Influence of Extrinsic Motivation on the Performance of Healthcare Workers in Public Hospitals: A Case of Public Hospitals in Emgwen Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

The workforce is one of the most important inputs to any health system and has a strong bearing on the performance of health facilities. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the influence of extrinsic motivation on the performance of healthcare workers in public hospitals: a case of public hospitals in Emgwen sub-county, Kenya. To achieve this, the study was guided by the following research objectives: to establish the influence of remuneration on the performance of health workers and to analyze the influence of enabling working environment on the performance of healthcare workers. Herzberg's two factor Theory of Motivation was adopted for the study. Descriptive survey research design was used. A sample size of 219 from a possible 482 was obtained using Miller and Brewer (2003) formula. Healthcare workers comprised of 140 county referral hospitals, 27 in health centers and 52 working in dispensaries. Data was collected using structured questionnaire and interviews and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative statistical methods. The study concluded that extrinsic motivation was significant in motivating employees for higher performance. The study recommended that employee remuneration and rewards and working environment should be enhanced to improve performance.