An analysis of the relationship between occupational stress and employee job performance in public health care institutions: A case study of public hospitals in Harare

Orientation: Occupational stress has become a major challenge for employers with potentially damaging physiological and psychological effects on employees as it negatively affects their health and contribution to the effectiveness of organisations.Research purpose: The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between occupational stress and employee job performance.Motivation for the study: Public health care employees such as doctors, nurses, midwives and laboratory technicians had become more likely to have higher workload and inflexible working hours as they keep up with the increasing demand. Owing to shortages of staff, most of the health care employees had become stress ridden as they had to work for long working hours, face incompatible demands and find lack of support from superiors.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative research design was adopted for the study. A structured questionnaire was developed, validated and distributed to 260 employees and management personnel working in five selected government departments.Main findings: The study concluded that there is a negative relationship between increase in inflexibility in work hours and job performance. The findings also noted a negative relationship between work overload and job performance.Practical/managerial implications: The data collected from this study might form part of policy-making for both the government and the management of public health care institutions. Moreover, the findings on the stress factors affecting the performance of health care workers may be used to develop strategies and provide an environment that ensures improved employee performance.Contribution/value-add: The study is expected to enrich the empirical evidence on the stressors in public health care institutions and also provide recommendations for practitioners in investigating the relationship between occupational stress and employee job performance in the public sector.