Daystar University Repository An Investigation of Psychosocial Factors Affecting Married Employees at The Kenya Ports Authority, Mombasa. by Julius Okoth Nudi A thesis submitted to the School of Human and Social Sciences of Daystar University, Kenya in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Counseling Psychology May 2012 Library Archives Copy Daystar University Repository COMMITTEE APPROVALS AN INVESTIGATION OF PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AFFECTING MARRIED EMPLOYEES AT THE KENYA PORTS AUTHORITY, MOMBASA. by Julius Okoth Nudi In accordance with Daystar University policies, this thesis is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. Date signed _______________________ _______________________ Kimani Chege, DMin, Supervisor ______________________ _______________________ Peterson Mwangi, M. Ed. Reader ______________________ _______________________ Kimani Chege, DMin, H.O.D Counseling Psychology _______________________ _______________________ Alice Munene, PsyD, Dean, School of Human and Social Sciences ii Library Archives Copy Daystar University Repository DECLARATION I declare that this is my original work and has not been submitted to any other College or University for academic credit. Signed: ________________________ ___________________________ Julius Okoth Nudi iii Library Archives Copy Daystar University Repository DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my loving wife Verah Sunday, whose love, prayers and support inspired me. I also dedicate it to our lovely children Mary Joy, Joshua Geoffrey and Elizabeth Nicole. Finally, this research is dedicated to my loving and caring parents, Thomas and Maria Nudi. The spiritual and moral values they taught me cannot be erased. iv Library Archives Copy Daystar University Repository ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work could not be completed without the assistance and cooperation of many individuals and organizations. I want to thank God who gave me strength as I worked on the document. In particular I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Dr. Kimani Chege, head of Counseling Psychology department, who carefully and patiently prepared me for the uphill task of doing research. He empowered me with the skills of writing a thesis. I am indebted to my advisor, Rev. Peterson Mwangi, whose support and guidance made it possible to carry out the study. His input, guidance and mentorship were invaluable. I am grateful to Dr. Lincoln Khasakhala, a senior lecturer in the department of Counseling Psychology for his mentorship and guidance in data analysis. I am grateful to Dr. Alice Munene, the Dean, School of Human and Social Sciences, Dr. Rebecca Oladipo and Ms. Grace Karanja whose constructive and positive criticism helped in shaping this document. Their wealth of experience reformed my academic worldview. I would like to thank Mr. Peter Masindano, the coordinator of Daystar University, Mombasa Campus, who encouraged and motivated me to do the study. I am grateful to Mr. Tom Abuto who edited this material. I would like to express my appreciation to the management of Kenya Ports Authority for permission and support. They allowed and helped me to access their facility. I am greatly indebted to the management of Mombasa Polytechnic University College for giving me an opportunity to use their library. I want to sincerely thank Chelten Baptist Church and the Pastor in charge, Rev. Andrew Hudson, for their prayers and financial support. I am grateful to members of Africa Inland Church-Tudor for their prayers and support. I want to thank Eng. Haron Kiplagat, Mr. Cornelly Kuti, Mr. Patrick Kioko, Dr, Ronald Kisia, Mr. v Library Archives Copy Daystar University Repository Daniel Tanui, Mr. Kiro, Mr. Zachary Onditi, Mr. and Mrs. Justers Mutemi, Mr. Mourice Kingo’to and Mrs. Alice Gatitu for their support. I am also grateful to Pastor Albert Apiyo, part-time lecturer at Daystar University for his encouragement. Last but not least, I must thank my wife Verah Sunday for her patience, prayers and support which enabled me to successfully write this thesis. I am also grateful to our lovely children Mary Joy, Joshua Geoffrey and Elizabeth Nicole for their patience while I was writing this document. Thanks to everyone who participated in the production of this thesis which I believe will be useful to corporate organizations and individuals. vi Library Archives Copy Daystar University Repository ABSTRACT Psychosocial factors affecting married employees pose a great challenge to organizations and families. The proper functioning of Kenya Ports Authority, like any other organization, depends heavily on the psychosocial stability of its employees. Various institutions in Kenya and by extension East and Central African region depend on the efficient functioning of KPA. A number of employees of KPA have displayed chronic absenteeism, alcohol-related issues, stress, professional burnout, family instability and reduced work motivation, among others. Various researchers have underscored the relatively greater magnitude of the effect of various psychosocial issues on married employees as compared to the unmarried. KPA is not an exception in this regard; it is on this background that the current study was conducted. The objectives of the study were to investigate the working conditions of married employees at K.P.A, establish the counseling needs, investigate the impact of social support and to come up with intervention measures. The purpose of this study was to investigate psychosocial factors affecting married employees at the Kenya Ports Authority. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research designs. A sample of (504) employees was selected from a population of (5040) employees. Stratified sampling procedure was used to obtain a sample size of 10%. Out of the 504, 421 subjects returned the questionnaire. The main tools of data collections were questionnaires, focus group discussion and in-depth interview. The study established that the key factors affecting married employees at the Kenya Ports Authority were long working hours, lack of free time and limited opportunities in decision making. The study further indicated that lack of breaks as working hours were long, night shifts, stress, professional burnout, interference with employees’ free time and ignoring off duty days had negative impact on the employees. The employees had serious counselling needs. A number of intervention measures were identified, namely, there should be work-life balance, training employees on stress management, planned leave and off days, having clear management structure and employing counselling psychologists. The following recommendations were proposed based on the results; employers should improve the working conditions of employees, working hours to be flexible, K.P.A needs to provide dependent care facilities, comparative studies to be done to establish any differences, there should be research to establish the impact of training employees on personal financial management, a study on a narrower scope to focus on a particular aspect of psychosocial factor to be conducted. vii Library Archives Copy Daystar University Repository TABLE OF CONTENTS COMMITTEE APPROVALS ............................................................................................ ii DECLARATION ............................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. viii APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. xiii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xv ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................ xvii CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ................................................................................... 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 History and demographic data of Mombasa ....................................................................... 4 History of Kenya Ports Authority ....................................................................................... 6 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................. 6 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 8 Objectives of the Study ....................................................................................................... 8 Research questions .............................................................................................................