Selected job characteristics and performance of nursing employees in National Referral Hospitals in Kenya

Abstract

As a nation’s largest group of health professionals, nurses play an important role in the delivery of quality and cost effective health care. As a result of focusing on the need for nurses to work to their full potential, health care system efficiency should be optimized and so to retention of nurses. This study examines the effect of selected job characteristics (task identity and autonomy) on nurses’ performance in the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Kenya. This study is based on the goal setting and job characteristic theories. The main objective of this study was to determine the effects of task identity and autonomy on nurses’ performance. The study was an explanatory survey which drew a sample of 320 nurses using simple random sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire consisting 5-point likert scale items was used to collect data which was later analyzed using descriptive (mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis) and inferential statistics (Pearson Moment Correlation and multiple regression analysis). Two null hypotheses that there were no effects of task identify and autonomy on nurses’ performance tested and based on the results were rejected. The results showed that autonomy had a higher significant effect on nurses’ performance (β 2 = 0.443; p = 0.000) than task identify (β 1 =0.12; p = 0.024). The paper recommends that the hospital management should embark on the nurses’ job redesign as a strategy to enhance positive job outcomes through committed and satisfied nurses.