Agreeableness, openness to experience and motivation as correlate of work attitude of civil servants in Rivers State Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated agreeableness, openness to experience, motivation and work attitude of civil servants in Rivers State, Nigeria. Using the correlational research design, the study was guided by three research questions and their corresponding null hypotheses. The population of the study is 5,041 civil servants in Rivers State. A sample of 372 civil servants was drawn using stratified proportionate sampling technique. For data collection two instruments were adapted for the study the instruments are: Agreeableness, Openness to experience and Motivation Inventory (AOMI) and Workers Attitude Scale (WAS). The two instruments are non-cognitive assessment tools. The validity of the instrument was done by two test experts. Reliability of the instrument was done using Cronbach Alpha. The following reliability coefficients were obtained: agreeableness = 0.64, openness to experience = 0.71 and motivation = 0.67. In the case of the work attitude instrument, the reliability coefficient was found to be 0.85 . The three hypotheses were tested using p-value of Pearson Product Moment Correlation. The findings of the study showed that personality traits of agreeableness, openness to experience and motivation had a significant relationship with work attitude of civil servants in Rivers State. Based on the findings it was recommended that ministry of labour and employment should take into consideration the need to motivate civil servants in order to improve their work attitude.