The effect of demographic factors on employees’ performance: A case of an owner-manager manufacturing firm

Purpose: The goal of this study is to look into how demographic factors influence employee performance in an owner-manager manufacturing firm. Research Methodology: The research was carried out in an owner-manager firm in Cape Coast, Ghana's central region. For data translation and analysis, a quantitative approach and a correlational study design were used, as well as a census sampling technique to sample 400 employees, an interview schedule, multiple linear regression, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20.0 Versions. Result: The findings show that age and education have an impact on employees’ performance. The findings also revealed that age and department have an impact on employee absenteeism. Again the result shows that age, education, and tenure respectively influences employees’ output. However, some demographic factors have no relationship with employees’ performance, absenteeism, or output. Limitation: Time constraints, assumptions about the underlying theory, and the unwillingness of respondents to give out information were all limitations. Contribution: SMEs owners and managers must not overlook these elements, as they have a variety of effects on employees’ performance, how they miss work, and output levels. It is thought that paying attention to an employee's age groups, level of education, the department they work in and what transpired there, and years of experience will go a long way in assisting them in performing to a satisfactory level and increasing their performance. Nigerian federal schools of education. The study discovered a strong link between respondents' job performance and independent variables (age, years working in the library, academic qualification, position/rank, monthly remuneration, and work locus of control). Omori and Bassey (2019) explored the relationship between demographic characteristics and worker performance in Nigerian public service. Purposive sampling was utilized to pick 10 ministries, 10 departments, and five agencies using ex-post factor design. Using the proportionate stratified random sampling technique, the actual sample respondents of 1.068 were calculated using mean, standard deviation, and analysis of variance inferential statistics. The study indicated that, while education attainment and years of work experience had a significant impact on worker performance, the importance of other demographic features should not be overlooked. In a study of the impact of sociodemographic factors on work performance among employees of Malaysian government agriculture agencies, Azril, Shaffril, and Uli (2010) discovered that age, work experience, and gross monthly salary all had a significant and positive relationship with work performance. Ugwu & Ugwu (2017) investigated the relationship between demographic factors and librarian job performance in university libraries in southeast Nigeria. The researchers used a correlational research design, a questionnaire, and descriptive and inferential statistics. Percentages, Mean, Standard Deviation, and Spearman's correlation are all terms that can be used to describe the relationship between two variables. Managers who want to improve their professional employees' performance should focus on both their job and contextual roles, according to the study's findings. Depending on their age, educational credentials, work experience, and job position, librarians should be assigned tasks and extra jobs that will help them perform better at their jobs. Akgeyik (2014) factors influencing employee absenteeism: a study on a sample of textile workers from a leading Turkish textile company. According to the statistical analysis, absenteeism was significantly correlated with age, tenure, type of work, and marital status. The findings also revealed that tenure and level of education were significant predictors of absenteeism. Adebayo and Nwabuoku (2008) discovered that work experience was significantly and positively correlated with absenteeism. In their study, Hoque


Introduction
Every organization should be concerned with the management of demographic factors at work since their dynamism, attitude toward work and movement is important in organization management. The efficiency and effectiveness as well the general well-being of an employee can be under threat due to demographic failures. An organization should be able to successfully manage and employ its demographic workforce to survive. They must be carried along to get the greatest results because employee demographics are critical in operating an organization and managers should not underestimate these factors. Employee biographical variables, which are inherent in each employee, are one of the predictors of employee performance, according to Hendrawijaya (2019). As a result, it necessitates employees with a positive and proactive attitude, such as high responsiveness, initiative and inventiveness, and adaptive sensitivity, all of which can be used to increase employee productivity. Palakurthi and Parks (2000) stated that socioeconomic variables of personnel, such as age, educational degree, gender, marital status, and years of service, are capable of influencing their various work performance aspects. Akintayo (2010) asserts that highly skilled personnel are more engaged because of their awareness of the organizational attitude towards those less qualified. The performance and production of an organization will be fantastic if organizations use qualified personnel (Nawaz & Kundi, 2010). Age, race, gender, creed, ethnicity, background, education, function, and personality characteristics have been identified as demographic determinants in diversity studies (Thomas, 1990;Williams & O'Reilly, 1998). According to Zannah, Mahat, and Ali (2017), previous research has shown that demographic characteristics like business years, age, and education play a significant and fundamental role in the growth and success of small and medium businesses. Wiklund and Shepherd (2005) discovered a positive and significant association between demographic characteristics and small business success in their investigation. In all economies around the world, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a key role. Businesses with fewer than 250 employees are classified as SMEs, regardless of their legal status or whether they are formal or informal. There are between 450 and 510 million SMEs in the world, according to estimates (ILO, 2015). SMEs accounted for around 85% of global employment growth from 2002 to 2010 (De Kok, et. al, 2011). They make up the vast majority of businesses, accounting for more than 92 percent of all businesses and contributing roughly 70% of the country's national GDP and employment (Abor & Quartey, 2010).
Employee performance must thus be assessed based on the demographic features since they are deemed to have an impact on SMEs' performance. The perspective of demographic features in an organization is a critical determining factor, and so is the impact it has on individual and organizational performance in general. However, it has been observed that the majority of SMEs have demographic issues, resulting in poor levels of employee passion, happiness, and performance. According to Bose (2018), there is no substantial association between workforce demographic diversity and employee performance in the banking sector. Previous research on demographic determinants (Oyeniran & Akphorhonor, 2019;Omori & Bassey, 2019;Ugwu & Ugwu, 2017;Thakur, 2017;Kuya, 2013;Munjuri, 2012) focused on employee performance and were conducted in Nigeria, Nairobi, and Kenya, etc. Some Ghanaian studies on demographic factors, for example (Eyupoglu & Saner, 2009;Milledzi, Amponsah, & Asamani, 2018;Pepra-Mensah, Adu, and Oteng 2017;Segbenya, 2014;Mensah & Adjei, 2015), examined job satisfaction, work attitudes, and intentions to quit, employees' decision and commitment. However, studies on demographic factors and employee performance are uncommon in Ghana. Furthermore, there appears to be a dearth of research on the relationship between demographic factors and employee performance in the demographic literature. Additionally, the findings of previous studies on demographic parameters reveal no impact or association (Bose, 2018), however, Kuya (2013) and Munjuri (2012) discovered a substantial relationship between employee performance and demographic factors. The conclusions of this research are inconsistent, necessitating more examination. As a result, the study is motivated to look into the relationship between demographic factors and employees' performance in an ownermanager manufacturing firm.

Objectives of the Study
The following research objectives guide this study: 1. To investigate the relationship between demographic determinants (sex, age, education, department, tenure) and employees' performance in owner-managed SMEs. 2. To investigate the relationship between demographic factors (sex, age, education, department, tenure) and employees' absenteeism in owner-manager SMEs. To investigate the relationship between demographic factors (sex, age, education, department, tenure) and employees' output in the owner-manager SMEs.

Human Capital Theory
Adam Smith's brain is the human capital theory (Schuller & Field, 1998). According to the literature, Schultz expanded on this in 1961 (Schultz, 1981). Becker also contributed significantly to its development in 1964. Human capital, according to Thakur (2017), is the knowledge or characteristics that a worker possesses that contribute to his or her "job performance." It enables us to consider not only the number of years but also a variety of factors when making human capital investments. This study proposes that demographic factors or attributes have an impact on SMEs and employee performance, as well as job satisfaction, etc. The human capital theory postulated that human capital includes more than just education, knowledge, training, and development, but also other characteristics that have a degree of influence on organization productivity, growth, expansion, and employees' performance.
According to Fernandez (1993), demographic factors improve employee performance. Because managing demographic factors entails harnessing and utilizing cultural diversity, abilities, concepts, and innovation to contribute to a common goal while also providing a competitive advantage to the firm. According to Anochiwa (2021), human capital development has emerged as a critical component of any country's economic growth in the modern era. For some inexplicable reason, knowledge capital has helped many countries break free from the shackles of underdevelopment. The rate at which any country can 'leap frog' or catch up to growth is largely determined by how that economy invests its resources in developing human potential. Porter (2003) defines human capital as the brains, skills, and expertise that give an organization its distinguishing personality. Bohlander, Snell, & Sherman (2001) describe the meaning of human capital as the "knowledge, skills and capacity of people who value an organization economically." Human beings are the most important resource in any organization, both government and private because they serve as the primary driver in turning the wheels of the organization, and they play a critical role in all aspects of the organization (Horacio, Djaha & Nursalam, 2019).
Using the human capital theory, Ali and Davies (2010) discovered that more experienced rubber tappers outperformed less experienced rubber tappers. Ng and Feldman (2013) discovered a moderately positive link between tenure and innovative behaviors, which include idea development, distribution, and implementation. This link shows that workers who stay in a position for a longer period may become better at facilitating and implementing change. As a result, the ability of an organization to boost performance is the ability of the organization to control demographic aspects of employees who not only assure efficiency in processes but also ensure effectiveness in whatever task they undertake in the organization. Some academics (Levin & Kelley, 1994;Thurow, 1975) have vehemently criticized the theory of human capital that economists and other social scientists have overestimated the payouts from increased training and development as well as overlooked additional contributions to improving productivity, such as training, contracting conditions and management practices.
According to Livingstone (1997), human capital theory is underemployment of credentialed knowledge, which means that a substantial number of people who have spent many years of their lives gaining advanced formal educational degrees are unable to acquire corresponding positions. This is a common occurrence in most developing countries, including Ghana. Another shortcoming of human capital theory is that in countries such as Ghana, more emphasis is placed on paper qualifications rather than personal abilities, departmental knowledge, experience, age, sex, and talents of employees. This has had a significant impact on most SMEs because most organizations' managers have failed to capitalize on the dynamism of demographic factors to boost performance. Some human capital theorist argues that these significant increases in learning efforts have not resulted in comparable economic gains as a result of diminishing educational quality (Gunu, Oni, Tsado, & Ajayi, 2013). The theory is important to the study because it has demonstrated that investment into human capital is not solely determined by the individual's training and development, but also by the individual's demographic factors, which, when factored into the organization's training and development plan, culture, and programs results in a significant change in the lives of employees and the organization as a whole.

The Demographic Concept
Demographic factors are elements that provide context for a business and its personnel depending on their nomenclature. Demographic factors, according to Mazilu and Mitroi (2010), are a descriptive segmentation strategy in which sociodemographic factors are directly involved. Experts frequently use sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, family life cycle, education, income, and nationality (Mkwizu, 2018). Employee behavior patterns are thought to be accurately defined by these variables (Weaver & Oppermann, 2000). Demographic factors, as defined by Fletchl (2010), are biographical factors such as race and personal career goals. Bell (2008) defines demographic characteristics as personal statistics such as gender, age, sex, education level, income level, marital status, occupation, religion, birth rate, death rate, average family size, and the average age at marriage. Greenberg (2004) defines demographic factors as distinctions between individuals in an organization, such as race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational role, and educational background. Demographic characteristics, as defined by George (2010), are personal traits that include information such as ethnicity, race, and family size. Morrison (1992) defines the management of demography as "leveraging and using cultural differences in people's skills, ideas, and creativity to contribute to a common goal in a way that gives the organization a competitive edge." Hassan and Ogunkoya (2014), identified education, gender, marital status, and years of service as demographic variables. Personal factors such as age, gender, educational level, tenure or working experience, job level, and monthly salary are considered demographic variables by Oyewole and Popoola (2015). The most well-known factors are age, gender, education, and department. People's performance is supposed to rise with their maturity within the organization until they reach a certain age when their energy levels drop and performance slows, which is why a retirement age has been established (Adio, 2010).

Sex
The biological and physiological features that distinguish males and females are referred to as sex. Males and females are biologically distinct on every basis, with variations in cells, tissues, organ systems, and anatomy (World Health Organization, 2010). Sex is defined by Khan, Khan, Khan, Nawaz & Yar (2013) as the state of being male or female, with a focus on social and cultural differences rather than biological differences. One of the most important factors affecting organizational leadership demand is gender. Men and women perform in different ways depending on their reasons for perceiving leadership in a particular way (Collins & Tisdell, 2002). Men perform in achieving business purposes in a different situation, while women also mostly perform in a different manner depending on situation demand (Moriarty & Honnery, 2005). Investigators of differences between the sexes and performance among workers in organizational settings face a challenge in comparing the performance of men and women performing the same job due to gender segregation in the distribution of work activities (Rydstedt & Evans, 1998).

Age
Age is one of the main quantitative variables used by demographers since a connection was first identified between mortality and age more than 300 years ago. It is used for the analysis of all demographic phenomena as a variable of choice that indicates that chronological age is the determinant of any demographic behavior (Séguy, Courgeau, Caussinus & Buchet, 2019). Andoh, Bosiakoh, and Afranie (2012) the concept of age is viewed differently by different people. Some people consider old age as a build-up of experience and knowledge. Khan, et. al (2013) define age as the time between a person's birth and any predetermined time. At the same time, while a great number of organizational studies have explored practically every aspect of the leadership topic (Kamp, 1999;Baradicco;1991), the issue of age has largely been disregarded. As a person grows older, his or her feeling of responsibility matures as well. As time passes, the prospects of a switchover lessen. As a result, people in their forties and fifties have a higher level of organizational commitment than newcomers (Nawaz & Kundi, 2010).

Education
Education necessitates a change in one's lifestyle. It entails honing a man's ability to choose the best option available in any given circumstance. It refers to a person's growth for him to take the best possible approach to a problem at any given time. The ability to "adapt to a changing circumstance and environment" is defined by education. Ya'acob et al. (2011) argue that education is more than a financial investment; it is a necessary input for human life, progress, and survival. According to Wehmeyer (1996), self-assertiveness is the foundation of life. Firm individuals are capable of making choices and decisions on actions and breaking free from unfavorable outside influence or interference. Assertiveness and confidence are learned skills. Self-esteem is not as strong without education as a person acquiring information through education. It was also stated that education plays an extremely important role in communicating and promoting values, which in turn affect the behaviors, attitudes, and responses of the citizens responsible.

Department
A company is divided into departments based on the functions that each performs for the company. A department is an organizational unit led by a manager who oversees its operations. Departments are established, and operations of similar nature are combined into a single unit. Each department is led by a manager referred to as the departmental manager. Bhasin (2021) claims that to achieve an organization's common goal, teams from various departments are brought together. Several employees perform similar tasks for the company's benefit. Senior executives, who are sometimes referred to as managers, are in charge of the various departments. They are in charge of assigning tasks and assignments to the employees in their department.

Tenure
Tenure refers to the number of years or experience individuals have in the organization and have worked for a specific amount of time. Yeatts and Hyten (1998) describe tenure as a direct link between employer and employee, a background that can affect the performance of an employee. Employees who stay with a company for a long time are said to be satisfied at work and stay with the company, whereas those who leave are dissatisfied and hope that better jobs can be found. Job tenure is the period employees spend on a job (Butler, Brennan-Ing, Wardamasky, 2014). The knowledge and abilities required for effective job performance are likely to be developed and improved during years of service and trial and error learning (Schmidt, Hunter, Outerbridge 1986). According to Ng and Feldman (2013), human capital theorists linked the increased length of tenure to an employee's worth in the labor market.

Employees' Performance
Individual or organizational performance is defined as the achievement of goals. All aspects of human resource management that are intended to advance and/or develop the effectiveness and efficiency of both the individual and the organization are referred to as performance (Amos, Ristow & Ristow, 2004). Obicci (2015) defines employee performance as behavior that consists of directly observable acts of an employee, as well as mental activities or products such as replies or decisions, that result in organizational results in the form of goal achievement. Employee productivity, according to Sinha (2001), is dependent on their willingness and openness to execute their job. The effectiveness of employees is crucial to the success of the company. Employee performance is initially defined as what the employee does or does not do. Employee performance is important to organizational performance because the volume or quantity of work people deliver increases organizational performance; consequently, the poor performance of any employee inside any organization affects the organization's productivity in some way. Any employee's personal development and achievement must be recognized through their performance (Hendrey, 1999). Increased employee performance leads to more customer focus, according to Mayer, Bardes, and Piccolo (2008). Employees who perform effectively, according to Al-Harthy and Yusof (2016), help the organization stay competitive and fulfill strategic goals. According to Khan (2020), organizations should have the option to complete several coordinated and thoroughly researched strategic human resource management ideas that must be carried out to facilitate as well as channel human resources into increased profitability.

Owner-Manager SMEs
A small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) is a legal entity that engages in some type of economic activity. Self-employed people and family businesses that engage in crafts or other hobbies, as well as alliances or organizations that engage in regular economic activity, are examples of this (Taylor & Murphy, 2004). According to Nkuah, Tanyeh, and Gaeten (2013), there is no widely accepted definition of a small and medium-sized business. The concept of SMEs, according to Taylor and Adair (1994), varies depending on who is doing the naming. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are private-sector businesses. There is no single concept for SMEs due to the variety of businesses. According to Lim and Teoh (2021), businesses that qualify as SMEs must meet one of two minimum specified criteria, which are sales turnover and the number of full-time employees. The number of employees, as well as the company's turnover and assets, define a small business. A small business operates on a smaller scale than the industry average (Quaye, Abrokwah, Sarbah, Osei, 2014). SMEs drive most countries' economic growth and help them overcome unemployment issues (Lim & Teoh, 2021).

Conceptual Framework
Independent variable

Dependent variable
The human capital theory serves as the conceptual foundation for this study. Demographic factors such as gender, age, education, department, tenure, ethnic group, personality, cognitive style, and organizational role, according to the theory, influence employee performance (absenteeism and output). As illustrated in the framework, it is predicted that independent variables (demographic parameters) such as sex, age, education, department, and tenure influence the dependent variable employees' performance as composite and its dimensions' absenteeism and output. Hendrawijaya (2019) investigated the relationship between demographic factors and employee performance: the role of employee empowerment as a moderator. The stratified sampling method, as well as questionnaires, interviews, and path analysis, were used to sample 140 respondents. Age, gender, education, years of experience, and the number of family dependents all have an impact on employee empowerment, both directly and indirectly through employee performance. At Malaysian oil and gas offshore production facilities, Met and Ali (2014) investigated the moderating effects of demographic characteristics (age, gender, education level, tenure, and job level) as well as the link between monetary motivation and job performance. The results of a univariate analysis of variance using the General Linear Model revealed that tenure and job level had a significant moderating influence on monetary motivation and employee work performance, whereas sex had no such effect. Age and level of education played a minor role in moderating the results. Employees with 31 years or more on the job performed significantly better than their younger counterparts with 10 years or less on the job. The impact of demographic factors on the performance of librarians in university libraries in southwest Nigeria was investigated by Oyeniran and Akphorhonor (2019). An ex-post-facto research approach was used to analyze the data, which included a sample size of 260 people, a self-structured questionnaire, frequency, and percentages. Demographic factors such as age, gender, and work experience were found to have a significant impact on librarians' job performance in Nigerian university libraries. Furthermore, the findings revealed that educational degrees had no bearing on librarian job performance. In a more recent study, Oyewole and Popoola (2015) looked at personal variables and work locus of control as drivers of job performance among library employees at

Demographic Factors
Nigerian federal schools of education. The study discovered a strong link between respondents' job performance and independent variables (age, years working in the library, academic qualification, position/rank, monthly remuneration, and work locus of control). Omori and Bassey (2019) explored the relationship between demographic characteristics and worker performance in Nigerian public service. Purposive sampling was utilized to pick 10 ministries, 10 departments, and five agencies using ex-post factor design. Using the proportionate stratified random sampling technique, the actual sample respondents of 1.068 were calculated using mean, standard deviation, and analysis of variance inferential statistics. The study indicated that, while education attainment and years of work experience had a significant impact on worker performance, the importance of other demographic features should not be overlooked. In a study of the impact of sociodemographic factors on work performance among employees of Malaysian government agriculture agencies, Azril, Shaffril, and Uli (2010) discovered that age, work experience, and gross monthly salary all had a significant and positive relationship with work performance. Ugwu & Ugwu (2017) investigated the relationship between demographic factors and librarian job performance in university libraries in southeast Nigeria. The researchers used a correlational research design, a questionnaire, and descriptive and inferential statistics. Percentages, Mean, Standard Deviation, and Spearman's correlation are all terms that can be used to describe the relationship between two variables. Managers who want to improve their professional employees' performance should focus on both their job and contextual roles, according to the study's findings. Depending on their age, educational credentials, work experience, and job position, librarians should be assigned tasks and extra jobs that will help them perform better at their jobs. Akgeyik (2014) factors influencing employee absenteeism: a study on a sample of textile workers from a leading Turkish textile company. According to the statistical analysis, absenteeism was significantly correlated with age, tenure, type of work, and marital status. The findings also revealed that tenure and level of education were significant predictors of absenteeism. Adebayo and Nwabuoku (2008) discovered that work experience was significantly and positively correlated with absenteeism. In their study, Hoque and Islam (2003) found that absenteeism is related to experience. In a study on demographic factors, Alier (2015)

Research Design
The study was carried out in an owner-managed company in Cape Coast, Ghana's central region, that produces palm oil for both domestic and international consumption. The company has been in business for almost a century. In this study, the quantitative research method was used. It allows for a formal, objective, and systematic approach to describing and testing relationships, as well as examining cause and effect and variable interactions. A quantitative research strategy, according to Johnson and Onwuegbuzie (2004), is a type of research approach in which quantitative techniques such as descriptive and inferential statistics are used to elucidate the themes under inquiry. Quantitative approaches use an objective approach to investigating research problems, which might result in statistically significant conclusions. This is because data are managed and measured to address the gathering of facts to establish the causes of behavior (Anderson, 2010). Even though no attempts were made to control or alter variables in this study, a quantitative correlational study design was chosen because the correlation statistic is used to explain and evaluate correlation research (Lappe, 2000;Creswell, 2008). This strategy is concentrated on obtaining statistical data to generalize it across groups of people to provide specifics on a certain phenomenon (Barbie, 2001). The entire population of 400 employees was used because the study's goal is to reduce the likelihood of errors, improve the accuracy of population estimates, and improve the generalizability of the data collected (Osborne & Costello, 2004). The Census sampling method was used in this study. When the census method is used, data is collected from every item of the population, the results are more accurate and reliable, and the data collected can be used for various survey analyses, according to Varalakshmi, Sundaram, Indrani, Suseela, Ezhilarasi (2004).

Data Collection and Analysis
The interview schedule was employed in this study. Using an interview schedule, according to Babbie (2001) and Neuman (2006), allows the researcher to get all respondents to answer the questions, clarify any unclear topics, and, most importantly, obtain detailed information from them. Employees with little or no education can also benefit from it. There were three sections to the interview schedule. The first section focused on the demographics of the respondents, such as gender, age, education, department, and tenure. The second section asked about sex, age, education, department, and tenure, among other demographic factors. The final section addressed issues such as output and absenteeism as well as questions about employee performance measures. The owners of the participating SMEs, as well as the participants themselves, were asked for their permission and consent. All forms of people working in the organization were treated as employees. The independent variables (demographic factors) were rated on a five-point Likert scale, with 1 indicating the least effect, 2 indicating less impact, 3 indicating impact, 4 indicating much, and 5 indicating the most impact. Employee performance was also measured using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. 1 equals little effect, 2 equals less effect, 3 equals effect, 4 equals much effect, and 5 equals most effect. A Likert scale, according to Sumbo and Zimmerman (1993) and Hasson and Arnetz (2005), makes items or variables measurable, makes it easier for researchers and respondents to understand and respond, and makes coding and interpretation easier. Expert in the area evaluated the interview schedules for face and content validity, and their comments were incorporated into the final instrument before it was administered. The information was gathered over four months. The Cronbach Alpha reliability index was used to test the instrument for internal consistency dependability, and the results revealed = 0.87, indicating that the instrument was trustworthy enough to produce reliable and valid data. It took five months to collect the data, which included 400 interview schedules. The entire 400 respondents were used because it met the regression conditions, ensuring normality, generalization of results, validity, and reliability (Chuang-Wen, 2008;Jeon, 2015). The hypotheses were tested using multiple linear regression. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 20.0 version was used for data entry, data transformation, output formats, and analysis.

Employees' Performance Measures
There has been a lot of debate concerning nomenclature and conceptual foundations for performance measurement, and there are no standard parameters that can be depended on (Ford & Schellenberg, 1982). Many researchers have advocated financial as well as nonfinancial measures since the success of employees can be measured with different criteria (Kaplan & Norton 1992). As a result, employee performance metrics aren't set in stone. Depending on the research area and the organization involved, various elements contribute to overall employee performance and can be measured. This metric of performance is established by the organization (Ittner & Larker, 1998;Kenney, 1992). Employee performance was previously measured using a variety of criteria. These include profitability, gross profit, asset return (ROA), sales returns (ROS), sales growth, liquidity, operating efficiency, etc. (Snow & Hrebiniak, 1980;Segev, 1987;Smith, Guthrie & Chen, 1989;Ahuja, 2006;Parnell & Wright, 1993;Thomas & Ramaswamy, 1996;Gimenez, 2000). Many researchers agree that using multidimensional performance indicators allows for the measurement of heterogeneity in employee performance (Delmar, Davidsson, & Gartner, 2003). Hence, the performance of employees was therefore measured using parameters such as output and absenteeism.  Table 1 shows that 257 men (64%) and 143 women (36%) out of a total of 400 respondents. It was also discovered that 180 respondents, or 45 percent, were between the ages of 25 and 35 years, 113 respondents, or 28 percent, were between the ages of 35 and 45 years, 70 respondents, or 18 percent, were between the ages of 18 and 25 years, and 37 respondents, or 9 percent, were 45 years and older. More than 218 respondents, or 55 percent, had senior high/technical education, 169 respondents, or 42 percent, had tertiary education, and 13 respondents, or 3 percent, had Junior High education, according to the results. It was also discovered that 200 respondents, or 50%, worked in section, 71 respondents, or 18%, worked in production, 44 respondents, or 11 percent, worked in sales and marketing, 5 respondents, or 1%, worked in Human Resources, and 56 respondents, or 14 percent, worked in other departments. Table 2 also revealed that 141 respondents, or 35.3 percent, had worked 1 to 5 years, 139 respondents, or 35 percent, had worked 6 to 10 years, 57 respondents, or 14 percent, had worked 11 to 15 years, 45 respondents, or 11 percent, had worked 20 years or more, and 18 respondents, or 5 percent, had worked 16 to 18 years.

Hypothesis Validation Multiple Linear Regression Analysis
The statistical significance of the independent variables demographic factors (sex, age, education, department, and tenure) and dependent employees' performance (output and absenteeism) in the owner-manager firm was determined using regression analysis.

Discussion
The purpose of the study was to investigate the link between demographic factors and employee performance in an owner-manager manufacturing firm. As a result, statistical data revealed that H2 (age) and H3 (education), which state that "demographic factors: age and education influence employees' performance", were supported and that changes in these variables will have an effect on employees' performance. However, H1 (sex), H4 (department), and H5 (tenure), which also reads "demographic factors sex, department, and tenure influence employees' performance," were not supported, and changes in this variable will not affect employees' performance. The finding of this study concurs with (Hendrawijaya, 2019;Met & Ali, 2014;Oyeniran & Akphorhonor, 2019;Oyewole & Popoola, 2015;Emad and Mohammad, 2016;Omori & Bassey, 2019;Azril, Shaffril & Uli, 2010;Ugwu & Ugwu, 2017) that age, education, has a significant relationship with employees' performance. The findings also agree with Met and Ali (2014) that sex did not affect employees' performance. Again, the statistical results show that H2a (age) and H4a (department), which indicate that "demographic factors age, department influence employee' absenteeism," was supported, and that variations in age and department will have a significant impact on employees' absenteeism. The study findings agreed with (Akgeyik, 2014;Alier, 2015) that demographic factors such as age and department influenced employee absenteeism. However, H1a (sex), H3a (education), and H5a (tenure), which claimed that demographic factors such as gender, education, and tenure influence employees' absenteeism, were not supported, and variations in these variables will have no significant impact on employees' absenteeism and was inconsistent with Alier (2015). The statistical report also revealed that H2b (age), H3b (education), and H5b (tenure) were all supported, indicating that age, education, and tenure each had significant relationships with employee work output and that there is a strong relationship between these factors and employees' output. The findings of this study were consistent with Tari and Anike (2011) and Oyewole & Popoola, (2015). However, the findings revealed that H1b and H4b were not supported, and there is no significant relationship between sex, department, and work output. This shows that major changes in demographic variables like age, education, department, and tenure will have a considerable effect on employee performance, absenteeism, and output. The impact of these factors, such as age, education, and tenure, is unsurprising because they are variables that change over time. Also, departments, where employees are moved in and out by the manager, can cause some pleasure or displeasure to employees by positively or negatively affecting their work level and how they are absent from work.

Implication
The practical and theoretical implication is that demographic characteristics are often regarded to play a significant impact in managing individuals in the workplace to achieve high performance. As a result, owner-managers SMEs, and other organization managers must not overlook these elements, as they have a variety of effects on employees' performance, how they miss work, and how output levels are increased. It is thought that paying attention to an employee's age groups, level of education, the department they work in and what transpired there, and years of experience will go a long way in assisting them in performing to a satisfactory level and increasing their performance. Ownermanagers must consider the differences in these characteristics and develop appropriate strategies to manage them because demographic factors change with time. The demographic information provided is very important for industry players in making decisions that will determine whether the ownermanager or SMEs will perform well in the sector or not is dependent on improved employee performance. As a result, organization managers should pay close attention to these characteristics, but not at the expense of other demographic elements, as focusing on one would divert attention away from others, potentially affecting employee performance.

Conclusion
Previous research on the impact of demographic factors and employee performance has found that age, education, department, tenure, sex, and other factors have a significant impact on employee performance. This is, however, unusual in Ghana. Consequently, it is necessary to examine these factors to determine if there is a link between employee performance and these factors. As a result, the study's purpose is to look at the link between demographic characteristics and employee performance as composite, absenteeism, and output. The study concluded that age and education had a significant relationship with composite employee performance. It was determined once more that age and department had a significant relationship with employee absenteeism. The study also found that age, education, and tenure all had a significant relationship with employee output.

Limitation and study forward
Time constraints and assumptions about the underlying theory were all potential limitations. As previously stated, studies on the effects of demographic characteristics and employees' performance, particularly in Ghana, are uncommon and should be addressed, with replication in different sectors being important to scholarly debate.