EFFECT OF EMPLOYEE VOICE STRATEGIES ON JOB SATISFACTION AMONG THE MEDICAL STAFF IN PUBLIC HEALTH FACILITIES IN COUNTY GOVERNMENT OFBOMET, KENYA

Abstract

The public health facilities in Kenya provide diverse health services to its citizens throughout the country. Public health employees across the country have exhibited some dissatisfaction in the recent past which has led to poor service delivery as well as strikes. This is as a result of delays in salaries, poor remuneration, poor working conditions, lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and non-inclusion of employees in airing their views. These issues and others are indicative of having demotivated and unsatisfied employees. This study therefore purposed to establish the effect of employee voice strategies on job satisfaction among the medical staff in public health facilities in County government of Bomet. Specifically, the study sought to examine whether attitude survey, upward communication, employee participation and suggestion schemes have an effect on job satisfaction of employees in public health facilities in County government of Bomet. The study was guided by Herzberg two-factor theory and anxiety uncertain theory.A cross sectional descriptive research design was used. The study targeted 205 medical staff drawn from three public health facilities in County government of Bomet. Stratified random sampling technique was used. A sample size of 136 medical staff was used in the study. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Pilot study was undertaken in Kericho referral hospital. Validity and reliability was carried out using Cronbach alpha coefficient. The validity of the study was checked using content validity through expert judgement. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the study constructs using frequencies, percentages, and means. The study undertook a correlational analysis. The results of the study indicated that all the independent variables had a statistically significant association with the job satisfaction. The study found that the attitude survey had a statistically significant influence on job satisfaction levels. The study concluded that the attitude survey had a statistically significant influence on the job satisfaction levels. The study further found that the unstandardized regression beta stood at 0.597 which indicated that a unit increase in attitude survey would lead to 0.597 change in the job satisfaction. The researcher found that the upward communication had a statistically significant influence on the job satisfaction aspects. The researcher further observed that the regression coefficient that was achieved for the influence of the upward communication on the job satisfaction was 0.404. This indicated that a unit change in the upward communication would be associated with 0.404 change in the job satisfaction. The study found that employee participation within the Bomet hospitals had a statistically significant influence on job satisfaction in the county. The study further found that the regression coefficient stood at 0.546 which implied that a unit change in the employee participation would lead to 0.546 change in the job satisfaction. The study found that the suggestion schemes had a statistically significant influence on the job satisfaction levels. The unstandardized regression coefficient that were observed stood at 0.652 which implied that a unit change in the suggestion schemes led to 0.652 change in the job satisfaction. The study recommends that the healthcare management should focus on the attitude survey, upward communication, and suggestion schemes in order to improve on the job satisfaction amongst the workers