Reasons for Low Productivity of the Work force – Oyo-Ita

By Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja

Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of the Civil Service of The Federation, said that the low productivity in the federal civil service was largely due to lack of conducive work environment of employees, inadequate office equipment and power supply among other things. According to Oyo-Ita, an average Nigerian worker irrespective of age and education has a residual desire to be productive, but has many factors to content with. This, she disclosed in Abuja while launching the “Culture Change Diagnostic Survey Report”, prepared by Culture Change Management Team (PMT) of the office of the Civil Service of the Federation.

“Prevailing perceptions of Federal Civil Service (FCS) work environment include: inadequate office equipment, office space and work tools, un-conducive work environment for employees, including the physically challenged, inadequate sanitary, safety and precautionary facilities, and poor lighting, ventilation and power supply”, she said. She also stressed that the present administration had already mapped out some strategic plans to rehabilitate the deteriorating federal secretariat, as a measure to giving workers a more conducive environment for improved productivity.

Oyo-Ita explained that the Culture Diagnostic Survey Report was part of efforts of her office to identify some of the inhibitions to the productivity expected from civil servants and the needed solutions to them. She added:

“This culture diagnostic survey report is a result of a thorough consultative process among relevant stakeholders and presents the analysis to understand the baseline behaviour and culture in the service as well as define core values that deconstruct what an EPIC Civil servant should be.”

While she clarified that the cost of maintaining the Federal Secretariats was more than what monthly overhead of her office could handle, she also assured that the rehabilitation work has been captured in 2019 budget of the Ministry of Power Works and Housing. She said: “On the work environment, we are already working with the Federal Ministry of Power Works and Housing. As the Ministry that oversees all the Federal Secretariats, there is provision for the rehabilitation of the Secretariats in 2019 budget of the Ministry.