Leadership dimensions, employee engagement and job performance of selected consumer-packaged goods firms

Abstract

Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person which is an indicator of decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) is a measure of labour productivity, giving information on the quality and efficiency of human capital in the production process. This study examined the leadership dimensions, employee engagement and job performance. The study reviewed necessary academic literature with theoretical foundations. The study was descriptive and involved the distribution of questionnaire to 422 staff working in selected functioning Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPGs) Firms in Nigeria. Using Partial Least Square (PLS) path modelling method, the findings of the study showed that the three factors, namely leadership dimensions (Transformational, Transactional and Lassez faire), employee engagement and job performance interact and interconnect with each other in a holistic way. The model reveals that there is significant and moderate relationship between transformational leadership (r = 0.466, P-value < 0.05), transactional leadership (r = 0.392, P-value < 0.05) and employee engagement. A reverse relationship was observed between Lassez faire (r = −0.311, P-value < 0.05) and employee engagement. This implies that increase in Lassez faire attitude of the leaders will ultimately lead to decrease in the job performance. On the contrary, job engagement and performance showed a significant relationship at r = 0.223 (P-value < 0.05). It was concluded that transformational leadership rather than transactional and Lasseiz faire leadership is more effective in attaining higher levels of workers’ performance. Hence, managers of the selected firms have a major role position to influence the behaviour of the employees, employee engagement and job performance which will then influence real GDP per person employed used as a measure of labour productivity in SDG 8.