WORK RELATIONSHIP STRESSORS AND PERFORMANCE OF ACADEMIC STAFF IN PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

Abstract

Workplace relationship is a key determinant of performance by members of staff in an organisation. The existence of workplace relationship stressors (conditions and situations) could result in employees developing stress-related complications, which would ultimately affect productivity. Members of university academic staff are not immune to workplace relationship stressors as long as there exists a mechanism to address them if they occur or prevent their occurrence. This paper presents the results of a survey of 10 Kenyan public universities with respect to how work relationship stressors have affected the job performance of the members of academic faculty. Data was collected using a questionnaire, and analysis was presented using frequencies and percentages. Research has shown that work relationship stressors affect most members of academic staff in the private universities studied. Specifically, it was established that there are poor working relations between university management and academic staff members, incidents of employees’ misunderstandings are high, almost half of the academic members of staff are demotivated, and incidents of bullying and harassment have been adversely being mentioned to occur. These work relationship stressors have been found to affect the productivity of members of academic staff. The paper recommends that there is a need for private university to strengthen their human resource policies, which promote employee relations by speaking against bullying, have clear procedures for dispute and set up grievance and complaints reference systems and disciplinary approaches to be followed in addressing perpetrators of stressors in the workplace.

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