Job Characteristics and Deviant Behaviour among Employees of Selected Public and Private Universities in Ondo and Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of job characteristics on deviant behaviour in selected
Nigerian public and private universities. Despite the prevalence of deviant behaviour in the tertiary
institutions, there is dearth of empirical study on the effect of job characteristics on deviant behaviour
in Nigeria. Primary data were collected from the academic and administrative staff of the Ekiti State
University (EKSU), AfeBabalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), the Federal University of
Technology Akure (FUTA) and Elizade University, Ilara-mokin (EU) with the aid of questionnaires.
Both the descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for the purpose of analyses. The results of
the simple regressions show that Job characteristic factors have a negative effect on deviantbehaviour
in the selected public and private universities. The results imply that level of influence, relevance and
feedback, role performed, position occupied, autonomy enjoyed has a reducing effect on deviant
behaviour in the selected university. We present the first test of the effect of job characteristics on
deviant behaviour in Nigeria.