ETHICAL VALUES AND THE LEARNING AND GROWTH PERSPECTIVE OF EMPLOYEES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR OF OSUN STATE.

Ethical values play an important role in improving employee development, organizational flexibility, and long-term public service effectiveness and performance, few empirical studies have examined how ethical values influence learning and growth outcomes in subnational public institutions. This study therefore assessed the effect of ethical values proxied by transparency, loyalty, fairness and integrity on learning and growth perspective of the employees of the public sector of Osun State, Nigeria. The study used descriptive survey research design while the data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to sampled public sector workers in selected ministries in Osun State. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that the influence of transparency on learning and growth was positive and significant with t value = 3.214 and p value = 0.001; the influence of fairness on learning and growth was also positive  and significant with t value = 4.562 and p value < 0.001; and the influence of integrity on learning and growth was positive and significant with t value = 2.876 and p value = 0.004; the influence of loyalty on learning and growth was not significant with t value = -1.112 and p value = 0.267. The model was statistically significant (F = 38.742, p< 0.001) with a high explanatory power for employee learning and growth outcomes by ethical values. The study revealed that ethical values have a positive effect on the development of employees in public institutions, and it is recommended that strengthening ethical governance in public institutions is done through the implementation of policies, the commitment of the head, and continuing to ensure that public employees are trained in ethical values to improve the capacity of employees and increase the performance of public institutions.