivational packages in their workplaces. The study which was a cross-sectional survey used questionnaire to collect data from 184 library staff of both Sam Jonah and Osagyefo libraries in Ghana. Analyses of data were descriptive statistics (means and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Multiple Regression). The study revealed that hygiene factors such as salary, working conditions, supervision, policies, interpersonal relation and fringe benefits could serve as determinants of job satisfaction of staff of Sam Jonah and Osagyefo libraries. Also, the study reveals that no differences existed among the various categories of staff of the two libraries in terms of motivation by or satisfaction with salary, working conditions, supervision, policies, job security, personal relationships and fringe benefits. Further, motivation was identified to be a factor that contributes to employees‘ job satisfaction of staff of both libraries. The study recommends that management of the two libraries should improve the working conditions of staff to enable them to be safe in their workplaces. Again, Library Management should team up with the University Management to accommodate the concerns of staff and review the service conditions of library staff.