JOB MOTIVATION AND ROLE CONFLICT AS PREDICTORS OF EMPLOYEES MENTAL WELLNESS: EVIDENCE FROM UNIVERSITY LECTURERS

This study investigated the influence of job motivation and role conflict on the mental wellness of employees in Uyo metropolis. A total of 91 employees, including one hundred and two (102) males and eighty-nine (89) females, participated in the study. The ages of the participants ranged from 21 to 60 years, with a mean age of 40.41 years. A purposive sampling technique was used to select participants. Three scales were used to gather data for the study:, the Motivation at Work Scale by Gagné et al. (2010), the Role Conflict and Ambiguity Scale by Rizzo et al. (1970), and the Mental Wellness Scale by Ryff (1989). The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design, and Two-way Analysis of Variance was used for statistical analysis. The study revealed significant findings. The first hypothesis, which stated that employees with high job motivation would have higher mental wellness than employees with low job motivation (F (1,187) = 120.887, P < 0.01), was accepted. The second hypothesis, which stated that employees with high role conflict would have lower mental wellness than employees with low role conflict (F (1,187) = 55.812, P < 0.01), was also accepted. The third hypothesis, which stated that there would be a joint influence between job motivation and role conflict on the mental wellness of employees (F (1,187) = 23.957, P < 0.01), was likewise accepted. The findings of this study are discussed in relation to past theoretical and empirical literature. Conclusions were drawn, and implications and recommendations were advanced based on the study findings