Performance Evaluation and Employee Satisfaction

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of performance evaluation systems on job attitudes and satisfaction among employees in Swan, Professional Insurance Corporation Zambia, and ZSIC General Insurance. This was done to assess how design and implementation affect motivation, how subjective performance evaluation affects motivation, the nature of the relation between negative job attitude and performance, and how working condition factors influence satisfaction. A quantitative research design was adopted, thus incorporating a structured questionnaire to collect data from employees across the three insurance companies. The analyzed data used descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis to test the relationships between the variables and the significance of the findings. The results indicated that clarity and fairness in PES design were the most potent motivators for employees, with fairness as the most crucial. Subjective performance appraisal had a moderate influence on motivation, which, in turn, was influenced by perceptions of fairness and accuracy. Negative job attitudes, especially those related to productivity, adversely affected performance, while attitudes pertaining to work behavior had little influence. Among the working conditions, work-life balance turned out to be the strongest predictor of employee satisfaction, followed by resources and tools. The study recommended that fair and transparent PES will motivate employees and increase their satisfaction. Training evaluators was recommended to reduce biases in subjective evaluations, and supportive policies should be implemented in order to help reduce negative job attitudes, particularly those which affect productivity. Organizations were further called upon to ensure work life balance and make resources available to increase satisfaction. Future research needs to be done on the long-term effects of PES on retention, comparisons across industries, cultural influences on attitudes, and integration of technology into PES