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Organizational Culture and Employee Wellbeing in Rivers State University

Josephine U. Mkpong Prof. Emmanuel B. Okemini

Abstract

The cultural environment of a university substantially shapes by many factors, such as the leadership style, communication patterns; the physical, psychological, and social welfare of its staff. This study examined the impact of organizational culture on employee well-being at Rivers State University, Port Harcourt. The population of the study comprised all academic and non- teaching staff of Rivers State University. A sample of 312 respondents were drawn from a total of 329 questionnaires distributed, yielding a return rate of 94.8%. Data were collected using an instrument titled the Questionnaire on Organisational Culture and Employee Well-Being at Rivers State University (OCEWARSUQ), which demonstrated strong internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of 0.89 for the organisational culture subscale, 0.87 for the leadership practices section, and 0.91 for the employee well-being subscale. Data were analysed using simple linear regression analysis. The findings revealed that hierarchical administrative structure had a significant positive influence on employee well-being (β = .571, R2 = .326, F = 149.45, p < .001), explaining 32.6% of the variance in employee well-being. Leadership-centred culture was the strongest predictor, significantly influencing employee well- being (β = .672, R2 = .452, F = 253.37, p < .001) and accounting for 45.2% of its variance. Collectivism and collegiality among staff significantly influenced employee well-being (β = .648, R2 = .420, F = 222.63, p < .001), explaining 42.0% of variance. Adaptation to resource constraints also significantly influenced employee well-being (β = .604, R2 = .365, F = 177.05, p < .001), accounting for 36.5% of variance. The study recommended that the university management should commit to transparent and people-centred leadership practices through structured leadership development training that equips leaders at all levels to communicate openly, recognise staff contributions on merit, and demonstrate genuine concern for staff welfare.

Keywords

Employeewell-beingOrganizational culturehierarchicaladministrative structure.

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