Abstract:
To achieve competitiveness in today’s business environment, organizations must prioritize employee engagement. This study examined the effect of human resource management (HRM) practices and organizational culture on employee engagement among public health workers in Jinja City, Uganda. Specifically, the study sought to evaluate the effect of HRM practices on the level of employee engagement; assess the effect of HRM practices on organizational culture; determine the effect of organizational culture on employee engagement; and find out the mediating effect of organizational culture on the relationship between HRM practices and employee engagement. The study was anchored on the contingency theory to explain the hypothesized relationship between the study variables. A cross-sectional research design and quantitative approach were utilized, with the aid of a self-administered questionnaires to collect data from a sample of health workers in public health facilities in Jinja city. The study targeted a population of 505 health workers from 21 public health facilities in Jinja city. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select a representative sample of 368 health workers. Validity of the research tool was tested using content validity index and the tool was found to be valid with an index higher than the minimum threshold of 0.7. Reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and all the variables had alpha coefficients greater than 0.7 threshold. Data analysis involved both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The findings revealed a significant positive effect of human resource management practices on employee engagement, positive significant effect of human resource management practices on organizational culture, and no significant effect of organizational culture on employee engagement was found. The findings also revealed that organizational culture was not a significant mediator of the relationship between human resource management practices and employee engagement. The study concluded that HRM practices significantly affect employee engagement and organizational culture while organizational culture does not have a significant effect of employee engagement. The study also concluded that organizational culture does not significantly mediate the relationship between HRM practices and employee engagement. This study thus underscores the critical role of enhancing human resource management practices to ensure engaged employees in an organization.
