E.E. Idubor

This study examined the effect of workplace diversity on employee performance in selected universities in Edo State, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to assess the impact of ethnic diversity, gender diversity, age diversity, educational diversity, and religious diversity on different dimensions of employee performance, including work quality, teamwork quality, productivity level, innovation, and engagement. A survey research design was employed, and data were collected from three hundred and seventy one (371) employees across selected universities in Edo State. Regression analysis revealed that while ethnic diversity, gender diversity, and age diversity do not have a significant impact on employee performance dimensions, educational and religious diversity had a strong and significant positive influence on employee performance, suggesting that an inclusive and accommodating work environment enhances overall institutional outcomes. The study concluded that while certain diversity dimensions, such as ethnicity, gender, and age, may not directly impact employee performance, educational and religious diversity play crucial roles in fostering productivity, innovation, and engagement. The study recommended that institutions should invest in diversity management strategies, particularly in promoting educational diversity and religious inclusivity, to optimise employee performance and institutional effectiveness.

This study examined the effect of job stress on employee performance with the moderating role of presenteeism among academic staff in selected universities in Edo State. Specifically, the study investigated the effect of excessive workload, student-related challenges, career development, compensation and organisational support on employee performance. A survey research design was adopted. The population of the study comprised all academic staff members in the four selected universities in Edo State. The sample size comprised 356 academic staff from selected universities; however, 313 valid responses (87.9%) were obtained from the survey instrumentand used for data analyses. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, regression analysis, and moderation tests with SPSS. Hypotheses were tested at 5% level of significance. The study found that while excessive workload negatively but insignificantly affected employee performance, student-related challenges significantly reduced it. In contrast, career development and organisational support have positive and significant influence on employee performance. The results also showed that compensation has a positive but non-significant effect with employee performance. Presenteeism moderates the relationship between the job stress dimensions and employee performance. It is recommended that University management should adopt workload management frameworks to ensure fair distribution of teaching, administrative, and research responsibilities. Hiring additional academic staff and using technology for administrative tasks could help reduce the burden on current staff.