Effect of organizational citizenship behavior on performance of nurses in tertiary healthcare facilities in Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Discretionary, non-mandated work-related behaviour by nurses has been found to be associated with better nurse performance but the dimensions and how they relate to nurse performance in tertiary health care institutions in Nigeria public health sector is still under researched.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of organisational citizenship behavior (altruism, civic virtue, conscientiousness, courtesy and sportsmanship) on the task and contextual performance of nurses in tertiary health care facilities in Benue State, Nigeria.

Methods: The method that was used was descriptive research with survey method. This study population consisted of 587 Nurses obtained from two hospitals, Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi and Federal Medical Centre, Makurdi, in the State of Benue, Nigeria. The sample was size 238 obtained by Taro Yamane's formula. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis with the aid of SPSS software.

Results: The results showed that all the five dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) namely, Altruism, Civic virtue, Conscientiousness, Courtesy and Sportsmanship statistically influenced the performance (both task and contextual) of the nurses in the tertiary healthcare facilities studied. All three dimensions had significant contributions to the variance in nurse performance outcomes.

Conclusion: All the three dimensions of OC analysed (altruism, civic virtue, conscientiousness, courtesy and sportsmanship) contribute to the influence on nurse performance in tertiary healthcare facilities in Benue state, Nigeria. These results highlight the importance of developing discretionary citizenship-related behaviours in nursing employees as one way to improve overall work performance. Based on the results of the study, recommendations were made for promoting OCB in healthcare institutions.