Job Performance Among Social Workers in Lagos State

Background: Social workers are professional helpers who provide varied social services to help vulnerable members of the society. Little is known about their well-being and job performance in Nigeria. Thus an investigation into their work performance is essential for improved efficiency and effectiveness.

Methods: A cross sectional research design that made use of quantitative method of data collection was engaged for the study. Ninety (90) social workers working in different social welfare agencies in Lagos state were conveniently sampled to take part in the study. The instrument used contains 34 questionnaires that were close ended questions to create room for standardization of responses and few open ended questions to include their thought. Making use of work engagement theory and chi- square, the study highlights the significant of psycho-social factors on the job performance of social workers in Lagos state.

Results: The results reveal that psych-osocial variables of work stress (X² is 25.978 and the ‘P’ value is 0.000), workload (X²37.222^a, df= 2, p-value=0.000), work environment (X²7.508^a, df= 1, p-value=0.006) and salary (X²0.524^a, df= 1, p-value=0.000) are significantly related to Social workers job performance. It is recommended that there should be a stress management program, good working condition, reasonable workload and increased salary to be put in place for social workers to enhance their job performance.

Implications: The findings reveals that psych-osocial factors pose a serious threat on social workers in Lagos state as they are very large and encouraging poor performance at work requiring prompt attention. Lagos state social workers work situation demand a conscious effort to ensure improved psycho-social well-being through development of an evidence based policy and legislation.