Percieved influence of occupational health and safety practices on job satisfaction among employees in Chemelil sugar company limited, Kenya

Abstract

Employees in the sugar industry are exposed to many hazards at their workplace and this is likely to influence their levels of job satisfaction if the correct measures are not put in place by their employers. The most affected employees are those who work in factory and agriculture departments ( field services and production). The objective of this study was to determine the perceived influence of occupational health and safety practices on job satisfaction among employees of Chemelil Sugar Company Limited. The research design was cross-sectional survey design and a structured questionnaire was used to collect data which was analyzed using descriptive statistics including percentages, means and standard deviations. Correlation analysis was also used to determine the influence of occupational health and safety practices on job satisfaction. Out of the targeted 110 respondents, only 84 completed the questionnaires representing a response rate of 76%. The research established that occupational health and safety practices influence job satisfaction. The majority of respondents had a positive perception of occupational health and safety practices were in place despite the fact that safety training was rated low in terms of the mean score. They agreed that there were accident prevention measures in place, wellness programmes and health care was provided at the company clinic for both occupational and non-occupational ailments. It was established employees that were satisfied with the quality of health services at clinic, emergency care given to workers injured while on duty as well as the referral services to medical cases that are beyond the scope of the company clinic. Respondents were also satisfied with the wellness programmes and health information provided during the campaigns and outreaches. The frequency of the wellness programmes was rated relatively low despite their satisfaction with the services provided during the campaigns. The adjusted R2 was 0.718 showing that there was 71.8% of the variation in job satisfaction which is accounted for by the combined effects of wellness programmes, safety training and education, accident prevention measures and health practices. This shows a strong correlation between occupational health and safety practices and job satisfaction. The respondents were not satisfied with the frequency of refresher training on safety as well as training during change of jobs and on the use of new equipment. It was recommended that the management of the company facilitate more safety training to equip workers with safety skills which enable them reduce accident rates at the workplace.