EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE ACROSS SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA

Objective: The small and medium scale enterprises remain vital to many countries, contributing to job creation and economic growth. The study aims to determine how the motivational strategies affect performance of employees in SMEs sector in Nigeria. Method: We employ structural equation modelling (SEM) to depict the direct relationship between job satisfaction and employee’s salary, on one hand as well as between job satisfaction and job security on the other. Result and Discussion: The outcome finds that job security has a positive but insignificant relationship with job satisfaction and that job security has a positive and significant relationship with job satisfaction in the Nigerian SMEs sector. Implications: The implication of the finding is that although job security may not be central to the likely psychological well-being of the sector’s employees, employees’ pay motivates them to be satisfied with their job in the SMEs sector. Originality/Value: The value of the article lies in its focus on providing insight into factors that such as pay of employee and job security can motivate a psychological balance for job satisfaction. Recommendations: We recommend that the SMEs improve their current human resource policies relating to staff incentive schemes and employee performance as it will help to increase employee’s performance.