Influence of Psychological Contract On Job Satisfaction Among Medical Laboratory Professionals in Selected Public Health Sector Institutions at The National Government, Kenya

Abstract

The psychological contract is an implicit agreement that shapes employee-employer expectations and significantly influences employee attitudes and behaviors in organizations. A positive psychological contract enhances job satisfaction by creating a supportive work environment. While research has explored psychological contracts among healthcare professionals in Kenya, there are limited specific studies on Medical Laboratory Professionals (MLPs) and how this contract affects their job satisfaction. This study aimed to assess the influence of the psychological contract on job satisfaction among MLPs in the public health sector, focusing on the Human Resources for Health pillar. The study aimed to determine the influence of employee and employer obligations, entitlements, and delegation on job satisfaction within National Government-selected health institutions. Utilizing the Psychological Contracts ‘Iceberg’ Model, a descriptive cross-sectional study design was applied, on 106 Medical Laboratory Professionals (MLPs) through Likert-scale questionnaires. Data collection included self-administered structured questionnaires and key informant interviews with human resource personnel and MLP managers. Qualitative analysis followed set themes, and quantitative data were processed using SPSS version 29 for both descriptive and inferential statistics. A response rate of 98 (92.7%) was attained. Male respondents were 48 (49%), female 50 (51%). Most of the respondents were >45 years, 58 (59.2%), 51% were undergraduate degree holders, 24.5% master’s degree holders, 19.4% diploma holders, with 2.0% having a Doctorate qualification. The results of Pearson’s correlation coefficient indicated that Employee obligations (p< 0.001), Employee entitlements (p< 0.001), Employer obligations (p< 0.001), and Delegation (p< 0.001) were significantly associated with Job satisfaction. Further, Multiple regression analysis revealed that Employee entitlements (p< 0.001), Employer obligations (p-value =0.003), and Delegation (p< 0.001) were significantly associated with Job satisfaction, while Employee obligations (p-value =0.578) insignificantly influenced Job satisfaction. The four independent variables combined account for 57.7% variation of the dependent variable (R2 =.577) with a model fit (F (4, 93) =31.70; p-value<0.001). Delegation had the strongest positive and significant association with job satisfaction (β = 0.362), indicating that it was the most important predictor in the model. Employee entitlements (β = 0.351) and employer obligations (β = 0.253) also showed significant positive relationships with job satisfaction. Conversely, employee obligations were found to have a negative association with job satisfaction. The study concludes that enhancing job satisfaction in the public health laboratory sector requires attention to the psychological aspects of employee relations, including obligations and entitlements, as well as structural elements like delegation. It suggests that organizations should build an environment that fosters motivation, value, and support for their workforce. Recommendations include focusing on purpose-driven expectations, implementing fair human resource policies, and defining roles clearly, balancing obligations with rewards to create a thriving workplace, and creating structures that encourage delegation practices by managers and human resource practitioners.