Effect of Shirking Behaviour on Teachers’ Productivity in Private Secondary Schools in Ogun State.

Abstract

Shirking, defined as the deliberate withholding of effort that employees could otherwise contribute to organisational goals, can weaken the efficiency of schools, yet the productivity implications of its distinct forms remain insufficiently documented for private secondary schools in Nigeria. This study therefore examines the association between eight shirking behaviours and perceived teacher productivity among private secondary school teachers in Ogun State. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with 225 teachers who were purposively selected according to years of experience, level of education and senatorial district, and productivity was regressed on an overall shirking score and on the eight individual behaviours while years of experience was controlled and heteroscedasticity-consistent standard errors were used. Reported shirking was low (M = 2.17, SD = 0.82) whereas perceived productivity was high (M = 4.40, SD = 0.48), and the overall shirking score was negatively associated with productivity (B = −0.393, 95% CI [−0.485, −0.301], p < 0.05). In the model containing the eight behaviours, which was significant overall (F(10, 214) = 21.22, p < 0.05) and explained 49.8% of the variance in productivity, pretending to be busy, cyberloafing and trading during work were significantly and negatively associated with productivity, lateness showed a positive conditional association that is consistent with statistical suppression, and the remaining behaviours were not significant once the others were controlled. Recognition and rewards for performance, improved salaries and regular training were the remedies rated highest by the teachers. The findings are associational and indicate that supervision, remuneration and recognition systems deserve priority in the management of private secondary schools.