Supervisors’ provision of physical environment resources to administrative support staff in a public university

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to apply the job demands-resources (JD–R) theory in a public university as a lens to ascertain the extent of measures undertaken by academic supervisors to provide physical environment resources that support administrative employees and enhance their performance of the demanding duties they constantly perform. Supervisors’ understanding of their role in catering to the physical environment needs of administrative employees has been ignored in previous studies conducted in the university sector. The research design was qualitative since data collection relied on semi-structured interviews with six academic heads of departments who supervised office administrative employees in a public university context. The participants’ responses indicated a high understanding of the importance of providing resources such as updated equipment and eliminating any physical environmental factors that could enhance office employees’ performance in their demanding administrative duties. The challenges expressed were mainly with the budget that proved to constrain them.  This finding on supervisors is significant as it addresses a research gap in which the focus on physical environment factors has mainly been on employees’ perceptions and experiences in the business sector with less interest in the public sector and developing countries. The success of an organization requires a caring leadership that strives to provide enabling workplace physical environment resources that meet the work demands of employees.