The impact of purpose and belonging on Organizational Commitment in Healthcare Sector

Abstract

The healthcare sector is currently encountering serious issues ranging from burnout among staff members to high turnover and shortage of employees in the industry, hence, the need to investigate the contributing factors to ensure better understanding of what causes the level of commitment and retention among staff members in the sector. The main objective of this paper is to explore the effect of key factors which include sense of purpose, sense of belongingness, career growth and fulfillment of personal needs on the performance of employees in the healthcare sector. With theoretical underpinning provided by Organizational Commitment Theory, Social Exchange Theory and Self-Determination Theory among others, the paper makes use of the quantitative research methodology for conducting the investigation. The primary data was collected from a sample population of 68 employees from urban secondary and tertiary hospitals using a questionnaire. Some of the statistical tools employed in this research include Chi-Square Test, Pearson Correlation and Linear Regression. The results indicate that sense of belongingness plays a great role in affecting organizational commitment while personal needs play an important role in predicting career growth and organizational commitment. It was also noted that work experience does not relate significantly to employee retention.