Health Sector Employees Research Articles

COVID-19 Fear and Coping Strategies during the Pandemic: Insights from Greek health services units.

The aim of this study was to assess the fear caused by the COVID-19 pandemic among health services users in Greece. The study involved 1260 participants from three health services units in the prefecture of Corinthia. The COVID-19 Fear Scale (FCV-19S) and the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief-COPE) were used to assess fear levels. Results showed that females experienced a significantly higher fear of COVID-19 (15.9 compared to 15.4), while the age group of>60 years had the highest mean score (16.6). Individuals in retirement showed a greater fear of COVID-19 (16.8), while health sector employees had lower fear scores (15.1). Chronically ill patients had a higher fear of COVID-19 (16.5 as opposed to 15.5 of healthy persons), while people considering that the COVID-19 pandemic will be dealt with soon presented lower levels of fear compared to those not considering it or being uncertain. According to the Brief-COPE questionnaire, fear of COVID-19 total scores was positively correlated with two of the coping subscales; the emotion-focused and the avoidant-coping. The study's findings can contribute to the identification of fear and coping strategies for the development of targeted interventions and mental health support programs during this global crisis.

Factors associated with the non-retention of health sector employees recruited in Iran: a survival analysis

BackgroundHealth staff are an essential component of the health system and a significant factor in improving health outcomes. As a result, without a suitable number of trained and supported workforces, health-related goals will not be achieved. As a result, one of the most significant tasks of the government and healthcare human resource management in healthcare organizations is focusing on development and maintenance of personnel.MethodThis study was a longitudinal and historical cohort study. Data was collected on the 40 medical universities and healthcare organizations under the jurisdiction of Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education from 2008 to 2018 from the human resources database. In this study the COX regression and survival analysis was used to assess the factors of staff maintenance, retention rate, and the risk of turnover.Result46,939 health workforces were included in the study, of which 13,328 (28.4%) were men and 33,611 (71.6%) were women. Based on the finding of cox regression model, the retention of staff were statistically different between male and female. Employees whose current work place and birthplace were similar had a significantly higher probability of retention. Accordingly, the cox regression result showed, the risk of employee turnover for single personnel was higher than the married ones.Conclusionan applicable policy for increasing maintenance among workforce recruitment, could be considering the native born professionals instead of non-natives born which reduce the costs of employee turnover, including re-hiring, initial and on-the-job training, housing, and other extra living expenses away from home and family.

“Our program manager is a woman for the first time”: perceptions of health managers on what workplace policies and practices exist to advance women’s career progression in the health sector in Kenya

BackgroundExisting evidence suggests that organisation-level policies are important in enabling gender equality and equity in the workplace. However, there is little research exploring the knowledge of health sector employees on whether policies and practices to advance women’s career progression exist in their organisations. In this qualitative study, we explored the knowledge and perspectives of health managers on which of their organisations' workplace policies and practices contribute to the career advancement of women and their knowledge of how such policies and practices are implemented and monitored.MethodsWe employed a purposive sampling method to select the study participants. The study adopted qualitative approaches to gain nuanced insights from the 21 in-depth interviews and key informant interviews that we conducted with health managers working in public and private health sector organisations. We conducted a thematic analysis to extract emerging themes relevant to advancing women’s career progression in Kenya’s health sector.ResultsDuring the interviews, only a few managers cited the policies and practices that contribute to women’s career advancement. Policies and practices relating to promotion and flexible work schedules were mentioned most often by these managers as key to advancing women's career progression. For instance, flexible work schedules were thought to enable women to pursue further education which led to promotion. Some female managers felt that women were promoted to leadership positions only when running women-focused programs. There was little mention of capacity-building policies like training and mentorship. The health managers reported how policies and practices are implemented and monitored in general, however, they did not state how this is done for specific policies and practices. For the private sector, the health managers stated that implementation and monitoring of these policies and practices is conducted at the institutional level while for the public sector, this is done at the national or county level.ConclusionsWe call upon health-sector organisations in Kenya to offer continuous policy sensitisation sessions to their staff and be deliberate in having supportive policies and other pragmatic interventions beyond policies such as training and mentorship that can enable women’s career progression.

Comparison of Happiness at Work Levels of Health, Education and Security Sector Employees: The Effect of Perceived Organizational Support

This study aim to compare the happiness at work levels of employees in three different sectors: health, education and security, to determine the effect of perceived organizational support on happiness in all three sectors, and to investigate whether the happiness level of employees differs according to professional and demographic variables. Ethical approval was obtained from the approved by the Batman University Ethics Committee (date: 04.01.2023; decision no: 2023/01-38). This study utilised a cross-sectional design. The shortened Happiness at Work Scale and Perceived Organizational Support Scale were used as data collection tools. A total of 1114 employees participated in the study. In the study, the level of happiness at work, were found to be significantly lower in the health sector than those in the education and security sector (p

Factors Affecting the Satisfaction of Women Employees in Health Sector: A Perception Study in Saudi Arabia [Letter

Factors Affecting the Satisfaction of Women Employees in Health Sector: A Perception Study in Saudi Arabia [Letter

Investigating the relationship between personality traits of hardiness and perfectionism with stress and psychosomatic symptoms: a cross-sectional study among nurses in Iran

BackgroundMedical and health sector employees are always exposed to physical and psychological risk factors, which affects their personal, social and professional performance. It’s important to explores the intricate interplay between personality traits, stress levels, and psychosomatic symptoms among nurses as one of the most sensitive jobs in society. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigating the relationship between the personality traits of hardiness and perfectionism with stress and psychosomatic symptoms among nurses.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted among 340 nurses in Mazandaran, Iran in 2022–2023. The instruments utilized to collect data included four questionnaires, namely Cubasa Hardiness Questionnaire, Tehran Multidimensional Perfectionism Questionnaire, Nursing Stress Questionnaire and Takata and Sakata Psychosomatic Questionnaire. The structural equations modeling was used for path analysis. All analyzes were done using SPSS V.25.0 and AMOS V.24.0 software.ResultsThe results of the present study revealed that the prevalence of psychosomatic symptoms and stress in nurses was high, and all path coefficients were significant, except for the paths of commitment to stress, challenge to psychosomatic symptoms, self-orientation to psychosomatic symptoms, and community-orientation to psychosomatic symptoms. The results showed that in the final model, the highest coefficient (0.807) is assigned to the other-oriented perfectionism path to psychosomatic symptoms. The weakest coefficient (-0.276) is related to the path of the hardiness component of the challenge to stress. The current research examined the fitting of the proposed model and the suitability of the proposed model was confirmed.ConclusionThe results of the present study revealed that psychological factors such as personality traits of hardiness, and perfectionism are among the important and influencing parameters on occupational stress, and psychosomatic symptoms and as a result the efficiency and effectiveness of nurses in working environments. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to implement mitigating and control measures to reduce the mentioned risk factors among nurses in medical settings.

Comparison of stress, anxiety and depression levels of health, education and security sector employees: The effect of psychological resilience.

This study compared the stress, anxiety and depression levels in employees working in the health, education and security sectors. The study also investigated the effect of psychological resilience on stress, anxiety, and depression levels and whether the stress, anxiety, depression and psychological resilience levels of employees differ according to occupational and demographic variables. In this cross-sectional study, 1222 employees participated, comprising 50.8% from the health sector, 37.7% from education, and 11.5% from security. Data were collected using the Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Scale-21 and the Brief Resilience Scale. The study revealed varying rates of severe stress (49.1%), anxiety (74.0%), and depression (53.2%) among participants. Health employees experienced higher stress (52.1%), anxiety (77.0%), and depression (58%) rates compared to those in education (46.4%, 72.4%, and 48.4%) and security sectors (44.3%, 66.4%, and 48.5%). Health employees exhibited higher stress, anxiety, and depression levels, signifying a significant difference. Furthermore, the research identified psychological resilience as a crucial predictor of stress, anxiety, and depression. Additionally, these mental health issues were more prevalent among younger individuals with less work experience, females, private sector employees, singles, and those without children. The findings of the study showed that the level of stress, anxiety and depression was high in employees working in all three sectors (health, education and security), but mental problems were more common in health employees. The fact that psychological resilience is a significant predictor of stress, anxiety and depression levels indicates that this factor should be taken into account.

Exploring the Gap Between Anonymous and Non-Anonymous Performance Evaluation Scores Among Health Sector Employees

Objectives: This study aims to determine the consistency between similar measurements performed within or beyond the knowledge of staff during performance evaluation in the health sector. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted at a university hospital. The performance forms being known by the employee and the supervisor is called “mutual knowledge of results.” Initially, general performance forms were asked to be completed by all employees in and the results would be known mutually. Among the selected subgroup of employees, the performance forms were asked to be completed again within two months after the completion of the initial forms only within the knowledge of the supervisor. The differences between the mutual knowledge of results and results only known to supervisor were analyzed. Findings: Performance form completed as mutual knowledge of results were available for 3476 individuals. 683 (19.6%) had a repeated questionnaire completed that only supervisors would see. In the first evaluation, the great majority of the employees had an A score. Changes that may be considered important occurred in certain topics (critical approach). While the variations between evaluations were more prominent in some groups (health technician), they were much less in other groups (nursing). Conclusion: This study investigated the effect of the healthcare employees knowing or not knowing the results of performance evaluation on the outcomes of the evaluation. It is observed that the evaluations are far from the actual situation in some areas (such as critical approach, problem solving) when the performance survey is known and signed by the supervisor and the employee.

Effect of workplace bullying and incivility on employee performance: Mediating role of psychological well being

Workplace bullying (WB) and workplace incivility (WI) appear to be the most alarming events with a potentially threat to the entire workforce and organization. Considering their implications, this research study is examining the effect of WB and WI on employee performance (EP) in the presence of psychological well-being (PW) among both relationships. Sample of the female employees (Nurses) working in the health care units and hospitals of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K), Pakistan was taken to collect the data. Data were collected from female nurses and their supervisors working in the public sector hospitals of AJ&K, Pakistan. The current study uses AMOS 21.0 for empirical analysis to estimate the “Structural Equation Model (SEM)”. The results of SEM show that WB and WI negatively influence nurses’ performance in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s health sectors. Moreover, PW mediates the association between WB and EP. Similarly, the effects of WI decrease in the presence of PW. The current study provides theoretical and practical implications for Pakistan’s health sector regulators and other stakeholders. It also sheds highlight on the importance of a stress-free environment for health sector employees and postulates that employee productivity may be enhanced after eliminating bullying and incivility at the workplace. Further, the study guides managers to create stress-free environments and policies to enhance employee’s productivity.

Factors Affecting the Satisfaction of Women Employees in Health Sector: A Perception Study in Saudi Arabia.

Broad evidence points out that women workers in Saudi Arabia face a range of inequitable work practices despite continued efforts for gender equality. The study aims to assess the satisfaction of Saudi women working in the health sector among certain factors in the work environment, factors that enable them to gain opportunities and benefits and make decisions. This is a cross-sectional study, which involved the use of closed-ended surveys on 261 Saudi women working in the healthcare sector. Most of the females were aged between 25 and 34 years (59%) and more than half of them worked in the governmental sector (53%). Fifty-eight percent of the females hold clinical jobs, 25% of the administrative jobs were 37% of them have more than 19 years of working experience. The finding showed a significant association between female workers in health sector satisfaction with factors related to the workplace environment, training, and development, and their involvement in decision-making. Most women felt empowered when they received equitable tasks and were able to reach managerial-level positions in their organizations. Establishing a positive work environment characterized by opportunities has the potential to enhance women workers' satisfaction.

Understanding travel mode choice through the lens of COVID-19: a systematic review of pandemic commuters

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted travel behaviours for very large numbers of people including those who shifted to teleworking and those without the option to work from home. While there is much valuable transport research that has examined the former category, it is still unknown how certain people such as health sector employees and delivery drivers changed their physical commuting in transport contexts that were radically different from those existing normally in urban areas. Based on a systematic review of 36 scientific publications on commuting during pandemic, this study pursues a dual objective. First, by examining the interrelated institutional, physical, and socio-psychological processes that supported or hindered low-carbon transport the study revealed that (A) public transport (PT) reduced service levels and concerns related to COVID were positively associated with substantial shifts away from PT towards car and active travel; (B) this positive association was found to be even stronger in the existence of pre-pandemic habit of car use for commute and strong negative emotions like fear triggered by environmental changes and health risks. Second, by synthesising the key findings from the literature, this study provides significant implications for how mode choice is modelled through the Theory of Planned Behavior and Norm Activation Model. By questioning whether the pandemic commuters had a “normal” set of travel mode alternatives to choose from, the study draws attention to the nuances of mode “choice” versus mode “use” and moves beyond the assumption that commuting always results from individuals making choices. It also argues that the role of (negative) emotions along with the importance of proximity to, or separation from, other bodies on how people commute should be considered in future research. Finally, the crucial role of COVID-19 in changing travel-related norms and the resulting long-term implications for policy interventions require further investigation by future research.

Sağlık Sektörü Çalışanlarında İş Memnuniyeti ve Örgütsel Bağımlılık: Literatürün Kapsamlı Bir İncelemesi

The extreme competition periphery in the pharmaceutical industry has increased the necessity for a more eligible workforce and trying to hold the eligible employees at the institution and the policies to go along with this purpose have been one of the most important priorities of the pharmaceutical corporations and the health sector. To satisfy the workforce, keep employee turnover at a falling level, create an effective organizational culture, and drive the organization to innovation and success, it is exceptionally important to develop organizational commitment in employees. Thus, new employee recruitment will decrease and personnel training expenditures will remain at a minimum grade. In this study, a literature review was conducted on issues such as organizational justice, organizational climate, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior, and the potential relationships between these concepts. The systematic review method was used and 80 high citation articles obtained from google scholar and the yök thesis database have been included in the study. Health sector employees constitute the limitation of the study. According to the studies, organizational justice and organizational climate have a positive effect on employees' job satisfaction and job satisfaction has a positive effect on organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behaviors.

Austrian Health Expenditure Projections and Excess Health Expenditure due to COVID

Abstract According to System of Health Accounts (SHA) data total health expenditures in Austria have grown on average by 3.9% per year from 2000 to 2019. This was followed by high growth rates of 5.1% and 11.9% in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The steep increase was caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. However, quantifying the effect of the pandemic on health expenditures is not straightforward and significant uncertainties remain about how future health expenditures will be affected and how they can most accurately be projected, particularly given recent high economic uncertainties. In this project we developed several models to predict Austrian health expenditures. Most importantly, we compare models based on demand and cost driving factors with a simple GDP-linked model. We assess the performance of the different models by predicting past health expenditure data up to 2019. Comparing the model predictions for the pandemic years with the actual SHA data provides an approach to estimate the net impact of the pandemic. Several different dynamics play a role in how COVID-19 has been affecting health expenditures. We find that the pandemic has caused sizeable one-time costs in the years 2020-2022, but “regular” health expenditures partially decreased during that time due to forgone elective and preventive care. As COVID-19 becomes an endemic disease it also becomes an additional long-term burden on the health system, but the main driver of health expenditure is currently inflation. The shock of the pandemic has created a structural break for the health sector with many not yet well-known consequences such as systematic changes in work conditions or salaries for health sector employees. With the currently available data and information, many of these effects cannot be directly built into the prediction models. However, we compare our models in their projections of future health expenses until 2030 with past projections from 2019 for the year 2030 under different scenarios. Key messages • The pandemic has caused sizeable one-time costs in the years 2020-2022, but “regular” health expenditures partially decreased during that time due to forgone elective and preventive care. • As COVID-19 becomes an endemic disease it also becomes an additional long-term burden on the health system, but the main driver of health expenditure is currently inflation.

THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EDUCATION IN THE EFFECT OF 5 FACTOR PERSONALITY TRAITS ON CAREER PLANNING: HEALTH SECTOR EXAMPLE

Personality encompasses a range of attitudes and behaviors that are exhibited uniquely by each individual. There are as many different personalities as there are people in life. Individuals have unique personality traits that distinguish them from one another. Similar to the uniqueness of fingerprints, personalities too exhibit individual variations. 
 The 5-factor personality qualities, sometimes known as the big five personality components, are derived from a well recognized model of personality commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Career planning is a systematic approach employed by individuals to strategize and make informed decisions regarding their future occupational or work preferences, taking into consideration their unique set of abilities, interests, beliefs, and personal aspirations. The concept of the mediating role of education pertains to the capacity of education to serve as a conduit in establishing a connection between personality qualities and the process of career planning. Education serves as a mechanism for moulding one's personality and comprehending the various aspects that influence personality in the context of career planning.
 The management of one's career is a complex issue that necessitates the collaborative efforts of both businesses and people. In contrast to its previous characterization as a linear trajectory, the contemporary notion of a career has evolved into a more fluid and uncertain phenomenon. The provision of professional development opportunities and the retention of competent personnel are crucial considerations for firms. The implementation of robust career management policies is crucial for ensuring the long-term success of both businesses and individuals. Organizations possess several tasks and obligations within the professional realm. The manner in which professional activities are structured can have an impact on the growth and achievements of individuals.
 The primary objective of this study is to investigate the mediating function of education in the impact of 5-factor personality traits on career planning. 250 Health sector employees from various institutions participated in the research. There is a statistical relationship between five factor personality traits and dimensions and career planning. However, when education level was added, the relationship between five factor personality traits and dimensions and career planning decreased, and also education level had a partial mediating effect.

The Health Insurance Situation in Iran: A Brief Overview

The financing process of the health system includes the collection, accumulation, and management of financial resources to purchase health services. Sustainable financing of the health system is a core function, which can enable progress towards universal health coverage (UHC). There are multiple funding sources to finance health care services in Iran, including out-of-pocket payment, government funds, general taxation, health insurance, and individual donations. Inefficiency in health insurance systems has led to an increase in out-of-pocket payments, and ultimately catastrophic expenditures. According to the results of the household income-expenditure survey in 2017, about 17% of the population faced catastrophic expenditures by spending more than 10% of their total consumption expenditure on health, and 75% of exposure to catastrophic expenditures (equivalent to 13% of population) was only due to paying out of pocket to receive medical services. (1) According to the health insurance coverage in 2010, about 84% of the total population in Iran was covered by various insurance plans and supplementary health insurance included 20% of the total population. (2) After the recent reforms entitled as the "Health Transformation Plan" launched in 2014, more than 90% of the population was covered by health insurance. However, the services were not fully covered by insurance benefits and only included inpatient health services. In addition, the insurance share was free for patients, which increased moral hazard from patients and induced demand from providers. Finally, this reform plan was stopped due to the instability of resources. Among the disadvantages of this type of insurance, the following can be mentioned: 1. All people could register in this insurance without any limitation. 2. The insurance premium was very small and negligible. So, it was not considered as an insurance because there was not the accumulation of risk, which is one of the main characteristics of any insurance industry. 3. Considering that many people were covered in this type of insurance, the depth and level of service coverage were reduced due to limited resources. In this insurance type, financing was from the government and there was no assessment for individuals; and it was a kind of support fund or support package. So, it was stopped at some point after the health transformation plan. Although Article 10 of the General Insurance Law in Iran refers to determining the scope and medical services and drugs, (3) there are no criteria to evaluate the covered packages. Despite the UHC's goal of increasing the number and variety of services for patients, many services for specific diseases, palliative care, etc. are not covered by the basic insurance. Also, some services such as dental and optometric services are considered a luxury service and are not covered by basic insurance. The lack of resources to provide proper services to the insured people and the impossibility of receiving the services from the private sector using health insurance benefits are other challenges of this type of insurance. Finally, Iran has not been able to achieve UHC due to the lack of proper management capacity in the insurance sector. To realize universal health coverage and improve outcomes, policymakers must consider several demand and supply factors. In this regard, expansion of infrastructure, human resources, and health services can be effective from the supply perspective. Meanwhile, increasing health insurance coverage, expanding health benefits package, and reducing the contribution of people in paying expenses using payment methods with a certain ceiling such as per capita and quality-based payment can be effective from the demand perspective. Also, the existence of comprehensive and transparent information systems, especially the system for identifying vulnerable and low-income groups, can greatly contribute to the successful implementation of UHC. Finally, designing suitable financial and non-financial incentives can also lead to increasing the satisfaction of professionals and health sector employees.

THE IMPACT OF GOVERNANCE ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN THE PALESTINIAN PRIVATE HEALTH SECTOR

The private health sector is considered one of the most important Palestinian sectors, as it is considered an essential support for the local and national economy by stimulating the process of growth and progress in medical services such as hospitals, specialized and health clinics, and others, in addition to the medical industrial sector and medical tourism. On the other hand, the pandemic that swept all over the world and affected the health of citizens And its economy has even reached the collapse of some countries. Most of this has recently led to societal, governmental and investment interest in the health sector. Hence, given the importance of the health sector in society and its sensitive role in the health of society, we decided to deepen the study of the health sector in terms of its application to the rules, principles and fundamentals of governance. And its impact on the quality of performance of workers in the health sector In the recent period, the issue of governance has dealt with a major role in the success of institutions in countries, among which scientific and research studies have shown the extent of the strong and well-established relationship between the existence of good governance in the health sector and the improvement of the performance of workers and employees, which leads to an improvement in the services provided to the general public, and therefore it can be said The issue of governance and its application and understanding of its theoretical and applied aspects contributed to achieving the desired goals of these institutions and helped in designing appropriate strategies and restructuring of these institutions in different countries. this study was conducted to find out the effect of governance on the performance of workers in the Palestinian private health sector. To achieve the research objectives, the researchers designed a questionnaire to measure the effect of applying governance standards, the most important of which are transparency, accountability, integrity, efficiency, effectiveness, and the extent of compliance by employees in the Palestinian private health sector on performance quality. Distributing the questionnaire to a random sample of the Palestinian private health sector employees, amounting to 120 respondents. This study relied on the descriptive approach, and the method of data collection was quantitative, and after that the data was analyzed statistically to extract the results that we reached and compare them to understand the relationship between the variables The study concluded that there is a relationship between the application of governance and its standards and the performance of employees in the Palestinian private health sector, and that the application of governance in the Palestinian private health sector is a realistic matter, which the Palestinian health sector has become aware of its importance and is now applying it to obtain an integrated and distinguished employee performance due to the importance of quality performance In the private health sector, because of the sensitivity and importance of the health sector in preserving the health of the citizen and the health of the community.

AN INVESTIGATION ON WORKPLACE INCIVILITY AND NON-WORK-RELATED PRESENTEEISM IN HEALTH CARE CENTRES

Presenteeism, the phenomenon in which individuals are physically present at work but fail to perform to their full capacity for a variety of reasons, has received substantial attention in recent years, particularly in healthcare industry. While considerable amount of research has focused on sickness-related presenteeism, there is scarcity of studies exploring non-job-related presenteeism, which encompasses behaviors such as disengagement from work or engaging in personal activities during work hours. Understanding the dynamics of non-work-related presenteeism is critical in Pakistan, a developing country with fast-expanding healthcare industry. This study aims to investigate impact of workplace incivility on non-work-related presenteeism and explore the moderating role of emotional intelligence in this relationship. A questionnaire-based survey was carried out with 315 health sector employees from various districts in Pakistan. The regression analysis was used to analyses data. The findings show a positive association between. This study adds to the limited body of knowledge on non-work-related presenteeism and gives useful insights for healthcare organizations in Pakistan and beyond.

Employer Branding and COVID-19: A Job Demand–Resource Model for Employee Attraction and Retention in Health Sector

The healthcare sector includes a gamut of products and services, from manufacturing medical equipment/drugs and managing medical insurance to providing medical services. Professionals, including doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers, clinicians and other allied healthcare professionals, form the bulk of the human resources in the healthcare sector. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these workers were at the forefront of delivering preventive, palliative and curative health services. During this time, health sector employees faced enormous challenges at work, resulting in burnout and, thus, a higher rate of resignation. With burnout reported among healthcare professionals, the already overburdened health system had started crumbling and desperately needed human resources. Moreover, job seekers were reluctant to apply to the health sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, a dual challenge exists for healthcare organisations to attract and retain new employees. To overcome these challenges, companies in the healthcare industry need to brand themselves as one of the best employers, which could help attract and retain job seekers. Hence, this article proposes a theoretical model for attracting and retaining job seekers in the health sector based on the job demands–resources model. This article also suggests some propositions that could be later empirically tested.

Procurement practices, leadership style and employee-perceived service quality towards the perceived public health sector performance in Zimbabwe

The public sector performance can be judged through the ability to deliver expected service to residents within the community. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of leadership style and employee-perceived service quality on perceived public health sector performance. Also, the study sought to understand whether procurement practices mediate the effect of leadership style on perceived service quality. A cross-sectional survey of 380 public health sector employees was conducted in Mashonaland central Province in Zimbabwe between September and October 2022. Structural equation modelling (SEM) in AMOS Version 25 was employed to test research hypotheses. The study established that both leadership style and perceived service quality influence public health sector performance. The study further concluded that procurement practices partially mediate the influence of leadership style on perceived service quality. Also, the study established that employee-perceived service quality partially mediate the influence of procurement practices on perceived public health sector performance. Finally, the study found out that employee-perceived service quality partially mediate the influence of leadership style on perceived public health sector performance.

Organization-Set High-Performance Goals and Employee Expediency Syndrome: An Underlying Mechanism of Supervisor Expediency and Illegitimate Tasks

Recent research in organizational behavior reveals that even though expediency is detrimental to an organization, it remains an overlooked phenomenon. Expediency is covert unethical behavior and is challenging to identify because it is mostly confused with proficiency. Limited empirical research can be traced in the literature investigating when and why employee exhibits expediency. This research aims to identify and examine contextual factors in organizations that are the probable cause of employee expediency. Organization-set high-performance goals are examined as a predictor of expediency. Furthermore, supervisor expediency and illegitimate tasks are investigated as mediators to refine the causal mechanism between organization-set high-performance goals and employee expediency. Drawing on the transactional model of stress and coping, it is theorized that organization-set high-performance goals, supervisor expediency, and illegitimate tasks are contextual workplace stressors, and employees exhibit expediency to cope with them. Data is collected from private health sector employees with a sample size of 591. It is a time lag- study with four-wave data collection and two sources, that is, supervisors and subordinates. The results provide empirical support to the hypotheses formulated in the present study. The findings demonstrate that organization-set high-performance goals positively and significantly affect employee and supervisor expediency. Additionally, results confirm the mediation effect of supervisor expediency and illegitimate tasks. Theoretical and practical implications and future research directions are also discussed.