Abstract
The study investigated the effects of employee participation on organizational performance in Nigeria. Employee participation, encompassing decision-making processes, communication, and involvement of employees in the organizational activities, has widely recognized as a significant factor influencing productivity, job satisfaction, and overall performance of the organization. The study was anchored on Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Y. The study explores the multifaceted effects of employee participation on both productivity and sustainability in public sector that creates a culture of silence, perpetuates unspoken issues, lack of transparency and fear of retribution or judgement, untimely stifling of employee voice, leading to a lack of direction, purpose and motivation in the organization. Problem arises when employees fails to grasp the organizations vision, mission, strategic objective and priorities. As a result, their efforts become misaligned, leading to reduced productivity, efficiency and overall performance. However, various barriers hinder the fostering of employees’ participation, including non-participation in decision making, unspoken issues, lack of transparency and fear of retribution or judgement, untimely stifling employee voice, innovation and growth, disconnection from organizational goals and objectives. All these attributed to the failure of the employees to grasp the organizations vision, mission, strategic objective and priorities. The challenges faced by Nigeria workers are diverse, and the decisions made today will influence organizations to adopt participatory method and other systems that will enhance the employees and organizational performance in Nigeria business setting.