Welfare Initiatives and Their Roles on Job Stability of Catering Employees in Selected Universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya.
1Waweru Bernard K., 2Maranga V.N., & 3R. Mugambi
1,2,3 Kenyatta University
Corresponding Author: kamauwaweru24@gmail.com
Abstract
The study sought to establish welfare initiatives and their roles on job stability of catering employees in selected universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study covered aspects of efforts, programs, services, benefits and facilities provided by the universities to their catering employees. The study also covered the aspects of concerned with roles of welfare initiatives on job stability such as; employee’s sense of being valued, employees’ attachment, improved performance, fringe benefits, employees’ commitment, talents retention, hard work, competency, a sense of ownership, employees loyalty, employees satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment. The study was descriptive covering a stratified sample of 189 respondents drawn from 300 employees. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires and an interview guide questions. The respondents agreed with the provision of uniforms, medical facilities, clean safe working station and employee’s assistance with means of between 1.5 to 2.5. However, with a mean of between 3.5 to 4.5, they strongly disagreed that, they are provided with welfare initiatives; meals allowance, long service grants, paid holidays and recreational facilities. Moreover, with a mean of 2.57, the respondents were neutral with the provision of; sufficient number of toilets (2.57) and housing facilities. The results of standard deviations were as follows; leave policy (1.53), sporting facilities(1.24), regular salary increment (1.37), comprehensive pension policy (1.35), sufficient number of toilets (1.08), meals allowance (1.25), long service grants (1.15), canteen facilities (1.04), counseling service (1.12), paid holidays (1.30), recreational facilities (1.09), well maintained restrooms (1.13), medical facilities (1.02), employee’s funeral assistance (1.32) and transfer assistance (1.37) had a standard deviation >1, implying that, there was a significance variance. Housing facilities (0.99), uniforms (1.00) and a clean station (0.94), had a standard deviation <1, meaning, there was no significance variance and hence consensus in responses. With a mean of 1.86 and a standard deviation of .979, majority agreed that welfare initiatives make them feel valued by their universities. 86.2% agreed that, being valued makes them more attached to their universities. A majority of the respondents (86.8%) held that, welfare initiatives allow employees loyalty. It is evidenced with a mean of 1.93 and a standard deviation of .716 that, welfare initiatives enables employees to work with passion and fulfillment. The findings demonstrated with a mean of 1.81 and a standard deviation of 0.820 that, welfare initiatives enables employees to continue working with their organizations.
Key Words; Welfare Initiatives, Welfare Benefits, loyalty, employees satisfaction, psychological contract, and employees fulfillment.
Introduction
Employees often find reasons to stay with an employer who cares for their personal and professional welfare. Therefore, universities need to carry out structured welfare initiatives to support employees and their families. This is to enhance their quality of work life. In this context, employees welfare initiatives refers to all efforts, programs, services, benefits and facilities provided by the universities to enhance job stability and quality of work-life of university catering employees. According to (Omonijo, Oludayo, Eche, Uche, Ohunakin, 2015) majority of employees are no longer comfortable working in an institution of higher learning without adequate fringe benefits. Universities mainly comprises of Teaching and non-teaching staff.
According to (Azeem and Quddus, 2014), when we use the language of “human anatomy”, the ‘‘non-teaching staff’’ is the “Central nervous system” of a ‘human body”, in this context, ‘the university”. University catering employees are a part of this ‘Central nervous system” of the body “University”. Therefore, the success of a university as an organization is dependent on the believe of the employees, that their well-being is taken care of (Eisenberger and Stinglhamber, 2011).
According to (Njeru, Moguche and Mutea, 2017), employees are directly influenced by the nature and quality of welfare services. As such employee’s welfare services should be adequately competitive and focused towards solving the real needs of the employees. This concurs with (Ruby, 2012) who postulated that, the welfare of workers is a crucial factor that contributes to the success of an organization. According to a report by (University of Nairobi, 2013). The well-being of a university staff is vital for the realization of the vision and mission of the University. This is further demonstrated by (Owence, Pinagase and Mercy, 2014), who stated that, employees valued benefit encourages job stability.
According to a report by the (University of Sussex, 2012) welfare initiatives includes; safety advice, private medical insurance, sporting facilities, a supermarket, staff library facilities and the on-campus health center, child cares, campus cafes, on-campus banks and staffs accommodation. The Pakistan study by (Khan, 2014) demonstrated welfare initiatives to include retirement benefits, job security. In India, employee’s welfare is advanced in legislation such as (Insurance Act, 1948), and the (WCA Act, 1923). This rule provides for welfare benefits such as; lockers, seats, first aid, an ambulance, sickness, maternity, dependent’s funeral and medical benefits (Ravindra, 2013). The government has further provided the catering establishment act of 1958, which regulates the conditions of persons working in catering establishments (Government of Tamil Nadu, 2014).
The Nigerian study by (Omonijo, Oludayo, Eche, Uche, Ohunakin, 2015) in a faith- based institution of higher learning in South-West Nigeria found out that the following welfare initiatives are offered; house allowance, medical allowance, paid holidays, pension scheme, subsidized meal, transportation, annual salary increment, time off, on-campus accommodation, in service training and sick leave. Bagudu, Usman and Ibrahim (2013), studied staffs turnover among state owned institutions in Nigeria, and found out that, employee’s welfare include better working environment, accommodation, staff schools, medical facilities, salaries and fringe benefits. Kenya legislation provide for employee’s welfare in (KEA, 2007) cap 226 on rights and duties in employment. It provides for hours of work, annual, maternity and sick leaves, housing, water, food and medical attention. The (OSHA, 2007) provide the guidelines for safety, health and welfare of workers (GoK, 2007). The (WIBA, 2007) and the (NHIF, 2007) act provides for leaves transformation and recreational facilities for the employees.
According to (Kenyatta University, 1995) development plan, staff welfare includes housing, medical services, insurances, pension schemes, loans, restaurants, banks and multi- purpose halls. A study by (Akala, 2012) on factors that influence employee’s retention among the non-teaching staff at the university of Nairobi, classified employee’s welfare into physical and emotional welfare. Physical welfare include health, safety, paid holidays and reduced working hours while emotional welfare include counseling services. According to (CUNY, 2009) employee welfare initiatives include basic health plans such as prescription drug plans, dental plan, hearing aid benefit, disability benefits, extended medical benefit, retirement benefits, health benefits, leaves and free interest loans. A study by (Bosibori, Nyakundi, Munene and Walter, 2012) demonstrated that, employee welfare secures labor and include housing, medical, canteen and recreational facilities. According to (Dennis, 2012), welfare policy stem from measures to improve health and safety, paid holidays, reduced working hours and mental well- being of employees.
Statement of the Problem
A management research report by (Saji, Tarek, and Mohammad, I.T., 2013); found out that, most staff members were dissatisfied with the level of facilities (transportation, medical, vacation) provided to them and to their families. This means that, they are inadequate (Ngaruiya, Nyandega, Origa and Ondundo, 2015), one of the challenges brought by massification of universities are inadequate staff welfare and inadequate staffs. The current welfare initiatives are selective as demostrated by (Odeku and Odeku, 2014) who demonstrated that, managers increase their welfare at the expense of their subordinates. It is also clear that, the current welfare initiatives do not address the real needs of employees and are not determined with the active participation of employees. This negates the principles of employee’s welfare service as demonstrated by (Ananthi, Narmatha, Murukesh and Periasamy, 2016) that, employee’s welfare services should satisfy the real needs of employees and they should be determined with the active participation of all the workers.
Research Hypotheses
H1: Welfare initiatives are not used by catering employees in selected Universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya.
H2: Welfare initiatives have no significant role on job stability of catering employees in selected Universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya.
The Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework shows the relationship between the independent variables(welfare initiatives); fringe benefits, social security, loan facilities, medical facilities, leave allowance, gratuity, insurance and training and the dependent variables (Job stability) as represented on its key facets of; employees commitment, job attachment, organizational pride, high morale and being valued. Intervening variables were the social demographic factors (Gender, Age, Marital status, Employees experience and Employment status).
Figure 1.1: Conceptual Frame work
LITERATURE REVIEW
Welfare Initiatives and their Roles on Job Stability of Catering Employees
A study by (Omonijo, Oludayo, Eche, Uche, Ohunakin, 2015) at a private based institution of higher learning in South-West Nigeria, demonstrated that, majority of the respondents (86.6%) were not comfortable working in an institution of higher learning without adequate fringe benefits. Thus, there is a need to improve the current welfare initiatives so as to align them with employee’s real needs. This is not only to make them comfortable but also to improve their standards of living. According to (Amirnejad and Asploor, 2016) effective provision of staff welfare facilities is hindered by many different needs of employees. Thus there was a need to know these welfare initiatives and classify them according to different cadres of employees and into different university staff categories. This is to make them play their roles effectively.
According to a report by the (University of Sussex, 2012) welfare initiatives includes; safety advice, private medical insurance, sporting facilities, a supermarket, staff library facilities and the on-campus health center, child cares, campus cafes, on-campus banks and staffs accommodation. The Nigerian study by (Omonijo, Oludayo, Eche, Uche, Ohunakin, 2015) in a faith- based institution of higher learning in South-West Nigeria found out that the following welfare initiatives are offered; house allowance, medical allowance, paid holidays, pension scheme, subsidized meal, transportation, annual salary increment, time off, on-campus accommodation, in service training and sick leave.
Kenya legislation provide for employee’s welfare in (KEA, 2007) cap 226 on rights and duties in employment. It provides for hours of work, annual, maternity and sick leaves, housing, water, food and medical attention. A study by (Akala et al., 2012) on factors that influence employee’s retention among the non-teaching staff at the university of Nairobi, classified employee’s welfare into physical and emotional welfare. Physical welfare include health, safety, paid holidays and reduced working hours while emotional welfare include counseling services. According to (Owence, Pinagase and Mercy, 2014), employees valued benefit encourages job stability. According to (Beheshtifar and Mojtaba, 2013), commitment of employees can be increased by giving them fringe benefits.
The Psychological Contract Theory
The theory is based on employee’s sense of fairness, trust and belief between the employer and the employee that each is fulfilling his part of the bargain. Each of the party is obligated to fulfill his role to ensure continuity of the exchange relationship between the two parties. In this theory, the employer has a role to provide social emotional rewards while the employee on the other hand has a responsibility to provide his skills, efforts and commitments towards accomplishment of the organizational goals. Psychological contract can be redefined to mean a mental agreement of what each party is to provide, and is categorized into transactional, relational and balanced contracts. Transactional contract is based on monetary exchanges such as bonus while the relational contract is based on non-monetary and social emotional factors such as employee’s welfare initiatives. Meanwhile, balanced psychological contract is based open ended time flame and mutual concern of relational agreement with the performance demand and renegotiation of transactional contracts (Wangithi and Muceke, 2012).
Summary of the Literature Review and the Research Gap
Past studies evidenced that, employees are not comfortable working in organizations that do not provide adequate welfare initiatives such as fringe benefits as demonstrated by (Omonijo, Oludayo, Eche, Uche, Ohunakin, 2015). Therefore there is a need to make them adequate and to align them to different occupations. Earlier studies are not clear on how to make welfare initiatives comfortable and adequate. According to (Amirnejad and Asploor, 2016) effective provision of staff welfare facilities is hindered by many different needs of employees. Thus there was a need to know these welfare initiatives and classify them according to different cadres of employees and into different university staff categories. This is to make them play their roles effectively. The literature review has revealed that, the current welfare initiatives are not regularly revised and there is a need to do so (Ndila, 2010). It is therefore evident that, the current welfare initiatives are not updated and are no in a position to address the current needs of university catering employees.
Methodology
The research study used the descriptive research design to find out welfare initiatives used in universities and their roles on job stability. The design has quantitative and qualitative approach methods which established welfare initiatives and their roles on job stability of catering employees working in universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study was carried out in catering departments of 5 out of 46 university campuses in Nairobi City County Kenya (Commission for the University Education, July, 2016). The target population comprised of 300 university catering employees within the area of the study. The population was heterogeneous, thus, stratified sampling was done in selecting the respondents of the study and simple random sampling was used to select university campuses of the study.
Table 1.1: Summary of Sampling Technique
|
Technique |
Area applied |
Justification |
|
Simple Random Sampling |
Selected University Campuses from in Nairobi City County |
Equal chance of being selected to represent the sample |
|
Stratified Sampling |
Selected individual respondents |
Equal representation of catering employees working in university catering departments |
Sample Size
A total of 189 respondents participated in the study as shown on summary distribution of the respondents.
Table 1.2: Sample Size
|
Participants |
Population |
Sample Size |
|
|
University Catering Employees |
300 |
63% |
189 |
|
Total |
300 |
189 |
The sample size of university catering employees was determined using Israel’s (1992) sample size calculation formula as shown;
|
Equation 1:
n= N 1+N(e)2 |
Where : N = population
e = precision rate at 5% (0.05)
n = sample size |
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
This section represents the analysis, findings and discussions of the study. The main objective was to explore welfare initiatives and their roles on job stability of university catering employees in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The findings presented include; response rate, demographic profiles, welfare initiatives and their roles on job stability. The study targeted a total of 189 respondents who were the catering employees of selected universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya.
Demographic Characteristics of the respondents
The study sought employee’s demographics and the findings were presented as shown;
Gender and Age of the respondents
According to the findings, 38.8% were male and 61.2% were female. This contrasts (Azeem and Quddus, 2014) study conducted in Maulna Azad National University which found out that, majority (71.4%) was males. Most of the respondents 22.4% were aged between 40-44 years while the minority 1.3% had an age of below 20 years.
Marital Status, Education level and Employees Experience
The majority of the respondents (75.7%) were married while minority 0.7% was of the opinion that, marriage is not applicable. This concur with (Kosgey, Mutai and Lagat, 2018) where 89% of the respondents were married. Meanwhile, majority (38.8%) had a diploma as the highest level of education while the minority (1.3%) held a primary level certificate. The study revealed that, majority (29.6%) had an experience of between 5-9 years while the minority (8.6%) had an experience of >20 years of age
Terms of Service and Level of Employee in Organization Structure
Majority of the respondents (77.6%) were employed on permanent terms of service while the minority (0.7%) was on probation. In terms of their levels in organizational structure, majority (46.1%) described themselves as operational while minority (11.2%) described themselves as support staffs.
Table 1.3: Welfare Initiatives
|
Mean |
Std.Deviation |
|
|
My organization has a high satisfactory leave policy |
3.14 |
1.53 |
|
Sporting Facilities are provided for employees |
3.22 |
1.24 |
|
Regular salary increment is offered to employees |
3.03 |
1.37 |
|
My establishment has a comprehensive pension policy |
3.73 |
1.35 |
|
Sufficient number of toilets are provided for the employees |
2.57 |
1.08 |
|
Meals allowance is provided to the employees in your establishment |
4.02 |
1.22 |
|
Long service grants are provided to the employees |
3.97 |
1.14 |
|
My establishment provide canteen facilities to employees |
2.62 |
1.04 |
|
Counseling services are provided by my establishment |
2.72 |
1.12 |
|
Housing facilities are provided by the establishment |
2.57 |
0.99 |
|
My establishment offer paid holidays to the employees |
3.97 |
1.30 |
|
Recreation facilities are provided in my establishment |
3.61 |
1.09 |
|
There are well maintained rest rooms in my organization |
3.01 |
1.13 |
|
My establishment offer medical facilities to the employees |
2.28 |
1.02 |
|
My establishment provide us with uniforms |
1.86 |
1.00 |
|
My working station is safe and clean |
1.84 |
0.94 |
|
Employees are assisted when their family members pass away |
2.68 |
1.32 |
|
Employees on transfer are facilitated to settle down |
3.07 |
1.37 |
The respondents agreed with the provision of uniforms, medical facilities, clean safe working station and employee’s assistance with means of between 1.5 to 2.5. However, with a mean of between 3.5 to 4.5, they strongly disagreed that, they are provided with welfare initiatives; meals allowance, long service grants, paid holidays and recreational facilities. Moreover, with a mean of 2.57, the respondents were neutral with the provision of; sufficient number of toilets (2.57) and housing facilities (2.57). The results of standard deviations were as follows; leave policy (1.53), sporting facilities(1.24), regular salary increment (1.37), comprehensive pension policy (1.35), sufficient number of toilets (1.08), meals allowance (1.25), long service grants (1.15), canteen facilities (1.04), counseling service (1.12), paid holidays (1.30), recreational facilities (1.09), well maintained restrooms (1.13), medical facilities (1.02), employee’s funeral assistance (1.32) and transfer assistance (1.37) had a standard deviation >1, implying that, there was a significance variance. Housing facilities (0.99), uniforms (1.00) and a clean station (0.94), had a standard deviation <1, meaning, there was no significance variance and hence consensus in responses.
Role of employee’s welfare on job stability of university catering employees
The study sought to find out the role of welfare initiatives on job stability of university catering employees. The respondents were asked to rate the elements on a scale of 1 to 5 ranging as 1=strongly agree, 2=agree, 3=neutral, 4=disagree and 5= strongly disagree. A likert scale with five points was used to capture and interpret the responses. Those elements those were not considered to have any role on job stability were awarded number 5 while those which had a strong significant role were awarded number 1, those which had a fairly significant role were awarded number 2 while 3 was awarded neutral. Meanwhile, those awarded 4 had no role on job stability while those awarded 5 had no role at all. The summary of the elements tested was as shown on the table below;
Table 1.4: Role of Welfare Initiatives on Job Stability of University Catering Employees
|
Mean |
S.Deviation |
|
|
Welfare makes me feel valued by the organization |
1.86 |
0.979 |
|
Being valued makes me more attached to the organization |
1.82 |
0.887 |
|
Welfare inspires employees to work better and harder |
1.84 |
0.839 |
|
Fringe benefits enhances employees commitment |
1.82 |
0.921 |
|
Welfare attracts and retains talent in the organization |
2.50 |
1.483 |
|
Welfare inspires hard work and competency |
3.68 |
2.712 |
|
Welfare enhances employees satisfaction |
2.39 |
1.557 |
|
Welfare allows employees to take pride in their organization |
1.32 |
0.769 |
|
Welfare allows employees loyalty |
1.13 |
0.339 |
|
Welfare enable employees to work with passion and fulfillment |
1.93 |
0.716 |
|
Welfare enables me to continue working with the organization |
1.81 |
0.820 |
|
Welfare inspires me to work hard |
1.78 |
0.745 |
|
Welfare enables me to work with passion and fulfillment |
1.88 |
0.848 |
|
Valid N (list-wise) |
Means were established and interpreted as follows; Means >4.5 implied strongly agreed, 3.5-4.5 implied disagreed; 2.5-3.5 implied neutral, 1.5-2.5 implied agreed, <1 implied strongly agreed. Standard deviations were also obtained and interpreted as follows; >1 implied: significance variance and lack of consensus while <1 implied, lack of significance variance in responses, 1, implied that, the responses were further spread out, >0.5 and <1, implied that, the responses were moderately distributed, while < 0.5 implied that, the responses were concentrated around the mean. From the findings, the respondents disagreed that, welfare initiatives inspires hard work and competency. The results indicated that, the respondents agreed that; welfare initiatives make them; feel valued (1.86), attached to their organizations (1.82), inspires them to work better and harder (1.84), enhances their commitment (1.82), attracts and retains talent (2.50), enhances employees satisfaction (2.39), enables employees to work with passion and fulfillment (1.93), enables them to continue working in their universities (1.81),inspires them to work hard (1.78) and enables them to work with passion and fulfillment (1.88). However, with means of 1.32 and 1.13 respectively, the respondents agreed that, welfare initiatives enables them to have pride in their organization and allows employees loyalty. The study findings concur with (Owence, Pinagase and Mercy, 2014), who stated that, employees valued benefit, encourages job stability. The findings also concur with (Mitchell, Holtom and Lee, 2001), who stated that, the closer the employees person views, values, and goals are to the organizational culture, the better the fit, and the “higher the likelihood that an employee will feel attached to the organization.The standard deviation results revealed that, apart from three elements (attracts and retains talent, (1.483), inspires hard work and competency (2.712) and enhances employees satisfaction (1.557) the other ten elements had a standard deviation of <1. This means that, a part from the mentioned three, there was no significance variance in responses, an indication of a general consensus among the study respondents.
Hypothesis: Welfare initiatives and their roles on job stability
The study determined the relationship between welfare initiatives and their roles on stability. The study tested the following hypotheses stated in null and alternative forms.
HO1: Welfare initiatives have no significant role on job stability of university catering employees in selected Universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya.
H11: Welfare initiatives have a significant role on job stability of university catering employees in selected Universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya.
To test the hypotheses, welfare initiatives were analyzed against their roles on job stability of university catering employees using the chi-square analysis. The chi-square was done to establish whether they have a significant role on job stability of catering employees in selected universities in Nairobi City County, Kenya. A p-value of <5 was considered as significant and the results were as shown on table 1.5.
The findings presented an x2=8.855, df*=4 and the p=0.065 which is >0.05. With a significance level>0.05 (0.65), the alternative hypothesis (H1) was rejected. The results showed that there was no significant relationship between employee welfare initiative A and its role on job stability of university catering employees. The implication of x2 test result is that, a satisfactory leave policy cannot be attributed to its role on job stability of university catering employees.
In welfare initiative B, the results were X2=14.118, df*=4 and the p=0.007 which is <0.05, the significance level being <0.05 (0.007), the HO1 was rejected. As a result the alternative hypothesis (H1) was accepted. This result showed that, there is a significant relationship between the employee welfare initiative B and its role on job stability of university catering employees. Here, the implication of x2 test result is that, sporting facilities are attributed to their roles on job stability of university catering employees. The same can be said on other welfare initiatives and their roles; in D to P whose results=0.000 and by default <0.005 and as a result their HO1 being rejected and by implication their H11 being accepted. Meaning, there is a significant relationship between welfare initiatives D to P and their roles on job stability of university catering employees.
Table 1.5: Hypothesis: Welfare initiatives and their roles on job stability
|
Test Statistics |
Chi- Square |
value |
|
|
A |
My organization has a high satisfactory leave policy |
8.855 |
.065 |
|
B |
Sporting Facilities are provided for employees |
14.118 |
.007 |
|
C |
Regular salary increment is offered to |
5.039 |
.283 |
|
D |
My establishment has a comprehensive pension policy |
47.276 |
.000 |
|
E |
Sufficient number of toilets are provided for the |
68.592 |
.000 |
|
F |
Meals allowance is provided to the employees |
98.789 |
.000 |
|
G |
Long service grants are provided to the employees |
82.671 |
.000 |
|
H |
My establishment provide canteen facilities |
70.895 |
.000 |
|
I |
Counseling services are provided by my establishment |
49.053 |
.000 |
|
J |
Housing facilities are provided by the establishment |
77.408 |
.000 |
|
K |
My establishment offer paid holidays to the employees |
98.592 |
.000 |
|
L |
Recreation facilities are provided in my establishment |
46.092 |
.000 |
|
M |
There are well maintained restrooms in my establishment |
71.355 |
.000 |
|
N |
My establishment offer medical facilities to the employees |
78.395 |
.000 |
|
O |
My establishment provide us with uniforms |
118.789 |
.000 |
|
P |
My working station is safe and clean |
123.921 |
.000 |
|
Q |
Employees are assisted when their families pass away |
9.645 |
.047 |
|
R |
Employees on transfer are facilitated to settle |
4.908 |
.297 |
|
S |
Welfare enables me to continue working |
150.566 |
.000 |
|
T |
welfare makes me feel valued by the organization |
128.855 |
.000 |
|
U |
being valued makes me more attached to the |
137.803 |
.000 |
|
V |
Welfare inspires employees to work better and harder |
141.553 |
.000 |
|
W |
Fringe benefits enhances employees commitment |
136.750 |
.000 |
|
X |
Welfare attracts and retains talent in the organization |
136.395 |
.000 |
|
Y |
Welfare inspires hard work and competency |
86.224 |
.000 |
|
Z |
Welfare enhances employees satisfaction |
194.684 |
.000 |
|
A2 |
Welfare allows employees to take pride in their |
347.211 |
.000 |
|
B2 |
Welfare allows employees loyalty |
82.526d |
.000 |
|
C2 |
Welfare enable employees to work with passion and fulfillment |
97.895e |
.000 |
The implication of x2 test result is that, a comprehensive pension policy, sufficient number of toilets, meals allowance, long service grants, canteen facilities, counseling services, housing facilities, paid holidays, recreational facilities, well maintained restrooms, medical facilities, staff uniforms, a safe and a clean working environments are attributed to their roles on job stability of university catering employees. Their roles are shown on capital letters S to C2. This concurs with (Azem and Quddus, 2014) study on job satisfaction among the non-teaching employees of Central Universities in India, Hyderabad (University of Hyderabad and Maulana Azad National Urdu University), which found out that, welfare initiatives such as creches, construction of working women’s hostels on the campus, incentive for working long hours and on holidays, reimbursement of medical bills and the reimbursement of tuition fees led to employees job satisfaction. On welfare initiative Q, X2=9.645, df*=4 and the p=0.047 which is equals to 0.05 when converted into 2 decimal places. Since this is not > or <0.05 (In 2 decimal places), the study can only attributed Q (employees assistance when their family members pass away) with job stability of university catering employees
Conclusions
The objective sought to establish welfare initiatives used in university catering departments in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The findings revealed that, with means of between 1.5 to 2.5, the respondents agreed that they are provided with welfare initiatives; staff uniforms, medical facilities, clean safe working environment and employees assistance. It is evident from the study that, with a mean of between 3.5 to 4.5, the respondents strongly disagreed that, they are provided with welfare initiatives; meals allowance, long service grants, paid holidays and recreational facilities. Moreover, with a mean of 2.57, the respondents were neutral with the provision of; sufficient number of toilets (2.57) and housing facilities (2.57).
Role of welfare initiatives on job stability of university catering employees
The objective sought to find out the role of welfare initiatives on job stability of university catering employees in selected universities in Nairobi City, County, Kenya. The findings revealed that, the respondents disagreed that, welfare initiatives inspires hard work and competency. The results indicated that, the respondents agreed that; welfare initiatives make them; feel valued (1.86), attached to their organizations (1.82), inspires them to work better and harder (1.84), enhances their commitment (1.82), attracts and retains talent (2.50), enhances employees satisfaction (2.39), enables employees to work with passion and fulfillment (1.93), enables them to continue working in their universities (1.81),inspires them to work hard (1.78) and enables them to work with passion and fulfillment (1.88). However, with means of 1.32 and 1.13 respectively, the respondents agreed that, welfare initiatives enables them to have pride in their organization and allows employees loyalty. The findings revealed that, there is a significant relationship between welfare initiatives D to P and their roles on job stability of university catering employees. The implication of x2 test result is that, a comprehensive pension policy, sufficient number of toilets, meals allowance, long service grants, canteen facilities, counseling services, housing facilities, paid holidays, recreational facilities, well maintained restrooms, medical facilities, staff uniforms, a safe and a clean working environments are attributed to their roles on job stability of university catering employees.
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