




































 

  

Competence and Worker’s Attitude in Health 

Ministries in South-South, Nigeria 

Idoniboyeobu Anyanaba Dikio (PhD), J.M.O. Gabriel (PhD), 

and S.P. Asawo (PhD) 

 

 

 



European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

16 

 

Competence and Worker’s Attitude in Health Ministries in South-

South, Nigeria 

Idoniboyeobu Anyanaba Dikio (PhD) 

Department of Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, Rivers, State University, 

Nkpolu- Oroworukwo, PMB 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria 

J.M.O. Gabriel (PhD) 

Department of Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, Rivers, State University, 

Nkpolu- Oroworukwo, PMB 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria 

S.P. Asawo (PhD) 

Department of Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, Rivers, State University, 

Nkpolu- Oroworukwo, PMB 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria 

ABSTRACT 

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between competence and worker’s attitude in 

health ministries in South-South, Nigeria.  

Methodology: The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. Primary data was 

generated through a 4-point Likert scaled questionnaire. The population of the study was two 

thousand one hundred and eighty-one (2181) employees. A sample size of three hundred and 

thirty-eight (338) employees was drawn from the population using the Taro Yamane sample size 

determination formula. The study adopted the simple random sampling technique.  The reliability 

of the instrument was ascertained using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient with all the items scoring 

above 0.70. The hypotheses were tested using Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient with 

the aid of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences.  

Findings: The findings revealed that competence had a significant positive relationship with 

affective commitment, affective satisfaction and workers engagement. Therefore, the study 

concludes that the level of competence thus has a direct bearing with worker’s attitude. Inability 

of employees to perform maximally due to lack of competence will result in higher dissatisfaction.  

Recommendation: Thus the researchers recommend that the management of the Health Ministries 

should embark on proper training and development of the workers to enhance their knowhow in 

the work as such will help boost their positive work attitude.      

Keywords: Competence, Worker’s Attitude, Affective Satisfaction, Affective Commitment, 

Workers Engagement 

 

 

 

 

 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

17 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Attitudes exhibited by employees can directly affect the atmosphere within an organisation. An 

environment that is professional, fair and conducive for work needs to be created by an employer 

in order to keep employees motivated. If this environment is created, the employees are likely to 

work hard and successfully complete each assignment as expected of them. When employees are 

happy, it is usually because they are satisfied with their work. This also improves the quality of 

their work. Attitude and job satisfaction may not fall completely on the management but also on 

the employees. An attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular 

entity with some degree of favour or disfavour (Eagly & Chaiken, 2007). Attitude describes the 

way an employee feels inside. These are an employee‘s feelings toward his employer, his co-

workers and his position within the organisation. 

Employee work attitude; a form of social reality within the organization; is concerned with the 

expressions of contentment, commitment and enthusiasm for the job and the organization. It is 

described as the expression of inner states and feelings within social and organizational 

frameworks or contexts and can be directed towards self, others, the job or role. Employee work 

attitude is considered an important factor in the organizational integrative process wherein skills, 

experiences and knowledge are harnessed towards the achievement of specified objectives since it 

either buttresses the processes or acts as a setback (Gabriel & George, 2015; Aremu, 2010).  A 

major predictor of employee attitude is how competent they are about their work. 

It has been indicated that workers who have the perception that they are competent, and have 

confidence that they will succeed in their daily work tasks are happier and satisfied with their jobs 

than employees who fear that they might fail (Koen & Maaike van, 2011). Further, Ponton (2011) 

in his study in Australia posited that the more experienced employees seemed to be more confident 

and competent in their jobs. He argued that the more competent the employees felt, the more 

satisfied they were in their work. Hancer and George (2009) too found out that competence was 

rated higher by the more older and experienced hospitality employees. This had a direct 

relationship with satisfaction with their jobs. Employees who have had longer tenure in the 

hospitality industry are better adapted to the work environment and this can lead to feelings of 

competence and more likely to the feeling of satisfaction (Bhatnagar, 2012).  

Competence reflects whether an employee can succeed in the performance of a given work role 

(Spreitzer & Mishra, 2002). It is the extent to which an employee can do his/her work roles with 

the required skills and knowledge (Zhu, 2008). Competence refers to the ability of employees to 

execute their work roles with the required level of knowledge and skills (Spreitzer, 2008). 

Competence makes employees feel more empowered (Buitenbach & Hlalele, 2005). Buitenbach 

and Hlalele (2005) further stated that the knowledge and the skills that the employees possess have 

a significant contribution to competence. Employees usually feel competent when they have the 

confidence about their capability of executing their job responsibilities well (Hsiang-Fei, Luoh 

Sheng-Hshiung Tsaur Ya-Yun Tang, 2014). 

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between competence and worker’s attitude in 

health ministries in South-South, Nigeria. The following research questions were provided as a 

guide in this study;  

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

18 

 

i. What is the relationship between competence and worker’s affective satisfaction in health 

ministries, South-South, Nigeria?  

ii. How does competence relate with worker’s affective commitment in health ministries, 

South-South, Nigeria?  

iii. What is the relationship between competence and worker’s engagement in health 

ministries, South-South, Nigeria?  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1: Conceptual framework for competence and worker’s attitude 

Source: Author’s Desk Research, 2021 

LITERATURE REVIEW 

Theoretical Foundation  

Job Characteristics Theory 

The job characteristics theory, developed by Hackman and Oldham (1976), demonstrates the 

relationship between job characteristics and an individual's response to work. Specifically, this 

theory specifies the task condition under which it is predicted that a worker or staff member will 

succeed in their given job or work. Hackman et al., (1976) developed the job characteristics theory, 

which identifies three psychological states that result in individual benefits and positive work 

outcomes. These psychological states are experienced meaningfulness of the work, experienced 

responsibility for the outcomes of the work, and knowledge of the actual results of the work 

activities. When job characteristics dimensions are combined, these psychological states result in 

increased internal work motivation, high job satisfaction, and increased work effectiveness. In this 

theory, Hackman and Oldham asserted that employees must believe that what they are doing in 

the organization is something meaningful, or that what they are doing is worthwhile, and that it 

should also be significant, most notably to the organization, as well as to the individual's acceptable 

values and personal beliefs, among other things. Furthermore, according to the theory, there should 

be a proper fit or match between the skills of the individual and the requirements of the job itself. 

As a result of the second psychological state described in the theory (experienced responsibility 

for outcomes of work), employees are required to accept personal responsibility for the outcomes 

Worker’s Attitude 

Competence Affective Satisfaction 

Affective Commitment 

Worker’s Engagement 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

19 

 

of their work or the tasks that they perform for the organization. Finally, the theory suggests that 

employees are aware of the actual outcomes or outcomes of the study. Due to the fact that having 

knowledge of one's own results will aid in tracking and monitoring one's own job performance, 

which will ultimately lead to greater satisfaction and commitment on the part of the employee. 

Acquah (2017) emphasizes that internal motivation is the most important outcome variable in this 

theory because it contributes to the attitudes of employees. According to this theory, the worker or 

employee must go through the three psychological states in order for the expected or desired 

outcome to become a reality. If any of the three psychological states is absent, a variety of 

outcomes, such as low motivation, satisfaction, and commitment, can be expected to occur.  

This theory is relevant in this study because when the characteristics of a job are designed to 

improve the psychological state of the employee, this aids in the enhancement of their positive 

work attitude. This theory is also relevant for this study because job characteristics can contribute 

to certain psychological states, and the strength of the employee’s need for growth (Garg & 

Rastogi, 2006). Competence is usually conceptualized as the increased task motivation that results 

from an individual’s positive orientation to the work role such as job design, and employees’ skills 

and traits. 

Competence 

When it comes to employees' beliefs in their capability to complete their tasks successfully, 

Spreitzer (1995) and Quiones, Van den Broeck, and De Witte (2013) define competence as the 

belief that they have in their ability to complete their tasks successfully. Al-douri (2018) explains 

that competence is the ability to face challenges in both the internal and external environments by 

creating an environment conducive to thinking and creativity, as well as training employees in 

decision-making, initiative, and innovation (Spreitzer, 1995; Ibrahim, 2020). It has been shown 

that the greater an individual's sense of self-efficacy, the more committed they will be towards 

accomplishing specific tasks (Taylor, 2013). Those individuals would take more initiative, would 

be more persistent, and would put forth more effort when confronted with difficult circumstances. 

Competence is defined as an individual's ability to perform a job correctly. A competency is a set 

of defined behaviours that serve as a structured guide for the identification, evaluation, and 

development of the behaviour in individual employees. Competencies are defined as observable 

abilities, skills, knowledge, motivations, or traits that are defined in terms of the behaviours 

required for successful job performance. Notably, employee competencies are inherited with all of 

these characteristics, and as a result, they serve as the primary source of competitive advantage as 

well as the primary drivers of improved organizational performance (Ciziuniene, Vaiciute & 

Batarliene, 2016). When people have the ability to choose, they become more self-assured. Being 

self-assured means being well-organized in your activities and having hands-on experience with 

their implementation. 

A sense of personal mastery that one is capable of successfully completing a task is referred to as 

competence. Competence is defined as the ability to perform the tasks assigned to oneself. It 

addresses the question of whether or not the employees who will be empowered have the skills 

necessary to perform the tasks that will be assigned to them if they are empowered. Following the 

identification of what is required to pursue and achieve a goal, the level of actual (rather than 

perceived) skill relevant to the task becomes significantly important. The issue of competence is 

addressed through the identification of existing skills and the acquisition of new skills. 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

20 

 

Quiones, et al. (2013) define competence as an employee's belief in his or her own capability to 

complete their assigned tasks successfully. When employees are confident in their abilities to 

complete all of their job responsibilities successfully, they perceive themselves as competent in 

their positions (Quinn & Spreitzer, 1997). It refers to an individual's perception of the skills and 

abilities required to deal with a variety of work environments (Spreitzer, 2008). According to 

Bandura (1977), competence is derived from the concept of self-efficacy, with higher levels of 

self-efficacy indicating that individuals are more committed to completing tasks and are therefore 

more effective at doing so (Bandura, 1977). (Goodale, Koerner & Roney, 1997; Taylor, 2013). 

Those individuals would take more initiative, be more persistent, and put forth more effort when 

confronted with difficult situations (Bandura, 1977). For example, competence in teaching refers 

to the ability of lecturers to use their own abilities to develop an appropriate teaching plan in order 

to assist students in learning (Shapira-Lishchinsky & Tsemach, 2014). Their perception of their 

own ability to succeed is a critical factor in achieving academic goals (El-Sayed, El-Zeiny & 

Adeyemo, 2014). 

Worker’s Attitude 

Attitudes can be defined as either a positive or negative feeling or mental state of readiness that 

has been learned and organized through experience and that has a specific attitude on a person's 

response to other people and objects, as well as to specific situations. Affective attitudes, according 

to Newstorm and Davis (1993), are reasonably good predictors of behavioural outcomes. The 

information they provide can be used to deduce an employee's behavioural intentions or 

inclinations to act in a specific manner. Positive job attitudes are associated with the attitude of 

constructive behaviours, whereas negative job attitudes are associated with the prediction of 

undesirable behaviours. Attitudes toward work refer to the feelings we have about various aspects 

of the workplace that we encounter (Carpenter, Talya & Erdogon, 2009). According to the authors, 

there are several factors that influence attitudes toward work, including personality, person-

environment fit, job characteristics, psychological contract, organizational justice, work 

relationship, and stress.  

Affective Satisfaction  

In the workplace, job affective satisfaction refers to the emotions or feelings that they associate 

with their jobs. Individuals' overall emotional appraisal of their jobs determines their level of 

affective satisfaction with their jobs. As a result, it focuses on whether the job elicits a positive 

feeling, as well as affectively-oriented measures of job satisfaction. According to Tekell (2008), 

affective satisfaction includes both Positive Affect (PA) (i.e., the extent to which an individual 

feels enthusiastic, alert, and active) and Negative Affect (NA) (i.e., the extent to which an 

individual feels depressed, anxious, or passive) and (the extent to which an individual experience 

a general dimension of subjective distress and unpleasant engagement which may take the form of 

emotional states such as anger, contempt, fear, disgust, guilt and nervousness). This implies that 

employees who report high levels of negative affective satisfaction also report higher levels of 

physical complaints and stress, indicating that they may regard their lives as a series of stresses or 

hassles, regardless of what actually happens to them in their jobs. Additionally, employees who 

report high levels of positive affective satisfaction are more energetic and outgoing in their jobs, 

as well as more satisfied with their jobs and with life in general. They are also more sensitive to 

the frequency of rewards, indicating that they may be more inclined to focus on the positive aspects 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

21 

 

of life (Yik & Russell, 2001). It is the affective component of attitudes that is responsible for the 

feelings or emotions that people associate with their job or attitude object, as well as the valence 

of those emotions (Weiss & Cropanzo, 1996). Not surprisingly, these individuals engage in more 

social behaviour as a result of their PA, which has been linked to increased extroversion (Watson, 

Clark, Mclntyre & Hamaker, 1992).  

Affective Commitment 

Employees experience feelings and emotions, which they express in a variety of ways depending 

on the situation. According to Allen and Meyer (1990), affective commitment is defined as an 

individual's emotional identification with a particular organization. In the workplace, it is an 

emotional tie or bond that connects employees to their various organizations, and it is a determinant 

of dedication and loyalty (Rhoades, Elsenberger & Armeli, 2001). The researchers went on to say 

that an affective committed worker is perceived to have a sense of identification and belonging, 

which increases their participation in the organization's goals and increases their desire to remain 

with the organization. An individual becomes emotionally attached to an organization when there 

is a link or congruence between his or her personal goals and values and those of the organization. 

The personality and values of employees, on the other hand, are a precondition for affective 

commitment. In the opinion of Osita-Ejikeme and Worlu (2017), once a human resource has 

identified the organization's goals and is willing to work toward achieving them, he will become 

emotionally attached to the organization. A further finding by Kaptijn (2009) is that personal 

characteristics have a significant positive influence on affective commitment. Gozukara and 

Yildirim (2015) found that corporate reputation had a significant impact on affective commitment, 

which in turn causes employees to have a strong emotional attachment to their employer's products 

or services. 

Affective commitment has been found to be associated with positive work-related behaviours such 

as organizational citizenship behaviour, attendance, and other aspects of job performance (Meyer, 

Stanley, Herscovtich & Topolnytsky, 2002). An important antecedent of affective commitment is 

a set of dispositional variables that include values and personality traits (Allen & Meyer, 1990). 

While Meyer et al. (2002) suggest that there are several categories, they also propose that there 

are several subcategories. These categories include demographic variables (e.g., age, education 

level, marital status and gender), job characteristics, structural characteristics and individual 

differences, as well as work experience. Affective commitment was found to be associated with 

interactional justice, transformational leadership, and organizational support, according to their 

research. This is in contrast to previous work conducted by Meyer, et al. (2002), they assert that 

job satisfaction is a distinct concept from organizational commitment and that the two are not 

related. Affective commitment was found to be correlated with occupational commitment and job 

involvement (Meyer et al., 2002). 

Employee Engagement 

Engagement, as a concept that has evolved over time, has been defined in numerous, often 

inconsistent, ways in the literature, to the point where the term has become ambiguous to many 

and it is rare to find two people who define it in the same way (Macey & Schneider, 2008). It has 

been conceptualized as a psychological or affective state (e.g., commitment, involvement, 

attachment, etc.), a performance construct (e.g., role performance, effort, observable behaviour, 

organizational citizenship behaviour, and so on; or an attitude. According to Macey et al., (2008), 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

22 

 

some researchers even link the concept of engagement to other specific constructs such as altruism 

or initiative. However, there is no consensus among researchers regarding which of these 

definitions is the definitive, or at the very least, "best-fit" model of engagement. When defining 

engagement, Macey et al., (2008) divide it into three categories: trait engagement, state 

engagement, and behavioural engagement. They argue that trait engagement is an inclination to 

see the world from a particular vantage point, and that this is reflected in the individual's "state 

engagement," which leads to "behavioural engagement," which is defined in terms of exerting 

discretionary effort. As pointed out by Newman and Harrison (2008), however, when engagement 

is broken down into the separate aspects of state, trait, and behaviour, state engagement becomes 

a redundant construct that tells us nothing more than an individual's attitude toward their job, 

which, as they point out, has been adequately measured in the past by other constructs.  

Kahn (1990) defines engagement in terms of a psychological state as the harnessing of 

organization members' selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express 

themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally while performing their roles. Individuals who 

are engaged are willing to invest significant personal resources, such as time and effort, in the 

successful completion of their task, and engagement is at its highest when an individual is 

channelling personal energies into physical, cognitive, and emotional labours. Employee 

engagement is a feeling that is associated with the level of satisfaction that an employee has with 

his or her commitment to his or her job and the organization. It is an excellent work relationship 

that the employee has with his or her job. The level at which employees commit to their jobs in 

their organization, as well as the length of job they can expect to remain and work in the 

organization as a result of this commitment, are both important factors to consider (Council, 2004).  

An employee's level of engagement can be measured by the degree to which they express a high 

level of satisfaction and an emotional connection to their employer's development and success. It 

also contributes to the creation of an improvement, increases performance, and assists directly or 

indirectly in the retention of employees and the support of turnover (Taylor, 2011). Positive 

attitudes and feelings among employees at work are not the only characteristics of employee 

engagement; it can also be defined in terms of "organization citizenship attitude, commitment, and 

high involvement work practices." It is used as a method of motivating employees to work more 

actively and creatively in order to achieve organizational objectives.  

Competence and Worker’s Attitude  

Rania, Rahmanb and Yusakc (2021) conducted a study, and on the study investigated the 

relationship between the four dimensions of psychological empowerment between employees’ 

performance in the automotive after sales service in Malaysia. In line with self-determination 

theory, employees have intrinsic motivation when they are genuinely happy and enjoy while 

delivering the job in achieving the goals. Employees feel empowered when experiencing feelings 

of meaningful, competence, self-determination and impact. The data was collected through survey 

instrument from the sample size of 241 employees representing the employees working in the 

automotive after sales service. Statistical software SPSS version 26 was used for correlation and 

regression analysis. The result of the study shows that meaning, competence, self-determination 

and impact found significantly correlated and predicted employees’ performance.  

Nassar (2017) in his study of psychological empowerment and organizational change among hotel 

employees in Egypt surveyed 386 employees in chain hotels. He posited that employees who had 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

23 

 

the required skills in performing their work tasks had high levels of job satisfaction. Further, 

Buitendach and Hlalele (2005) in their study of South Africa engineers found a positive correlation 

of medium effect between the cognition of competence and job satisfaction. This implied that the 

two variables were related, that is, those employees who perceived that they had the required 

knowledge and skills to perform their jobs had high level of job satisfaction. In addition, Gachunga, 

Maina and Kabare (2016) in their study on the influence of psychological empowerment on 

organizational commitment in Kenyan civil service found that the dimension of competence was 

positively correlated to job satisfaction, which in turn lead to organizational commitment. 

It has been indicated that workers who have the perception that they are competent, and have 

confidence that they will succeed in their daily work tasks are happier and satisfied with their jobs 

than employees who fear that they might fail (Koen & Maaike van, 2011). Further, Ponton (2011) 

in his study in Australia posited that the more experienced employees seemed to be more confident 

and competent in their jobs. He argued that the more competent the employees felt, the more 

satisfied they were in their work. Hancer et al., (2009) too found out that competence was rated 

higher by the more older and experienced hospitality employees. This had a direct relationship 

with satisfaction with their jobs. Employees who have had longer tenure in the hospitality industry 

are better adapted to the work environment and this can lead to feelings of competence and more 

likely to the feeling of satisfaction (Bhatnagar, 2012). 

Moreover, Tsai, Cheng and Chang (2013) in their analysis of the drivers of hospitality industry 

employees’ job satisfaction in Taiwan observed that employees perceived that their competence 

empowerment was high. This correlated with the high levels of job satisfaction advanced by the 

researchers in their sample of these Taiwanese hotels. This meant that the employees had very 

good training background and excellent skills to perform their work roles, which positively 

affected their job satisfaction. Patah, Abudullah and Derani (2012) in their study of Kuala Lumpur 

hotel receptionists posited that the tenet of competence of psychological empowerment does have 

a significant influence on the overall job satisfaction. This meant that receptionists who had a 

higher level of competence experienced a higher level of job satisfaction. 

Based on the foregoing, the following hypotheses are postulated: 

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between competence and worker’s affective satisfaction 

in health ministries in South-South, Nigeria.  

Ho2: There is no significant relationship between competence and worker’s affective commitment 

in health ministries in South-South, Nigeria. 

Ho3: There is no significant relationship between competence and worker’s engagement in health 

ministries in South-South, Nigeria. 

METHODOLOGY 

The study adopted a cross-sectional survey research design. Primary data was generated through 

a 4-point Likert scaled questionnaire. The population of the study was two thousand one hundred 

and eighty-one (2181) employees. A sample size of three hundred and thirty-eight (338) employees 

was drawn from the population using the Taro Yamane sample size determination formula. The 

study adopted the simple random sampling technique. The reliability of the instrument was 

ascertained using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient with all the items scoring above 0.70. The 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

24 

 

hypotheses were tested using Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient with the aid of 

Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). 

DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 

Bivariate Analysis  

The level of significance 0.05 was adopted as a criterion for the probability of accepting the null 

hypothesis in (p> 0.05) or rejecting the null hypothesis in (p <0.05). 

Table 1: Competence and Worker’s Affective Satisfaction 

 Competence Affective Satisfaction 

Spearman's rho Competence Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .859** 

Sig. (2-tailed) . .000 

N 304 304 

Affective 

Satisfaction 

Correlation Coefficient .859** 1.000 

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . 

N 304 304 

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). 

 Source: SPSS Output, 2021 

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between Competence and Worker’s Affective 

Satisfaction in Health Ministries, South-South, Nigeria.  

The result of the analysis in Table 1 shows a correlation value of rho = 0.859 implying that there 

is a positive relationship between Competence and Worker’s Affective Satisfaction. The result 

also indicates a significant level p< 0.05 (0.000< 0.05), this means that there is a significant 

relationship between Competence and Worker’s Affective Satisfaction. The study therefore 

observes that there is a positive and significant association between Competence and Worker’s 

Affective Satisfaction. In light of this, the study therefore rejects the null hypothesis and accept 

the alternate hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between Competence and Worker’s 

Affective Satisfaction in Health Ministries, South-South, Nigeria. 

Table 2: Competence and Worker’s Affective Commitment 

 Competence Affective Commitment 

Spearman's 

rho 

Competence Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .837** 

Sig. (2-tailed) . .000 

N 304 304 

Affective 

Commitment 

Correlation Coefficient .837** 1.000 

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . 

N 304 304 

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). 

Source: SPSS Output, 2021 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

25 

 

Ho2: There is no significant relationship between Competence and Worker’s Affective 

Commitment in Health Ministries, South-South, Nigeria.  

The result of the analysis in Table 2 shows a correlation value of rho = 0.837 implying that there 

is a very strong positive relationship between Competence and Worker’s Affective Commitment. 

The study also indicates a significant level p< 0.05 (0.000< 0.05), this means that there is a 

significant relationship between Competence and Worker’s Affective Commitment. The study 

therefore observes that there is a positive and significant association between Competence and 

Worker’s Affective Commitment. In light of this, the study therefore rejects the null hypothesis 

and accept the alternate hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between Competence and 

Worker’s Affective Commitment in Health Ministries, South-South, Nigeria. 

Table 3: Competence and Worker’s Engagement 

 Competence Worker's Engagement 

Spearman's rho Competence Correlation Coefficient 1.000 .750** 

Sig. (2-tailed) . .000 

N 304 304 

Worker's 

Engagement 

Correlation Coefficient .750** 1.000 

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . 

N 304 304 

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). 

Source: SPSS Output, 2021 

Ho3: There is no significant relationship between Competence and Worker’s Engagement in 

Health Ministries, South-South, Nigeria.  

The result of the analysis in Table 3 shows a correlation value of rho = 0.750 implying that there 

is a strong positive relationship between Competence and Worker’s Engagement. The study also 

indicates a significant level p< 0.05 (0.000< 0.05), this means that there is a significant relationship 

between Competence and Worker’s Engagement. The study therefore observes that there is a 

positive and significant association between Competence and Worker’s Engagement. In light of 

this, the study therefore rejects the null hypothesis and accept the alternate hypothesis that there is 

a significant relationship between Competence and Worker’s Engagement in Health Ministries, 

South-South, Nigeria. 

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 

The findings revealed that there is a strong positive and significant relationship between 

competence and Worker’s Attitude in Health Ministries, South-South, Nigeria. Hence, 

Competence is an essential factor in organizations that helps increase Worker’s Affective 

Satisfaction, Worker’s Affective Commitment and Worker’s Engagement. This result further 

affirms the stance of Kumanwee (2017) who points out that there is a significant relationship 

between competence and engagement of employees. Nassar (2017) posits that employees who 

have the required skills in performing their work tasks have high levels of job satisfaction. 

Buitendach and Hlalele (2005) find a positive correlation of medium effect between the cognition 

of competence and job satisfaction. Ponton (2011) in his study in Australia posits that the more 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

26 

 

experienced employees seem to be more confident and competent in their jobs. He argues that the 

more competent the employees feel, the more satisfied they were in their work. However, 

Dehkordi, Kamrani, Ardestani and Abdolmanafi (2011) find that the cognition of competence has 

no positive relationship with job satisfaction. This means that the perception of having the required 

skills to do the work has no relationship with job satisfaction.  

The current finding supports the previous study carried out by Rania, et al. (2021) who conducted 

a study on the relationship between the four dimensions of psychological empowerment between 

employees’ performance in the automotive after sales service in Malaysia and whose result 

revealed that meaning, competence, self-determination and impact found significantly correlated 

and predicted employees’ performance. Likewise, supporting this current finding was the study by 

Kumanwee (2017) who undertook a study on psychological empowerment and employee affective 

commitment in manufacturing firms in Rivers State, Nigeria and whose finding revealed a very 

strong and positive significant relationship between competence and employee shared value. Also 

the finding competence and employees’ personal involvement is very strong and positive. 

Therefore, there is a significant relationship between competence and personal involvement of 

employees in manufacturing firms in Rivers State, Nigeria. 

This study finding further affirms the stance of Gachunga et al., (2016) who find that the dimension 

of competence lead to commitment. Boussalem (2014) reveals that there is a statistically 

significant impact of competence on commitment. Psychologically empowered employees are 

more committed to and satisfied with their jobs as well as with the company that employs them 

(Malik, Chugtai, Igbal & Ramzan, 2013). This result is informed by the argument of Ponton (2011) 

who posits that the more experienced employees seem to be more confident and competent in their 

jobs. Bhatnagar (2012) puts forward that, employees who have had longer tenure in the hospitality 

industry are better adapted to the work environment and this can lead to feelings of competence 

and more likely to the feeling of engagement. Psychologically empowered employees are more 

committed to and satisfied with their jobs as well as with the company that employs them (Malik, 

et al., 2013). 

Further corroborating the current finding is the study by Nassar (2017) who examined 

psychological empowerment and organizational change among hotel employees in Egypt and 

found that employees who had the required skills in performing their work tasks had high levels 

of job satisfaction. Further, Buitendach et al., (2005) in their study of South Africa engineers found 

a positive correlation of medium effect between the cognition of competence and job satisfaction. 

This implied that the two variables were related, that is, those employees who perceived that they 

had the required knowledge and skills to perform their jobs had high level of job satisfaction. In 

addition, Gachunga et al., (2016) in their study on the influence of psychological empowerment 

on organizational commitment in Kenyan civil service found that the dimension of competence 

was positively correlated to job satisfaction, which in turn lead to organizational commitment. 

The study finding supports the conceptual arguments that workers who have the perception that 

they are competent, and have confidence that they will succeed in their daily work tasks are happier 

and satisfied with their jobs than employees who fear that they might fail (Koen et al., 2011). 

Further, Ponton (2011) in his study in Australia posited that the more experienced employees 

seemed to be more confident and competent in their jobs. He argued that the more competent the 

employees felt, the more satisfied they were in their work. Hancer et al., (2009) too found out that 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

27 

 

competence was rated higher by the more older and experienced hospitality employees. This had 

a direct relationship with satisfaction with their jobs. Employees who have had longer tenure in 

the hospitality industry are better adapted to the work environment and this can lead to feelings of 

competence and more likely to the feeling of satisfaction (Bhatnagar, 2012). 

Moreover, the previous finding by Tsai, et al. (2013) supports our current finding by examining 

the drivers of hospitality industry employees’ job satisfaction in Taiwan and found that employees 

perceived that their competence empowerment was high. This correlated with the high levels of 

job satisfaction advanced by the researchers in their sample of these Taiwanese hotels. This meant 

that the employees had very good training background and excellent skills to perform their work 

roles, which positively affected their job satisfaction. Similarly, the current finding is in agreement 

with Patah et al., (2012) in their study of Kuala Lumpur hotel receptionists in which they found 

that the tenet of competence of psychological empowerment does have a significant influence on 

the overall job satisfaction. This meant that receptionists who had a higher level of competence 

experienced a higher level of job satisfaction. 

It is to be noted that the current finding contradicts the finding by Dehkordi, et al., (2011) whose 

study revealed that the overall psychological empowerment and its dimensions- impact, meaning, 

and choice seemed to have a significant and positive relationship with job satisfaction and 

consequently organizational loyalty. However, interestingly they found that the cognition of 

competence had no positive relationship with job satisfaction. This meant that the perception of 

having the required skills to do the work had no relationship with job satisfaction. 

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 

The researchers conclude that there is a strong positive significant relationship between 

competence and worker’s attitude in Health Ministries in South-South, Nigeria. The level of 

competence thus has a direct bearing with worker’s attitude. Inability of employees to perform 

maximally due to lack of competence will result in higher dissatisfaction. 

The study recommends that the management of the Health Ministries should embark on proper 

training and development of the workers to enhance their knowhow in the work as such will help 

boost their positive work attitude. 

REFERENCES  

Acquah, A. (2017). Implication of the job characteristics theory for school management in Ghana: 

A literature review. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 7(1), 8 – 13. 

Al-douri, Z. (2018). The effect of psychological empowerment of employee performance in 

business organisation. The Scientific Journal of Cihan University, 2(1), 76-87. 

Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance 

and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, 

1-18. 

Aremu, O. A & Sokan, B. O. (2003). A multi-causal evaluation of academic performance of 

Nigerian learners: issues and implications for national development. Department of 

Guidance and Counselling, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. 

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control, New York: Freeman. 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

28 

 

Bhatnagar, J. (2012). Management of innovation: role of psychological empowerment, work 

engagement and turnover intention in the Indian context. International Journal of Human 

Resource Management, 23(5), 928-951.  

Boussalem, A. (2014). Impact of employees' empowerment on organizational loyalty – case study 

on Algerian Communications Company. Arabian Journal of Business and Management 

Review (Nigerian Chapter), 2(7), 143-153. 

Buitendach, J.H., & De Witte, H. (2005). Job insecurity, extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction 

and affective organizational commitment of maintenance workers in a parastatal. South 

African Journal of Business Management, 36(2), 27-37.  

Carpenter, M., Talya, B., & Erdogon, B. (2009). Principles of management (1st edition). New 

York: Flat World Knowledge. 

Ciziuniene, K., Vaiciute, K., & Batarliene, N. (2016). Research on competencies of human 

resources in transport sector: Lithuanian case study. Procedia Engineering, 134, 336–343. 

Council, C.L., (2004). Driving performance and retention through employee engagement . 

Washington, DC: Corporate Executive Board, 32. 

Dehkordi, L. F., Kamrani, M. N., Ardestani, H. A. & Abdolmanafi, S. (2011). Correlation 

between psychological empowerment with job satisfaction and organizational 

commitment. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(7), 820-

822. 

Eagly, A. H., & Chaiken, S. (2007). The advantages of an inclusive definition of attitude. Social 

cognition, 25(5), 582-602. 

El-Sayed, S. H., El-Zeiny, H. H. A., & Adeyemo, D. A. (2014). Relationship between 

occupational stress, emotional intelligence, and self-efficacy among faculty members in 

faculty of   nursing, Zagazig University, Egypt. Journal of Nursing Education and 

Practice, 4(4), 183–194.  

Gabriel, J.M., O & George, M.B. (2015). Perceived organizational justice as mediator in the 

association of leader spiritual intelligence and subordinate work attitude in Nigeria. The 

International Journal of Business & Management, 3 (12); 41 – 52. 

Gachunga, H., Maina, M. & Kabare, K. (2016). Influence of employee psychological 

empowerment on organizational commitment. The Strategic Journal of Business and 

Change Management, 1(6), 133-146.  

Garg, P., & Rastogi, R. (2006). New model of job design: motivating employees’ performance.  

Journal of Management Development, 25, 572-587. 

Goodale, J. C., Koerner, M., & Roney, J. (1997). Analysing the impact of service provider 

empowerment on perceptions of service quality inside an organization. Journal of Quality 

Management, 2(2), 191–215. 

Gozukara, I., & Yildirim, O. (2015). Affective commitment and corporate reputation. The effects 

of attitude towards advertising and trust. Academic Journal of Economic Studies. 1(3), 

126 – 147. 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

29 

 

Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: test of a theory. 

Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance, 16, 250–279. 

Hancer, M. & George, T. (2009). Psychological empowerment of non-supervisory employees 

working in full-service restaurants. Hospitality Management. 22, 3-16. 

Hancer, M. & George, T. (2009). Psychological empowerment of non-supervisory employees 

working in full-service restaurants. Hospitality Management. 22, 3-16. 

Luoh, H. F., Tsaur, S. H., & Tang, Y. Y. (2014). Empowering employees: job standardization and 

innovative behavior. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , 

26(7), 1100 – 1117. 

Ibrahim, A.M. (2020). Psychological empowerment and organisational commitment among 

employees in the lodging industry. Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & 

Tourism, 19(1), 1-19. 

Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at 

work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692–724. 

Kaptijn, R. (2009). Assessing affective commitment in the three – component model on the two 

factor theory: A comparison between the theories of Meyer and Allen and 

Herzbery,/Mausner and Snyderman. A published master thesis occupational 

organisational psychology. University of Twente. 

Koen, D., & Maaike van, A. (2011). Linking leadership empowerment behaviour to employee 

attitudes and behavioural intentions: Testing the mediating role of psychological 

empowerment. Personnel Review, 40(3), 284-305. 

Kumanwee, F.T. (2017). Psychological empowerment and employee affective commitment in 

manufacturing firms in Rivers State, Nigeria. Research Journal of Finance and 

Accounting, 8(16), 57-71. 

Macey WH, Schneider B (2008). The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and 

Organisational Psychology, 1, 3–30. 

Malik, F., Chugtai, S., Igbal, Z. & Ramzan, M. (2013). Does Psychological Empowerment Bring 

About Employee Commitment? Evidence from Telecommunication Sector of Pakistan, 

Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(1), 14-21. 

Meyer, J. P., Stanley, D. J., Herscovitch, L., & Topolnytsky, L. (2002). Affective, continuance, 

and normative commitment to the organization: A meta-analysis of antecedents, 

correlates, and consequences. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 61(1), 20–52.  

Nassar, M. A. (2017). Psychological empowerment and organisational change among hotel 

employees in Egypt. Research in Hospitality Management, 7(2), 91-98. 

Newman DA, Harrison DA (2008). Been there, bottled that: are state and behavioural work 

engagement new and useful construct ‘wines’? Industrial and Organisational Psychology, 

1, 31–35. 

Newstrom J. W., & Davis, K. (1993). Organisational Behaviour: Human behaviour at work. New 

York: McGraw Hill. 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

30 

 

Osita-Ejikeme, U.E. & Worlu, G.O. (2017). Personality traits and employee commitment in 

manufacturing firms in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. International Journal of Advanced 

Academic Research, 3(5), 22-42. 

Patah, R., Abdullah, A., & Derani, Z. (2012). The influence of psychological empowerment on 

overall job satisfaction of front office receptionists. International Journal of Business and 

Management, 4(11), 167.  

Ponton, D. M. (2011). An analysis of psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and 

organizational commitment of middle-level managers in the hospitality industry. PhD. 

thesis, Griffin University. 

Ponton, D. M. (2011). An analysis of psychological empowerment, job satisfaction and 

organizational commitment of middle-level managers in the hospitality industry. PhD. 

thesis, Griffin University. 

Quinn, R. E., & Spreitzer, G. M. (1997). The road to empowerment: Seven questions every leader 

should consider. Organizational Dynamics, 26(2), 37–49. 

Quiñones, M., Van den Broeck, A., & De Witte, H. (2013). Do job resources affect work 

engagement via psychological empowerment? Amediation analysis. Revista de 

Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones, 29(3), 127–134,  

Rania, R.M., Rahmanb, N.R.A., & Yusakc, N. A.M. (2021). The effect of psychological 

empowerment on employee performance. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity 

and Change, 15(6), 881-899. 

Rhoades, L., Elsenberger, R., & Armeli, D., (2001). Affective commitment to the organisation: 

The contribution of perceived organisational support. Journal of Applied Psychology. 

86(5), 825 – 836. 

Shapira-Lishchinsky, O., & Tsemach, S. (2014). Psychological empowerment as a mediator 

between teachers ‘perceptions of authentic leadership and their withdrawal and citizenship 

behaviors. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50(4), 675–712,  

Spreitzer, G. M. (1995). An empirical test of a comprehensive model of intrapersonal 

empowerment in the workplace. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23(5), 601-

629.  

Spreitzer, G. M. (2008). Taking stock: A review of more than twenty years of research on 

empowerment at work. The handbook of organizational behaviour, Sage Publication  

Taylor, J. (2013). Goal setting in the Australian public service: Effects on psychological 

empowerment and organizational citizenship behaviour. Public Administration Review, 

73(3), 453–464. 

Taylor, R. (2011). Diversity and Engagement Go Hand in Hand. 

Tekell, J. K. (2008). Affective and cognitive components of job satisfaction: Scale development 

and initial validation. University Libraries, UNT Digital Library 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org


European Journal of Human Resource                                                                                      

ISSN 2520-4697 (Online)     

Vol.6, Issue 1 pp 16 - 31, 2022                                                              www.ajpojournals.org                                          

  

31 

 

Tsai, M., Cheng, C. & Chang, Y. (2013). Drivers of hospitality industry employees’ job 

satisfaction, organizational commitment and job performance. African Journal of 

Business Management, 4(18), 4118-4134.  

Watson, D., Clark, L. A., McIntyre, C. W., & Hamaker, S. (1992). Affect, personality, and social 

activity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(6), 1011-1025. 

Weiss, H. M., & Cropanzano, R. (1996). Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the 

structure, causes, and consequences of affective experiences at work. Research in 

Organizational Behavior, 18, 1-74. 

Yik, M. S. M., & Russell, J. A. (2001). Predicting the big two of affect from the big five of 

personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 35, 247-277. 

Zhu, W. (2008). The effect of ethical leadership on follower moral identity: The mediating role 

of psychological empowerment. Leadership Review, 8(3), 62-73. 

 

file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/New%20AJPO%20JOURNALS/American%20Journal%20of%20Finance/www.ajpojournals.org

