ABSTRACT
The
study investigates the influence of work
schedule and occupational stress on employee job satisfaction in University of
Uyo Teaching Hospital. Employees occupational stress is due to unpleasant
emotional situation that an individual experiences when the requirements of job
are not counter balanced with his ability to cope the situation. This affects
the employee’s job satisfaction. The study adopts descriptive research
approach. So as to achieve the
objectives of this study, information was gathered from four public
organization (Technique and vocational
administrative office, Health science collage, Revenue office and Hospital), through self administered questionnaire from a sample of 192 public
organization employees. The study was adopts both probability and
non-probability sampling method. The data collected
from the questionnaire were processed by using SPSS 16.0 version and analyzed
by using descriptive statistical tools such as mean and standard deviation. The
mean rank of Friedman was used to rank the factors contributing for occupational
stress, and the Pierson correlation was used see the relationship between occupational
stress and job satisfaction. The study finding indicate that causes of occupational
stress significantly were working environment, inflexibility at work, ,
personal issue factor, lack of financial resource, and management systems. In
addition the finding shows there is less job satisfaction in the case study due
to limited work promotion, unfair salary lack of confidence in management, lack
of employees work relationship, limited learning opportunities, and
un-advancement in job. Then the
correlation analysis, employees are facing occupational stresses that have
caused less job satisfaction it indicates negative relationship.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract.................................................................................................................
Chapter One .....................................................................................................
1. Introduction ...............................................................................................
1.1 Background of the
Study................................................................................
1.2 Statement of the
Problem..............................................................................
1.3
Research Question ......................................................................................
1.4 Objectives.......................................................................................................
1.4.1 General
Objectives.......................................................................................
1.4.2 Specific
Objectives.......................................................................................
1.5 Significance of the
Study................................................................................
1.6 Scope of the Study.........................................................................................
1.7 Limitation of the
Study...................................................................................
1.8 Organization of the
Study ..............................................................................
Chapter Two ................................................................................................
2. Review of Literature....................................................................................
2.1 Occupational stress.....................................................................................
2.1.1 The Concept And Definition Of Occupational
stress............................
2.1.2 cause of occupational
stress........................................................................
2.1.3 sign of occupational stress...........................................................................
2.1.4 Consequence of occupational stress............................................................
2.2 Job Satisfaction...............................................................................................
2.2.1 The Concept and
Definition Of job satisfaction...........................................
2.2.2 Theories of Job Satisfaction........................................................................
2.2.3 Measuring of Job
Satisfaction......................................................................
2.2.4 Consequence of
Job Satisfaction.................................................................
2.3 Empirical Review ............................................................................................
2.4 Conceptual Frame
Work.................................................................................
Chapter Three ...................................................................................................
3. Research Methodology................................................................................
3.1 Description of the
Study of Area....................................................................
3.2 Research Design.............................................................................................
3.2.1 Research Type.............................................................................................
3.3 Data Type, Source
and Method of Data Collection .......................................
3.4 Study Population
and Sampling Procedure.....................................................
3.4.1 Study Population ........................................................................................
3.4.2 Sampling Method
and Sample Size Determination .....................................
3.5 Method of Data
Processing and Analysis........................................................
Chapter Four ....................................................................................................
Data Presentation,
Analysis and Interpretation........................................
4. Introduction....................................................................................................
4.1 Respondent Response Rate ...........................................................................
4.2 Demographic Characteristics .........................................................................
4.3. Survey Result Discussion...............................................................................
4.3.1 Environmental Factor Causing Occupational stress.....................................
4.3.2. Lack Of Financial Reward............................................................................
4.3.3 Inflexibility in Work .....................................................................................
4.3.4 Personal Issue ............................................................................................
4.3.5 Management System .................................................................................
4.4 Descriptive Statics Rank Of Factor Causing Occupational stress....................
4.5 Employee Job Satisfaction..............................................................................
4.6 The effect of occupational stress and job satisfaction...................................
Chapter Five.......................................................................................................
5. Summary, Conclusion
and Recommendation.........................................
5.1 Summary ........................................................................................................
5.2 Conclusion.......................................................................................................
5.2 Recommendation............................................................................................
References.........................................................................................................
Appendices.........................................................................................................
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1.
Background
of the study
Job
satisfaction is the most widely researched job attitude and among the most
extensively researched subjects in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology
(Judge & Church, 2000). It has been linked to productivity, motivation,
absenteeism/tardiness, accidents, mental/physical health, and general life
satisfaction (Landy, 1978, Wegge, Schmidt, Parkes & Van Dick, 2007). Job
satisfaction is considered as one of the most important construct in I/O
Psychology because of its role to understanding of many activities that takes
place in the work environment. It is an extent to which an individual or worker
performs his/her work effectively. Other factors that affect job satisfaction
are work schedule and occupational stress, which form the basis for this study.
According
to Kerber & Campbell (1987), measurement of job satisfaction helps identify
specific aspects of a job that require improvement. Employee job satisfaction
is a central attention in the researches and discussions in work and
organizational psychology. It is opined that a happy employee is productive and
vice versa (Syptak, Marsland & Ulmer, 1999). In reality, employees are more
satisfied when they enjoy the environment in which they work. The extent to
which an employee is satisfied with his/her work determines the growth or
collapse of the organization where he/she works (Thompson & Phua, 2012).
However,
organizations tend to focus more on predicting employees’ job performance
rather than its satisfaction. In recent times, research has been conducted on
employees’ job satisfaction unlike its initial state where it was being
ignored. Locke (1976) described job satisfaction as a pleasurable or positive
emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences.
Most organizations in African countries (Nigeria especially) seems to ignore
the important of their employees’ job satisfaction but focuses more on the
organizations’ productivity and sales increase.
Job
characteristics approach research has revealed that the nature of an
individual’s job or the characteristics of the organization predominantly determines
job satisfaction. According to Hackman & Oldham (1980), a job
characteristic is an aspect of a job that generates ideal conditions for high
levels of motivation, satisfaction, and performance. A common premise in
research of the effects of job circumstances on job satisfaction by comparing
the current receivables from the job with what they believe they should
receive, Jex (2002). For example, if an employee receiving an annual salary of
#5,000,000 believes that he/she should be receiving a salary of #3,500,000,
then he or she will experience satisfaction; however, if the employee believes
that he or she should be receiving #9,000,000, then he or she will feel
dissatisfied.
According
to Locke (1976, Saari & Judge, 2004), this process becomes even more
complex since the importance of work schedule differs as per individual
perception. For example, one employee may feel that pay rate is extremely
important while another may feel that social relationships are more important.
Consequently, this leads to individual’s level of satisfaction or
dissatisfaction when expectations are met or not.
Based
on social information process, Jex (2002) explains that during social
information processing, employees look to co-workers to make sense of and
develop attitudes about their work environment.
In other words, if employees find their co-workers positive and
satisfied then they will most likely be satisfied; however, if their co-workers
are negative and dissatisfied then the employee will most likely be
dissatisfied.
Thirdly,
dispositional (work characteristics) depicts that internal disposition is the
crux of the latest method of explaining job satisfaction which hints some
people being inclined to be satisfied or dissatisfied with their work
irrespective of the nature of the job or the organizational environment (Jex,
2002).
Shift
work occurs in a work schedule that necessitates 24 hours a day and
occasionally, 7 days a week, to keep an organization operating without a hitch.
Shift work occurs whenever 24-hour coverage is necessary or when a 24-hour day
is needed to optimize work output and productivity. There are many approaches
to shift work. For example, an employee may work 8 hours during a day that
consists of three 8-hour shifts. Or, an employee may work twelve hours a day
for 4 straight days and then be off the next 4 days. Employers have
experimented with every conceivable form of shift work in an effort to maximize
the potential of their operation while also considering how to minimize any ill
effects on their workers (Schultz, Duane & Ellen, 2010). Those working the
night shift, in particular, are susceptible to debilitating health effects due
to lack of sick and poor eating habits.
Shift
work, in which an employee works the same shift consistently, is always better
for employee to create a fulfilling lifestyle and home life. Conversely,
constantly changing shifts disrupts one’s life patterns. Here in Nigeria, not
all the employees in different organizations do perform the usual 8am – 4pm –
five days – a week. Nurses, pharmacists, military personnel’s, fire fighters,
prison warders among others, do provide 24-hours – a - day service. Muchinsky
(1997), posits that in industrial manufacturing companies, some
technologies/machine require constant monitoring and operation. Hence, it
becomes rational and practical to run these machines continually by having
different shift work systems round the clock. He notes further that there are
no uniform shift hours, as various companies adopt different shifts.
Usually
for nurses, a 24-hour-a-day is broken into three 8-hour- work shifts as
follows:
i.
7am to 2pm (day shift):
ii.
2pm to 10pm (swing or afternoon shift)’’ and
iii.
10pm to 7am (night shift).
Muchinsky
finally observes that some companies have employees run only one shift, more
so, as workers generally do not like the afternoon and night shift.
Consequently, many firms and organizations do rotate the shift on weekly basis
so as to carry all the workers along. Psychologists in industrial settings did
and still do investigate the degree to which workers’ job satisfactions are
affected by the shift work, and their abilities to cope with these changes in
work schedules, Muchinsky (1988).
Since
it is the duty of hospital workers to ensure that the health condition of the
citizens here in Nigeria is well taken care of, the hospital workers had since
adopted three shift work schedules covering from Sunday to Saturday of every
week. In order to cover all these duties and safeguard the lives of the
citizens effectively, the shift work schedule in this organization is as
follows:
(a)
Morning shift, from 0600 hrs to 1400 hours;
(b)
Afternoon shift, 1400 to 2200 hours; and
(c)
Night shift. 2200 hours to 0600 hours.
It
should be noted at this juncture that the first workers to be initiated to this
routine were not hospital workers, or even military personnel’s, but bakers.
Industrialization and global warfare brought shift work into the mainstream
(Aveni, 1999). In other words, estimates are that more than 25% of all workers
in the U.S. and Europe are now shift workers.
This
study investigates whether the hospital workers actually do have job
satisfactions on their job; and/or experience stress in their day to day
hassles while working these shifts. Aschoff (1978), in his work posits that
shift workers experience many problems ranging from physiological to social
adjustments; stressing that most physiological problems are associated with
interruptions of the circadian rhythm or internal biological clock; that is to
say, our bodies are “programmed” for a certain time cycle. Hence, shift works
have been observed to interrupt the cycles of eating, sleeping and working
hours; and workers on this shift therefore, tend to experience physiological
problems.
In
actual fact, the hospital workers on these shift works are mostly those on the
lower ranks in the health sector. These are the nurses, social health workers,
etc.; who constitute the life wire of the work. These groups of people are
those mostly running the shift work systems; and are equally seen on the field
from time to time. These are the same group of hospital workers seen by the
general public either in their course of attending, treating of patients,
and/or probably, while carrying out their health duties. 1.2 Statement of the problem
Stress
at work can be a real problem to the organization as well as for its workers. Congested
work schedule and occupational stress is thought to affect individuals’
psychological and physical health, as well as organizations’ effectiveness, in
an adverse manner.
Workers
who are stressed are also more likely to be unhealthy, poorly motivated, less
productive and less safe at work, which brought less job satisfaction. The
study by Frank M. Gryna , (2004) suggests stress is one of the factor that
affect the organization productivity either in public and private organization.
Stress
can be brought about by pressures at home and at work. According to, Chan et
al., (2000) the ultimate results of this pressure have been found to one of the
important factors influencing job stress in their work. Rapidly changing global
scene is increasing the pressure of workforce to perform maximum output and
enhance competitiveness. Indeed, to perform better to their job, there is a
requirement for workers to perform multiple tasks in the workplace to keep
abreast of changing technologies (Cascio, 1995; Quick, 1999).
However,
no more study conducted at the case study level reference to factors of job
stress on public employee’s job satisfaction. Study by Mulu (2012) conducted
study on effects of work overload on job satisfaction in case of five public
organization office found in Uyo, and evidences work overload, lack of
financial reward, and management system problems are caused work tress that
affects employee’s job satisfaction.
In
line to the above stated problem the researcher assessed occupational stress
resulted from work environment, lack of financial reward, personal issue,
management problem and inflexibility at work. Hence, the study looks such
factors to fill the study research gap of occupational stress factors on public
organization employee’s job satisfaction
1.3
Research
question
The
following research questions are addressed, in line with the above stated
problem statement. These are :
1.
What are the causes of job stress in public
organization case of University of Uyo Teaching Hospital?
2.
What are the effects of job stress on
employees’ job satisfaction in University of Uyo Teaching Hospital?
3.
What
could be the magnitude job stress on a public organization employees job
Satisfaction?
4.
What
are the major to be taken to reduce occupational stress and improve job satisfaction?
1.4
Objectives
of the study
The
following general and specific objectives are set for the study.
General
Objectives:
Ø To
assess indicating factors toward job stress on employees job satisfaction of University
of Uyo Teaching Hospital.
Specific objectives:
Ø To
investigate working environment stress toward job satisfaction.
Ø To
identify how Inflexibility in occupational stress influence workers job
satisfaction.
Ø To
assess whether job stress limits job satisfaction due to Lack of financial
rewards
Ø To
identify how job stress limits the interactions of workers with colleagues to
prompt Personal issues
Ø
To look management system stress at
specifications regarding job satisfaction.
Ø
To offer suggestion, on the basis of the study
results, ways and means for reduce occupational stress and improving Job
satisfaction on the employee and more effective and efficient.
1.5
Significance
of the study
The
current study come up with good and relevant finding about job stress and
employee job satisfaction of the study area. Primarily, the results of this
study benefits to the selected organizations in particular and governmental
organizations in general; that makes to understand the state of occupational
stress and its effect on employee satisfaction. It helps the organizations to
take corrective measures. Furthermore, it will be used as reference for other
researchers who are interested to conduct study related to this problem.
1.6
Scope of the study
The
scope of this study focus on the effect of work schedule and occupational
stress on employee job satisfaction in University of Uyo Teaching Hospital,
Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
1.7
Limitation of the study
The study
was only conducted in four public service enterprises which limits the genralibility
of the research findings. Another limitation was lack of recent and relevant
literature on the topic, especially at the case study level. Finally financial
and time limitation constrained to conduct a comprehensive and detail study by
taking large sample and remaining explanatory variables. In spite of these
short comings, however, it was attempted to make the study as complete as
possible.
1.8
Organization
of the study
The studies
have five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction which consists of
background of the study, statement of the problem, research question,
objectives, significance, scope and limitation of the study. The second chapter
presented review of related literature. Chapter three presented research
methodology. The fourth chapter presents the data presentation and analysis finally
chapter five contains summary of results, concluding remarks and
recommendations.
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