Salary dissatisfaction and personal debt in the North West Local Government and Human Settlements Department

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish the impact of salary dissatisfaction and personal debt on work performance in the North West Provincial Department of Local Government and Human Settlements. This is because work performance declined when employees applied the Equity Equation theories to determine their input, due to high workloads that were not comparative to income levels. The decline in work performance within the department is also attributed to personal debt which affects the psyche and social state of employees and distract them from optimal service delivery. A quantitative approach has been used to conduct the survey though the Likert scale method. Questionnaires were administered to a conveniently selected sample size of 250 respondents. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients was used to test Reliability or internal consistency of the questionnaire. Spearman's correlation test results shows that salary dissatisfaction affects younger employees the most. The Chi-Square Test of Independence was used to determine the relationship between gender and other factors that influence personal debt; namely, financial illiteracy, societal expectations and irresistible credit offers. It was found that women are affected by debt factors than men. Positive correlations were observed between salary dissatisfaction and personal debt as 56% of the respondents agree that their level of income determines both their credit viability and salary dissatisfaction . It was also found that anxiety and presentism due to personal debt were prevalent among the employees, even though absenteeism is not an issue with in the department. It has been established that salary dissatisfaction and personal debt have a substantial impact on the employees work performance in the Department of Local Government and Human Settlements. More than 70% of the respondents agree that fruition in optimising work performance can be achieved through the suggested Programmes including debt counselling and employee financial wellness programmes, to help them to better manage personal finances. The Department can further use the study to redefine job evaluation procedures and retention strategies that enhance work satisfaction and positively impact on work performance.