Age and Self Efficacy of Employees and It’s Influence on the Perception of Organizational Politics

Abstract

Perception is the process of receiving information about and making sense of the world around us. From various inferences, we could draw conclusion that perception is an imperfect process influenced by various factors. The statement of Plato, we see reality as shadows reflected on the rough wall of the cave, also clearly state the fact that it is difficult for people to understand the reality as reality. Politics is a fact of life in organizations. The employees engage in political activities, the perception of others concerning the political nature of organization may increase such perceptions, in turns increase job anxiety due to ambiguity of the environment. The adverse effects of organizational politics are derived from its impact on the social contract between the employee and employer. It is a fact that employees’ perception, whatever the reality is, influences his / her emotions and behaviour. Although various studies explored the various factors influences their perception of organizational politics no study identifies the influence and impact of age and self-efficacy on the perception of organizational politics. The examination of how age and self efficacy influence and impact on the political perception is valuable for improving work place relation and productivity. It was hypothesized that age and self-efficacy has negative influence and impact on the perception of organizational politics. This has been analyzed with hundred and sixty respondents (private and public sector employees) from various organization in northern part of Sri Lanka by using SPSS statistical tools. This study clearly revealed that there is a positive relationship between age and self-efficacy, and age and self-efficacy have negative significant impact on the perception of organizational politics