WORKING HOURS, WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT AND MENTAL HEALTH OF NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE OFFICERS IN SOUTH-RIFT, KENYA – International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Review

WORKING HOURS, WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT AND MENTAL HEALTH OF NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE OFFICERS IN SOUTH-RIFT, KENYA

Authors: Benjamin Bett Cheruiyot, Prof. Williter Rop & Dr. Lucy Jumah

ABSTRACT

The study examined the relationship between employee working hours, work-family conflict and mental health of Kenya National Police Service officers in South Rift, Kenya. The study was motivated by the rising mental health cases of Kenya National Police Service officers. The study adopted correlational and cross-sectional research design. A sample size of 384 respondents were selected from a target population of 13,230 using multi-stage sampling technique and simple random technique. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. A pilot study was conducted on the data collection instrument to pre-test its validity before the main survey, while data reliability was measured using Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient. The study showed significant negative associations between working hours and mental health of Kenya National Police officers. Moreover, work-family conflict significantly moderated the link between working hours and mental health. The study concludes that addressing mental health requires reduction of employee working hours. Given the findings, the study recommends adoption of flexible duty rosters and rotational shifts that would enable police officers to balance professional obligations with personal and family needs. Furthermore, family-inclusive counseling is essential to mitigate conflict spillovers.

Keywords: Employee, mental health, working hours, work-family conflict

REFERENCES

Aithal, A., and Aithal, P. (2020). Development and validation of survey questionnaire & experimental data: A systematical review-based statistical approach. International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences (IJMTS), 5(2), 233-251.
Alrawahi, S., Sellgren, S., Altouby, S., Alwahaibi, N., and Brommels, M. (2020). The application of Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation to job satisfaction in clinical laboratories in Omani hospitals. Heliyon, 6(9), 1-14.
Azevedo, L., Shi, W., Medina, P., and Bagwell, M. (2022). Examining junior faculty work-life balance in public affairs programs in the United States. Work-Life Balance in Higher Education (pp. 21-41). Routledge.
Bouwmeester, O., Atkinson, R., Noury, L., and Ruotsalainen, R. (2021). Work-life balance policies in high performance organisations: A comparative interview study with millennials in Dutch consultancies. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 35(1), 6-32.
Carvalho, V., Santos, A., Ribeiro, M., and Chambel, M. (2021). Please, do not interrupt me: Work-family balance and segmentation behavior as mediators of boundary violations and teleworkers’ burnout and flourishing. Sustainability, 13(13), 7339.
Clark, S. C. (2000). Work-Family Theory: A New Theory of Work-Life Balance. Human Relations, 53, 747-770.Cochran, W. G. (1977). Sampling Techniques (3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Cooksey, R. (2020). Illustrating statistical procedures: Finding meaning in quantitative data. UK: Springer Nature.
Harma, M., and Karhula, K. (2020). Working hours, health, well-being and participation in working life: Current knowledge and recommendations for health and safety. JULKARI, 1-11.
Hughes, K., and Silver, W. (2020). Beyond time-binds: Rethinking work–family dynamics for a mobile world. Human Relations, 73(7), 924-952.
Li, Z., Dai, J., Jia, N., Gao, J., and Fu, H. (2019). Effect of Long Working Hours on Depression and Mental Well-Being among Employees in Shanghai: The Role of Having Leisure Hobbies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(4980), 1-10.
Mohajan, H. (2020). Quantitative research: A successful investigation in natural and social sciences. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 9(4), 50-79.
Park, S., Kook, H., Seok, H., Lee, J., Lim, D., Cho, D., and Oh, S. (2020). The negative impact of long working hours on mental health in young Korean workers. PLos ONE, 15(8), 1-13.
Sürücü, L., and Maslakci, A. (2020). Validity and reliability in quantitative research. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 8(3), 2694-2726.