Ageing and work performance of academic staff in public universities in Uganda a case study of kyambogo university

Abstract

The study was conducted to establish whether there exists empirical evidence that suggests existence of a relationship between Ageing and work performance of academic staff in public Universities in Uganda. The study employed both Case Study and Descriptive design based on a total of 100 respondents The study was conducted at Kyambogo University, data was collected from a simple random sample of fifteen (15) Participants, twenty-four (24) Participants were purposively selected and sixty one (6 1) Participants were conveniently selected. A questionnaire, with four sections, interview guide and documentary analysis were used to collect data. The study was qualitative in nature and data was analyzed using Pragmatic Content Analysis. The results of the study revealed that ageing does not significantly affect work performance of aged academic staff. The findings also revealed that aged academic staff were fairing very well in the teaching function. The study concluded that, in high-complexity jobs, which place Jess demands on physical attributes (eg, strength and endurance), performance in these jobs will likely suffer less from age-related deficits relative to those found with low-complexity jobs though Older adults in cognitive demanding jobs also face some increasing cognitive deficits with age, but presumably, they have ample cognitive resources that buffer against expected age-related declines in performance. The study recommended that public Universities in Uganda should continue employing aged academic staff to ensure continuity. Public Universities should accord staff appraisals due attention in order to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of staff. Procedural and distributive justice in administration should be ensured in order to enhance work performance and performance contracts should be clearly spelt out along with commensurate rewards in order to attract and retain employees. This will enhance equity hence improved work performance of academic staff in public universi ties in Uganda