The Effect of Work Related Stressors on Employee Performance in Non-Governmental Organizations In Kenya

A Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Executive Masters in Organizational Development (EMOD)The general objective of this study was to determine the effects of work related stressors on employee performance in Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya specifically, Jhpiego, African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) and Intrahealth International. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: to determine the effect of psychological stressors on employee performance in non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya. To determine the effect of psychosocial stressors on employee performance in Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya and to determine the effect job demand stressors on employee performance, in nongovernmental organizations in Kenya. For the research methodology, a descriptive research design was used. The population of the study was 176 staff of Intrahealth International, Africa Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) and Jhpiego. Stratified random sampling was used to select a sample of 122 respondents. The primary data was collected using of a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher on the basis of the three specific objectives. Data was Analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Software. The data was analyzed by means of frequencies, percentages and correlation analysis. The data was presented using Tables and figures. On the first objective of the effect of psychological stressors on employee performance, the findings show Strong positive correlations between, the ability to perform the job based on the task at hand, positive attitude towards work, adequate support and guidance and resources to effectively work, misfits in demand as well as ability to get the job done, with performance, thus making it conclusive that a nongovernmental employee mostly experiences stress when his or her environmental demands exceed their adaptive capacity to perform their jobs effectively. These environmental demands include; high workload, inadequate resources to accomplish their work. With regard to the second objective of the effect of psychosocial stressors on employee performance, the study revealed that there was a strong statistical relationship between psychosocial stressor variables and employee job performance. This indicates that the psychosocial stressors in the workplace specifically poor relationships with supervisors and coworkers, lack of understanding of job roles, inadequate reward and recognition for work done, lack of ownership of job outputs and most significantly, the a misfit found between the employees own values and the specific culture of the workplace leads to poor job performance. The third and final objective that sought out to determine the effect of job demand on nongovernmental employee performance found out that there were fewer variables with a negative effect on job performance. These included; lack of feedback on personal work, high working pace, high technical skills required, high levels of workload, desire to leave work and high pressure to deliver on the job recording the highest values of statistical relations. Therefore, we can conclude that the implications of job demand related stressors do not have a significant effect on the employee’s performance. The major conclusions drawn from the study were that high workload, inadequately distributed resources to accomplish tasks are the key contributors to their stress levels in the workplace. Specifically, employees of Non-governmental organizations namely AMREF, Intrahealth International and Jhepigo feel that stress goes beyond their work environment and into their homes. Employee family members, inclusive of spouses and children also tend to surfer from the negative attitude arising from psychological, psychosocial and Job demand stressors. Conflict arises in the home often when employees who are stressed in the workplace and perform poorly at their jobs. Therefore, a positive correlation exists between job stress and job performance that significantly reduces the performance of employees in NGOs. The results suggest that organization should facilitate a supportive culture within the working atmosphere of the organization to foster well-distributed workload and resources for employees to effectively. Recommendations for Intrahealth International, African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) and Jhpiego to alleviate the effects of psychosocial, psychosocial and job demand stressors and improve the performance of their employees, is to manage stress in ways that will bring out the best in their employees. The key to maximizing employee performance while minimizing stress is for managers to give their employees as much control, even if it is perceived control, over their jobs as possible. The more control people have over their work, the greater their job satisfaction, quality of work and the lower their levels of, stress will be. Secondly, in order to reduce the increasing risk of high psychological injury to employees in their respective organizations, manager should implement strategies having a well-established recruitment and selection process incorporating assessments such as the psychometric test to ensure that only the most suitable employee for each particular job. Undertaking of climate and culture surveys, can also be used to assess the state of workplace relationships both laterally and hieratically, the perceptions of supervisory skills, organizational moral and vocational disconnect between the employees and their jobs. Lastly, employers need to be aware of the composition of their workforce, essentially with regard to the diversity of skills, experience and culture present in the work environment. These were determined through this study, to be a result of person-environment misfits affecting employee effectiveness and performanc