PHYSICAL WELLNESS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between physical wellness and employee performance among healthcare workers in Rivers State, Nigeria. The increasing physical demands of healthcare service delivery, prolonged working hours, and exposure to occupational hazards have heightened the need for workplace wellness initiatives that promote employees' physical health and enhance job performance. Physical wellness was examined using physical health support and physical activity support, while employee performance was measured using task performance and contextual performance. The study was anchored on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Theory. A correlational research design was adopted. The study population comprised 560 healthcare workers drawn from 10 selected healthcare organisations in Rivers State, and a sample size of 226 was determined using the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) sample size determination table. A total of 214 out of the 226 questionnaires administered were successfully retrieved and analyzed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that physical health support and physical activity support each had strong positive and statistically significant relationships with task performance and contextual performance. The study concludes that improved physical wellness significantly enhances employee performance among healthcare workers by increasing their effectiveness in carrying out assigned duties and encouraging positive workplace behaviours. The study recommends that healthcare organisations strengthen occupational health services, implement comprehensive workplace wellness and physical activity programmes, integrate physical wellness into human resource policies, and periodically evaluate employee wellness initiatives to sustain high levels of employee performance and quality healthcare service delivery.