Employee Satisfaction and Retention in a Diverse Workplace: A Case Study of the National Assembly Service Commission, Abuja

In today's increasingly globalised and multicultural environment, workplace diversity has become an essential factor for organisational effectiveness. The National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), as a central legislative support body in Nigeria, embodies a workforce that is diverse in terms of ethnicity, gender, educational background, and professional experience. This study investigates the relationship between workplace diversity and employee satisfaction and retention within NASC, with the objective of identifying the key drivers of satisfaction in a diverse public institution and examining how these drivers influence an employee's decision to remain in service.
The study adopted a mixed-methods research design, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches. A structured questionnaire was administered to 300 randomly selected employees across departments, with stratified random sampling used to ensure representativeness across gender, ethnicity, age, and job role categories. In-depth semi-structured interviews were additionally conducted with 20 senior management employees to capture leadership perspectives on diversity and retention. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis in SPSS, with reliability assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Qualitative data from interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Triangulation across data sources enhanced the credibility of the findings.
The findings reveal a positive and statistically significant correlation between diversity climate and employee satisfaction (p < 0.05), confirming that employees who perceive NASC's diversity policies as genuinely inclusive report higher satisfaction and stronger intention to remain in the organisation. Inclusive leadership and active diversity management emerged as the most critical mediating factors between diversity and retention outcomes. The study concludes that diversity alone does not guarantee improved satisfaction or retention; its effective management through inclusive and structured practices is what determines organisational outcomes. The study acknowledges that its cross-sectional, single-institution design limits causal inference and generalisability, and calls for longitudinal multi-agency research to build on these findings.

employee satisfaction, employee retention, workplace diversity, inclusive leadership, National Assembly Service Commission

1. Smith, J., Adams, R., & Brown, T. (2019). Workplace diversity and employee engagement: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 40(3), 215-234. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (2004). The social identity theory of intergroup behaviour. In J. T. Jost & J. Sidanius (Eds.), Political psychology: Key readings (pp. 276-293). Psychology Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Herzberg, F. (1968). One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review, 46(1), 53-62. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267-299). Academic Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Hogg, M. A., Terry, D. J., & White, K. M. (2021). A tale of two theories: A critical comparison of identity theory with social identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 58(4), 255-269. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Williams, K. Y., & Johnson, C. (2020). Diversity and satisfaction in professional workplaces: The mediating role of inclusion climate. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 50(6), 341-358. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Turner, J., Hogg, M., Oakes, P., Reicher, S., & Wetherell, M. (2018). Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. Blackwell. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Choi, S. (2017). Diversity climate and employee satisfaction in government organisations. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 37(1), 57-81. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Mor Barak, M. E. (2015). Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Raghuram, S., Garud, R., Wiesenfeld, B., & Gupta, V. (2010). Factors contributing to virtual work adjustment. Journal of Management, 27(3), 383-405. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Ely, R. J., & Thomas, D. A. (2001). Cultural diversity at work: The effects of diversity perspectives on work group processes and outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46(2), 229-273. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Gonzalez, J. A., & DeNisi, A. S. (2009). Cross-level effects of demography and diversity climate on organisational attachment and firm effectiveness. Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 30(1), 21-40. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Shen, J., Chanda, A., D'Netto, B., & Monga, M. (2009). Managing diversity through human resource management. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(2), 235-251. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organisational Behaviour and Human Performance, 16(2), 250-279. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Is Strike Relevant in the Modern Era? Evidence from Indian Manufacturing, IT/Ites, FMCG, Electronics and Emerging Sectors
• A Qualitative Exploration of Work-Life Balance Among Private Universities Lecturers in Klang Valley
• Leadership Styles and Employee Motivation: Examining the Impact on Job Satisfaction and Turnover
• Human Resource Management, Organizational Culture, and Good Governance Practices: A Structural Equation Model on Service Orientation among Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation in Davao Region
• Cost of Silence: Exploring the Impact of Organisational Silence on Employee Engagement