The effect of employee engagement on organizational performance : the mediating role of job satisfaction

Abstract

The study set out to explore how the work engagement of employees relates to organisational performance. It also tested the mediating role of job satisfaction on the engagement-performance relationship in Ghana’s healthcare sector. Data collected from 148 administrative and healthcare professionals across health facilities in Ghana using structured questionnaires in a cross-sectional survey were analysed to address the research questions. The study showed that physical engagement and emotional engagement are significantly positive components of employee work engagement among employees surveyed in Ghana’s healthcare sector. Whereas cognitive engagement does not contribute statistically non-significant to employee engagement in Ghana’s healthcare sector. Furthermore, the study showed that employee engagement positively impacts both job satisfaction and organizational performance, however, at statistically non-significance levels. In terms of job satisfaction, the study revealed that the workplace environment and supervision received by healthcare workers constitute significant aspects of their job satisfaction. Contrary to this, the level of benefits and rewards received by surveyed employees in Ghana’s healthcare sector decreases their satisfaction with work. Additionally, the study showed that the relationship between job satisfaction and performance is significant and moderately positive in Ghana’s healthcare sector. Hence, job satisfaction is a mechanism through which healthcare facilities translate the engagement of employees into organizational gains and performance.Keywords: engagement, job satisfaction, performance, healthcare, Ghana