Study on the Correlation between Working Conditions and Employee Performance among Construction Workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Abstract

This study examines the correlation between working conditions and employee performance among construction workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study focuses on working conditions as a multidimensional construct consisting of job aid, supervisor support, physical work environment, work incentives, and performance feedback. Employee performance is also treated as a multidimensional construct comprising adaptive performance, task performance, and contextual performance. A quantitative research approach was adopted, and data were collected from construction workers using a structured questionnaire. The final usable sample consisted of 435 respondents. Descriptive analysis was used to rank the dimensions, while Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between the dimensions of working conditions and employee performance. The results showed that the employee performance dimensions recorded slightly higher mean scores than the working conditions dimensions. Adaptive performance ranked highest, followed by task performance and contextual performance. Among the working conditions dimensions, job aid recorded the highest mean score, while performance feedback recorded the lowest. The correlation results revealed that all relationships among the dimensions were positive and statistically significant at the 0.01 level. The findings indicate that better working conditions are associated with stronger employee performance among construction workers. In particular, supervisor support and performance feedback appeared to be important dimensions linked with task, contextual, and adaptive performance. The study concludes that improving workplace support, feedback systems, incentives, and physical work conditions may help enhance employee performance in the UAE construction sector.