Employee Motivation and Job Satisfaction among Nutritionists at Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Employees acting towards company goals and having a strong desire to remain in the organization are very important for the success of any organization. In order to generate such organizational commitment of the employees, the knowledge about what motivates and satisfies them is essential. The objective of this study was to evaluate employee motivation and job satisfaction among Nutritionists at KNH. The study also sought to determine the factors that contribute to work motivation and satisfaction among Nutritonists at KNH, to determine the overall level of job satisfaction among Nutritionists at KNH and to determine the impact of biographical variables on job satisfaction among Nutritionists at KNH. The research design employed was a descriptive research design taking the format of a survey. The population of study consisted of all the 38 Nutritionists working at KNH but only 37 consented to participate. The sampling method used was a census where all Nutritionists were eligible to participate in the study. The research instrument was self administered questionnaires which were distributed to the study subjects. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data and included frequencies, percentages and means. In addition parametric tests were used for regression analysis to establish the relationship between the variables and make inferences. The study established that work content contributes most to job satisfaction, followed by payment, recognition, personal, general, leader/supervisor, working conditions, promotion and lastly, benefits. There was also a significant relationship between work motivation and job satisfaction. The study also established that 50% of the Nutritionists at KNH were moderately satisfied while only 2.8% were dissatisfied with their job. Individuals that were aged between 21 to 25 years in age and 46 to 50 years were the most satisfied with regard to age. In addition, the male individuals were more satisfied compared to females. Those with college certificates were the most satisfied than those with higher levels of education. Individuals who had worked for less than 10 years and more than 20 years at KNH were more satisfied. Nutritionists who worked at the Prime Care Centre displayed higher levels of satisfaction compared to those who worked in other areas. The study also demonstrated that there was a significant relationship between years worked at KNH, level of education, gender, with job satisfaction. In conclusion, the study established that Nutritionists at KNH were motivated by their work and were moderately satisfied with their job. The study recommends that the work situation should be looked into with greater detail with a view to redesigning the work so as to provide employees with intrinsic motivators. The intrinsic factors influence a person's willingness to expend considerable efforts toward the goals of the organization and to remain in the organization (attitudinal commitment) while the extrinsic factors, on the other hand, may contribute to the behavioral commitment. This study also recommends that addressing factors like recognition, relationship with supervisors/team leaders, promotion, working conditions, benefits, and payment of overtime as observed in the findings will yield an even higher job satisfaction. This in turn will increase retention and improve service delivery among employees. The study additionally recommends that employers should critically analyze their employees individual characteristics when designing motivational plans in order to attract and retain a motivated and satisfied workforce. There is need to replicate the study to include all employees at KNH so as to have a larger sample for the results to be generalized. There is need to establish the differences in work motivation and job satisfaction among the different cadres of healthcare workers at KNH.