Employee Relations Practice and Employee Performance in City County Governments in Kenya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/hrlj.4007Keywords:
Employee Relations Practice, Psychological Contract, Work Environment, Employee InvolvementAbstract
Purpose: This study aimed to establish the influence of Employee Relations Practice on Employee Performance in the City County Governments in Kenya focusing on the psychological contract, work environment and employee involvement. The Social Exchange Theory underpins the Employee Relations Practice in this study.
Methodology: The study is a cross-sectional survey research design of a descriptive nature, using stratified simple random sampling technique. The target population was the four (4) City County Governments with the target group being the 434 management employees across the top, middle and lower management levels in the City County Governments. The study sampled 261 respondents for the study by using the Yamane (1967) formula for calculation. Self-administered questionnaires collected primary data, while obtaining secondary data from all related documents. The study used both descriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis. T-statistics at 95% level of confidence, Pearson Moment Correlation with p-value <0.05> and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) through F-test tested the hypothesis.
Findings: The findings reveal that the Employee Relations Practice on its own explains 46% of the variance in Employee Performance in City County Governments in Kenya. Regression analysis results show that Employee Relations Practice has a positive and statistically significant influence on Employee Performance with the regression coefficient of (β= 0.794, p< 0.05).
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study findings endorse the theoretical framework and strengthens the theory (Social Exchange Theory) used to explain the variables. It also contributes to the theoretical literature by providing a basis through which the theoretical proposition used in the formulation of the research hypotheses is empirically tested. The study findings highlight the need of matching policy intentions to operational reality in the City County Government to avoid the disparities in implementation of Employee Relations Practice. In practice, the study informs the HR professionals and practitioners on employee integration and implementation of supportive structures to improve employee performance and thereby improve service delivery across departments. The study contributes to knowledge and research by providing empirical evidence and reference point for scholars and researchers.
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