The Influence of Employee Quality Factors on Productivity in the Sabah State Public Service

The employee productivity is an important issue in public service sector, especially in Sabah where public services are delivered in different geographical and organisational settings. The work explored the relation between employee quality and employee productivity in Sabah public service industry. We focused on four employee quality dimensions - employee competency, supportive work environment, emotional well-being and physical health. We conducted a quantitative cross-sectional survey among public sector staff from selected public service organisations in Sabah. There were 150 questionnaires and 101 answers were received. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression. Employee competency was found to have the strongest positive correlation to employee productivity (r = .681 and p < .001) and supportive work environment (r = .490 and p < .001), and emotional well-being (r = .432 and p < .001). Physical health was weakly negative and non-significant correlation to employee productivity (r = −.120 and p = .231). The multiple regression model was statistically significant (F [4, 96] = 25.099 and p < .001) for R² = .511 and R² = .491. The four quality factors accounted for 51.1% of the variance in employee productivity. Employee competency was the strongest significant positive predictor (β = .510 and p < .001), followed by emotional well-being (β = .192 and p < .035). The positive but non-significant unique contribution from supportive work environment (β = .123, p = .175) and physical health was a significant negative coefficient (β = −.176, p = .026). These results indicate that employee competency and emotional well-being are key predictors of productivity and supportive work environment is positively associated with productivity at the bivariate level. These findings can be used to develop competency, maintain employee well-being and productivity in Sabah public service sector.

employee productivity, employee quality, employee competency, supportive work environment, emotional well-being, physical health, Sabah public service sector

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