Effect of positive organizational behaviour (POB) characteristics on construction employees’ turnover in Uyo City of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Low turnover of skilled construction employees is paramount to any construction organization in order to boost high rate of skilled and talented workers. The global shortage of skilled workers within the construction industry provides the need to investigate factors that can reduce construction employees’ turnover and also promote organizational performance. The study examines the perception of construction employees based on the characteristics of POB in Uyo City, Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. The research survey was carried out through a structured questionnaire and archive records. Information for data analysis was collected at two stages: (a) directly from the case organizations, and (b) from the respondents within each case organization. The findings reveal their responses using the four POB characteristics which are hope, resilience, optimism and self-efficacy, and how they influence work performance and employee turnover. The analysis based on job description reveals that both managerial staff and operational staff are more responsive to hope while operational staff are more responsive to self-efficacy. The effects of POB characteristics were measured on employee turnover rate in each case organization. The findings further reveal that the case organizations with high employee turnover have hope and self-efficacy as the most critical POB factors influencing their performance while resilience is considered as most critical for organization with the lowest employee turnover rate. A POB characteristics model was developed to provide positive interventions using the identified parameters pertaining to the study area. The study recommends that for organizations to remain competitive, they need to harmonize work life and personal life to maintain happier employees. This can be achieved through adopting POB characteristics in the workplace. The study recommends the adoption of identified POB characteristics among construction workers to improve work performance.