Working conditions and labour retention in Oyam District, Uganda

Abstract

This study looked at working conditions and labour retention in Oyam District Local Government of Uganda with the major objective of determining the correlation between these variables. Specifically it looked at: demographic characteristics; the level of working conditions and the extent of staff retention in order to determine relationship between working conditions and labour retention. The problem identified was poor working conditions causing poor attraction and retention where more than three staff leaves annually. This study intended to find out whether this is true and the prevailing levels of working conditions. A target population of 152 was used from which 110 employees were sampled as respondents from the entire departments. Questionnaires, observation and discussion were used to collect data. Data analysis using SPSS revealed that: male workers dominate the service with more than 80% of the employees aged 30 years and above. 53.3% of the employees were found to be graduates and more than 90% of the staff earning below one million shillings which factors could imply high mobility; 93% of the employees were found to be married while Anglicans dominate with 65.4%. The level of working conditions was found to be improving variably. External factors emerged high as push factors with more than six officers leaving annually thereby establishing significant relationship between working conditions and labour retention and confirming as true Abraham Maslows' Hierarchy of needs theory and Herzbergs two factor theory where working conditions dissatisfy workers and hence contribute significantly to retention though not hierarchical and varies by personality. Deliberate effort need be taken by the District to improve on the levels of these working conditions.