Study of the Relationship Between Organisational Conflict and Employee Performance in Oyo State Ministry of Education

Organisational conflict, when poorly managed, undermines employee performance and service delivery in public institutions, and investigating this relationship in the Oyo State Ministry of Education, South West Nigeria, provides evidence for conflict management improvement. This study examined the relationship between interpersonal, intergroup, and structural conflict and employee performance among 200 administrative and professional staff in the Oyo State Ministry of Education in Ibadan. Conflict types and intensity were assessed using validated organisational conflict scales, while performance was measured by supervisor ratings, task completion rates, and quality of work indicators. Pearson correlation and multiple regression were employed. Results showed that interpersonal conflict had the strongest negative relationship with employee performance (r = -0.58, p < 0.001). Structural conflict (ambiguous roles and unclear authority lines) explained 31.4% of variance in performance reduction. Intergroup conflict between teaching and administrative cadres was cited by 63% of respondents as a frequent occurrence. Employees exposed to high conflict levels reported 45% lower willingness to take on additional responsibilities. Middle-level officers reported the highest conflict exposure and lowest performance motivation. The study concludes that structural and interpersonal conflicts are the most damaging to employee performance in the Oyo State Ministry of Education and recommends conflict management training, clear job description revision, and peer mediation programmes under a staff welfare improvement initiative by the Oyo State Civil Service Commission. Keywords: organisational conflict, employee performance, public sector, Oyo State, Ministry of Education