The Effect of Teleworking on Work Stress Among Non-Teaching Employees in Public Universities: A Case of the University of Nairobi and South Eastern Kenya University

Abstract

Teleworking is an alternative work arrangement, where information and communication technologies enable employees to work outside the traditional working space. Work related stress can therefore spill over to the virtual offices from the traditional offices. This study aimed at finding out if teleworking had any effect on work stress among non-teaching employees in the public universities. University of Nairobi and South Eastern Kenyan University were picked to represent all other public universities. The theories guiding the study were the Organizational adaptation theory and the transactional theory of stress. The researcher used descriptive design and the target population was the senior administrative staff (grade 11 to 15), middle grades (grade A to F) and grade 1 to 4. A sample size of 357 was obtained from the target population of 3289 and questionnaires were administered. Data was presented through charts, graphs and tables. Regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between the teleworking and work stress. The results revealed that Public universities were using teleworking as an alternative way of organization work with Zoom being the most used form although there seemed to be some departments where teleworking was a challenge due to nature of work. Teleworking came with its own challenges among them being internet connectivity issues and power outages. The study concluded that teleworking had an effect on work stress among the non-teaching employees in the public universities in Kenya. Social isolation contributed most to the work stress, followed by the inability to make decisions remotely. Convenience due to Teleworking reduced the level of work stress. The study recommended that public universities should work on their ICT infrastructure to ensure that employees are well connected since network and internet connection were sighted as the most challenging issue in the teleworking. A proper reporting and feedback teleworking mechanism should be employed to ensure that feedback is received on time to facilitate action taking. Investing in training of staff is also important since it will make employees work with a lot of ease hence, less stress. Employees need to interact physically once in a while which in turn reduces stress levels. A well-organized way of working would reduce the pressure that comes with teleworking. Keywords: Teleworking, Work Stress, Non-teaching Employees, Public Universities, University of Nairobi, South Eastern Kenya University, Kenya DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-2-04 Publication date: January 31 st 2023