Determinants of performance amongst shop‐floor employees

Abstract

Purpose The paper aims to explore the determinants of perceived job performance in a sample of shop‐floor employees in a manufacturing plant in northern Mexico. Design/methodology/approach It is hypothesised that job satisfaction, age and education levels are significant predictors of job performance. A thorough literature review reveals that studies of the variables that influence job performance within a manufacturing setting are basically lacking. A questionnaire distributed amongst shop‐floor employees and their immediate supervisors was used in order to measure the variables included in the study. Statistical analyses were performed with the data in order to test for the reliability and validity of the measures, and also to test the three main research hypotheses. Findings It was found that two variables that measure job satisfaction are positively and significantly associated with job performance. This result is consistent with previous studies. Nevertheless, age and education levels do not show a significant association with job performance. Interestingly, it was also found that education levels are negatively related to job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications The sample size is small, and it includes only one manufacturing plant. Consequently, the statistical analyses are limited. These limitations prevent the generalisation of the results. More objective measures of job performance would be preferable. Also, other variables such as leadership style and motivation could be included in future studies. Practical implications Although exploratory in nature, the results from this study can be used to gain a better understanding of the different factors and relationships that are conducive to higher job satisfaction, and how job satisfaction is related to job performance. Originality/value Job satisfaction and its influence on performance have been researched across a number of industries and sectors. Nonetheless, to the best of one's knowledge, this is the first study that uses a sample of shop‐floor employees in a manufacturing plant to test this relationship. A similar situation is observed in terms of age and education levels: the effect of those variables on performance within a manufacturing setting has been clearly under‐researched.

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