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1 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL STRESS MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN URBAN AUTHORITIES IN UGANDA: A CASE OF KAMPALA CAPITAL CITY AUTHORITY BY WINNIE FAITH AHURRA 13/MMS/HRM/031/013 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF THE UGANDA MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE MARCH 2018  i DECLARATION I pronounce that my study is original and has not been published and/or submitted for any other degree award to any other University or Institution of higher learning before. Signature:…………………………………Date:………..………………………………….. Winnie Faith Ahurra 13/MMS/HRM/031/013  ii APPROVAL We hereby certify that this research study has been written under our supervision and satisfies the partial fulfillment for the award of a Master’s degree of Human Resource Management of the Uganda Management Institute (UMI). Signature:…………………………………Date:………..………………………………….. Dr. KarimSsesanga First Supervisor Signature:…………………………………Date:………..………………………………….. Second Supervisor Mr. IvanTwinomuhwezi  iii DEDICATION I dedicate my piece of work to my late parents and especially my late mother Rose Maria Kabasiita who raised me single handedly and worked for my wellbeing as well as that of my siblings. May her soul rest in eternal peace.  iv ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to acknowledge Mrs. Jennifer B. Kaggwa who was my boss at the time I enrolled for my Masters. Her encouragement and support enabled me to come this far. Mr. Richard Lule is also recognized for the constant guidance that he gave me during the time I was doing my Masters Degree. For he was like my third Lecturer/Supervisor. I would like to recognize my supervisors, Dr. Karim Ssesanga and Mr. Ivan Twinomuhezi and most especially Dr. Karim Ssessanga for his guidance. The corrections he made were many but it was worth it. For there is a lot that I learnt, through the constant changes. Lastly, Management of Kampala Capital City Authority is also recognized and thanked for giving me an opportunity to carry out research in the institution and the respondents for taking off time to express their views.  v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................................... i APPROVAL ................................................................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT .............................................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... x ABREVIATIONS AND ACROYNMS ....................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ xii CHAPTER ONE ...............................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background of the Study................................................................................................................... 1 1.2.1 Historical Background ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2.2 Theoretical Background ....................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.3 Conceptual Background ....................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.4 Contextual Background ....................................................................................................................... 7 1.3 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................................ 8 1.4 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................................. 10 1.5 Objectives of the Study ......................................................................................................................... 10 1.6 Research Questions ............................................................................................................................... 10 1.7 Research Hypothesis ....................................................................................................................... 10 1.8 Conceptual Framework ......................................................................................................................... 11 1.9 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................................ 12 1.10 Justification of the Study................................................................................................................. 13 1.11 Scope of the Study .......................................................................................................................... 13 1.11.1 Geographical Scope .................................................................................................................... 13 1.11.2 Content Scope ..................................................................................................................... 13 1.11.3 Time Scope ................................................................................................................................. 13  vi 1.12 Operational Definitions of Terms and Concepts ............................................................................. 14 CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................................... 16 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 16 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Theoretical Review ............................................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Conceptual Review/Conceptual Framework......................................................................................... 18 2.4 Occupational Stress and Employee Performance ................................................................................. 19 2.4.1 Organizational Climate Stressors and Employee Performance .......................................................... 19 2.4.2 Role Stressors and Employee Performance ....................................................................................... 23 2.4.3 Career Development Stressors and Employee Performance .............................................................. 27 2.4.4 Stress and Employee Performance ..................................................................................................... 28 2.5 Summary of Literature Reviewed ......................................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................. 33 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................... 33 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 33 3.2 Research Design .................................................................................................................................... 33 3.3 Study Population ................................................................................................................................... 34 3.4 Sample Size .......................................................................................................................................... 34 3.5 Sampling Techniques and Procedures .................................................................................................. 35 3.6 Data Collection Methods ...................................................................................................................... 36 3.6.1 Self-administered questionnaire ......................................................................................................... 36 3.6.2 Interview guide .................................................................................................................................. 36 3.7 Data Collection Instruments.................................................................................................................. 37 3.7.1 Self-administered questionnaire ......................................................................................................... 37 3.7.2 Interview guide .................................................................................................................................. 37 3.8 Data Quality Management and Control ................................................................................................ 38 3.8.1 Validity of Data Collection Instruments ............................................................................................ 38 3.9 Research Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 40 3.10 Measurement of Variables .................................................................................................................. 40 3.10.1 Occupational Stress ............................................................................................................. 40 3.10.2 Employee Performance (OCB) ................................................................................................... 41  vii 3.11 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 41 3.11.1 Analysis of Quantitative Data .......................................................................................................... 41 3.11.2 Analysis of Qualitative Data ............................................................................................................ 42 3.12 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................................................ 42 CHAPTER FOUR .......................................................................................................................... 43 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS ................................... 43 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 43 4.2 Response rate ........................................................................................................................................ 43 4.3 Demographic Data of Respondents ....................................................................................................... 44 4.4 Results as per the Research Hypothesis ................................................................................................ 48 4.4.1 Research objective one: To establish the relationship between organization climate stressors and employee performance in KCCA ................................................................................................................ 49 4.4.1.1 Hypothesis one testing .................................................................................................................... 54 4.4.2 Research objective two: To establish the relationship between role stressors and employee performance in KCCA ................................................................................................................................ 57 4.4.2.1 Hypothesis two testing: ................................................................................................................... 59 4.4.3 Research objective three: To investigate the relationship between career development stressors and employee performance in KCCA ................................................................................................................ 62 4.4.3.1. Hypothesis three testing ................................................................................................................. 64 CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................................................ 68 SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................. 68 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 68 5.2 Summary of the Study Findings............................................................................................................ 68 5.2.1 The relationship between Organization Climate Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA. .. 68 5.2.2 The relationship between Role Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA. .............. 69 5.2.3 The relationship between Career Development Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA .... 70 5.3 Discussion of findings ........................................................................................................................... 70 5.3.1 To establish the relationship between Organization Climate Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA. ........................................................................................................................................................ 71 5.3.2 The relationship between Role Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA ............................. 72 5.3.3 The relationship between Career Development Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA .... 74 5.4 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 76 5.4.1 Organization Climate Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA ............................................ 76  viii 5.4.2 Role Stressors and Employee Performance ....................................................................................... 76 5.4.3 Career Development Stressors and Employee Performance .............................................................. 76 5.5 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................. 77 5.5.1 Organization Climate Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA ............................................ 77 5.5.2 Role Stressors and Employee Performance in KCCA ....................................................................... 77 5.5.3 Career Development Stressors and Employee Performance .............................................................. 78 5.6 Limitation of the study .......................................................................................................................... 78 5.7 Contributions of the study ..................................................................................................................... 79 5.8 Areas for further research ..................................................................................................................... 79 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 81 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................................... i Appendix 1: Questionnaire for Supervisors, Officers and Support staff ....................................................... i Appendix 2: Interview Guide ....................................................................................................................... vi Appendix 3: Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) Table of Sample Sizes ............................................................. vii Appendix 4: Introductory Letter. ............................................................................................................... viii Appendix 5: Anti-Plagiarism Report ........................................................................................................... ix  ix LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Population, sample and sampling techniques.........................................................35 Table 3.2: Validity results........................................................................................................39 Table 3.3: Reliability results....................................................................................................40 Table 4.1: Response rate..........................................................................................................43 Table 4.2: Distribution of respondents by gender....................................................................44 Table 4.3: Distribution of respondents by age.........................................................................44 Table 4.4: Distribution of respondents by tenure with KCCA ................................................45 Table 4.5: Distribution of respondents by level of education..................................................46 Table 4.6: Distribution of respondents by marital status .........................................................46 Table 4.7: Distribution of respondents by employee status.....................................................47 Table 4.8: Distribution of respondents by position in organisation.........................................47 Table 4.9: Results of the factor analysis ..................................................................................48 Table 4.10: Frequency distribution for responses on organization climate stressors ..............50 Table 4.11: Correlations results for climate stressors and employee performance .................55 Table 4.12: Regression results for climate stressors and employee performance ...................56 Table 4.13: Analysis of the variance table for climate stressors and employee performance.56 Table 4.14: Frequency distribution for responses on role stressors.........................................57 Table 4.15: Correlations results for role stressors and employee performance.......................60 Table 4.16: Regression results for role stressors and employee performance.........................61 Table 4.17: Analysis of the variance table for role stressors and employee performance.......62 Table 4.18: Frequency distribution for responses on career development stressors................62 Table 4.19: Correlations results for career stressors and employee performance ...................65 Table 4.20: Regression results for career stressors and employee performance .....................66 Table 4.21: Analysis of the variance table for career stressors and employee performance...67  x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: The relationship between organization stress and employee performance ...........11  xi ABREVIATIONS AND ACROYNMS CIPD : Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development CVI : Content Validity Index DAHR : Directorate of Administration and Human Resources DTS : Directorate of Treasury Services JDC : Job Demands–Control JDCS : Job Demands–Control–Support KCCA : Kampala Capital City Authority OCB : Organizational Citizen Behaviour P-E Fit : Person Environment fit SPSS : Statistical Package for social sciencies TPC : Technical Planning Committee VDL : Vertical dyad linkage WHO : World Health Organization  xii ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between occupational stress management and employee performance in urban authorities in Uganda with specific reference to Kampala Capital City Authority. The study was guided by three objectives namely: to establish the relationship between organization climate stressors and employee performance in KCCA; to investigate the relationship between role stressors and employee performance in KCCA and to establish the relationship between career development stressors and employee performance in KCCA. The study used a cross sectional survey design, used both qualitative and quantitative data collected from a total of 145 respondents. The study revealed a non-significant negative relationship between organizational climate stressors and employee performance. The study further revealed a significant positive relationship between role stressors and employee performance. In addition, a non-significant negative relationship was established between career development stressors and employee performance thus the presence of career development stressors in an organisation would result into poor employee performance. The study findings showed that occupational stress management is paramount for improved employee performance and in general terms, occupational stressors need to be managed to foster employee performance. From the study, it is concluded that organizational climate stressors reduce employee productivity which affects employee performance and the organization’s output as a whole while role stressors foster employee performance and career development stressors have an adverse effect to employee performance in an organization. Study recommendations included KCCA management putting occupational stress control mechanisms. Training plans need to be reviewed while supervisors should have good working relations with their subordinates. Finally, KCCA managers need to develop clear programs for fostering staff career development.  1 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction The study sought to examine the relationship between occupational stress management and employee performance in Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). In this case, occupational stress management was conceived as the independent variable and employee performance as the dependent variable. This chapter presents the background of the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose and objectives of the study, the research questions, the hypothesis, the scope of the study, the significance, justification and operational definition of terms and concepts. 1.2 Background of the Study 1.2.1 Historical Background A systematic study of stress started way back in the 19th century (Selye’s study as cited in Vogel, 2006). It was first used in physics to analyze the challenge of how man-made structures must be made to carry heavy loads without being deformed by external focus (Selye as cited in Lyon, (2006). In the 1920s and 1930s, biological and psychological professionals would sometimes use the term to refer to a mental strain or to a harmful environmental agent that could cause illness and ultimately have an effect on the effectiveness of an individual (Vingerhoets & Marcelissen, 1989). The transition of the term stress from physics to the behavioral sciences in the later 1930s transformed its usage to bodily processes formed by conditions that place physical and/or psychological demands on an individual (Selye as cited in Vogel, 2006). Research on Occupation related stress started in the late 1960s as a result of increased workload and work pressures emanating from competition in the market and constant change within the  2 organization or any of the plethora’s of aspects which could induce stress in a work environment (Vingerhoets & Marcelissen, 1989). The systematic investigation into occupational stress was motivated by organizations noticing that employees were experiencing problems like: -high blood pressure, muscular or skeletal disorder, persistent headache and digestive disorders which had adverse effects on the general operations of the organization (WHO Report, 2004). Since 1960, occupational stress has been considered throughout the world as a major challenge to workers’ and organisations’ health (Vingerhoets & Marcelissen, 1989). The studies conducted in the last 40 years indicated that stressed employees are likely to be less productive, unmotivated, unhealthy and less safe at work while the institutions in which they work are likely to be unsuccessful in a competitive market, because Occupational Stress negatively impacts an individuals’ physical and psychological state (Yoong & Mastura, 2013; WHO Report 2004; Vingerhoets & Marcelissen, 1989). The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ study conducted in Canada, 2007 found that the rise in occupational stress was responsible for the estimated $10,000 spent annually per worker. An estimation of $10 to $20 billion is wasted among the top executives of the nation every year through early death, hospitalization and absence of employees. Much of it is a direct result of occupational stress (Bureau of Statistics Report, Canada, 2007). Employees do not want to admit to being stressed (US. Department of Labor Statistics Issue, September 1999). Medical journals and institutions refer to stress as the cause of 60-90% of deaths with the main contributor being stress on the job. About 75% of employees worldwide indicate that their jobs are so stressful and 65% of organizations are taking measures to regulate stress in their lives (Bureau of Statistics Report, Canada, 2007).