Abstract:

The introduction of information and communication technology (ICT) in industries and organizational processes has put the worker within the challenges of coping with evolving technologies in respect of job performance. The ubiquitous nature of these technologies and their potential usefulness on industry development places a high demand on workers in the current global job market. This paper discusses the effect of ICT on employees in relation to participation of workers in decision making in the organization, and the effect of ICT on workers regarding job satisfaction.

The theoretical underpinning of this study lies within the ‘affect theory’ and the ‘two-factor theory’ as proposed by Locke and Herzberg. The model has been used to illustrate workers’ motivation and satisfaction in the workplace with ICT as incentive for improved output and employee relations. Secondary data was collected involving mixed instruments and analyzed thematically using qualitative method.

We observe that pre-knowledge of ICT offers workers some level of job autonomy and also forms a motivator for increased worker participation in decision making and productivity, as well as improves both intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is related to the factors of rewards in work environment powered by ICT. The level of satisfaction with job characteristics is largely influenced by the level of employees’ participation in decision making.

The paper recommends among other things a pre-training programme for workers before the introduction of ICT facilities in organizations, and a re-training subsequently to enable them improve their relevance to organizational goals development.

Keywords:

Industries, ICT, Workers’ participation, Job satisfaction and globalization.