Influence of work environment on employee retention in level four and five hospitals in Machakos county

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of working environment on employee retention in public health sector in Kenyan hospitals. Its objectives included: determining the influence of working hours on employee retention in level four and five hospitals in Machakos County; evaluating the influence of information communication systems on employee retention in level four and five hospitals in Machakos County; establishing the influence of job design on employee retention in level four and five hospitals in Machakos County and assessing the influence of teamwork on employee retention in level four and five hospitals in Machakos County. To meet these objectives, the study was carried out in Level 4 and Level 5 hospitals in Machakos County. The department of health services of Machakos will gain from the study by getting to know whether work life influences employee tenure intent and thus affect measures which will reduce employee turnover and lead to effective service delivery, reducing the costs associated with recruitment, training and improving performance of the authority. The proposed research will give stakeholders a better insight into quality work life and how the same determines employee turnover and will help them formulate policies and procedures which will remedy this. The study population was 742 employees who included Medical Superintendents, heads of departments, medical officers, clinical officers, nurses and support staff. A sample of 86 employees was selected. Ten employees were used for the pilot study who were randomly selected from level four/five hospitals in Kitui County. The study utilized descriptive survey design. The data was collected using questionnaires mainly, and a mixture of purposive and stratified sampling technique. The data were then analyzed both inferential and descriptive statistics using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0 and findings tabulated accordingly. The study results indicate that working hours (β = -0.358; p < 0.05) and the Information Communication System (β = -0.356; p < 0.05) in place in hospitals in Machakos County had a significant negative influence on employee retention. Findings also show that job design (β = 0.750; p < 0.05) and teamwork (β = 0.724; p < 0.05) had a significant positive effect on employee retention. The study recommends that the administration should assess planning of working hours and shifts to align them to employee needs. Further, there is need for the County Department of Health Service to look into the issues such as Information Communication systems with an aim of improving the communication in the county hospitals. The study also recommends increased consultations among the hospital employees to ensure more knowledge sharing and easier problem solving thus higher employee retention by the county. There is also need for the Department to adopt job designs among the employee.