The Impact of Employee Recognition on Job Performance in the Municipality of Magsaysay

Employee recognition is widely used as a management tool for sustaining motivation and performance, yet evidence from Philippine local government units remains limited. This study examined the impact of employee recognition on job performance among 205 employees of the Municipality of Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental, Philippines. Recognition was measured across three dimensions, namely relation, reward, and fulfillment, while job performance was assessed through declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge and skill, and motivation, following Campbell's theory of job performance. The study also determined whether age, sex, educational attainment, years of service, and employment status were significantly related to recognition and performance. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was employed using a structured survey questionnaire administered to respondents selected through stratified random sampling. Weighted mean, standard deviation, Spearman rank-order correlation, and simple linear regression served as the statistical tools. Results showed that employees experienced recognition to a very great extent (overall weighted mean = 4.38 on a five-point scale), with fulfillment ranked highest. Job performance was rated at a very high level (overall weighted mean = 3.60 on a four-point scale), with motivation as the leading dimension. Age (rs = −.189, p = .007) and employment status (rs = −.153, p = .029) were significantly correlated with recognition, while only age was significantly correlated with job performance (rs = −.254, p < .001). All recognition dimensions had strong positive correlations with job performance, with fulfillment showing the strongest association (rs = .785, p < .001). Simple linear regression showed that employee recognition significantly predicted job performance (β = .796, R2 = .634, p < .001), accounting for approximately 63.4% of the variance in performance. The findings indicate that structured and inclusive recognition programs, particularly those that affirm the meaning of public service work and extend fair rewards to non-regular personnel, are an important lever for sustaining employee performance in local government. Keywords Employee Recognition, Job Performance, Work Motivation, Employee Fulfillment, Public Sector Performance, Declarative Knowledge, Procedural Knowledge