Physical Workplace Environment as a Predictor of Employee Performance in Public and Faith-Based Hospital Mortuaries in Kiambu County, Kenya: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

The quality of mortuary service depends in part on the conditions under which staff work, but there are few references concerning the roles of physical work environment and mortuary service quality. This study explored the correlation between physical working environment and employee performance at public and faith-based hospital mortuaries located in Kiambu County, Kenya. Guided by Job Demands-Resources theory and the SERVQUAL model, the research adopted a pragmatist mixed-methods cross-sectional method involving descriptive and explanatory features. A census approach was used in targeting staff in hospital mortuaries, and the article isolates the physical-workplace-environment pathway from a broader thesis on occupational health and safety environment and employee performance. Of the questionnaires issued, 42 valid responses were returned and analysed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression, while open-ended responses were coded thematically to contextualize the quantitative results. Physical workplace environment recorded a composite mean of 5.56 (SD = 1.67) and employee performance recorded a composite mean of 6.55 (SD = 0.85). Correlation analysis revealed that physical workplace environment predicts employee performance positively and significantly (r = 0.389, p = 0.011). A regression showed the physical workplace environment to significantly predict employee performance (B = 0.172, β = 0.389, t = 2.670, p = 0.011), explaining 15.1% of the variance in employee performance (R 2 = 0.151; F (1, 40) = 7.127, p = 0.011). The results show that a better layout of workspace configuration, ventilation, equipment, lifting support, working surfaces and working conditions are associated with stronger employees’ performance in mortuary operations. Physical workplace environment is found to be a direct and important performance condition of the hospital mortuary. It advises investment for targeted attention to mortuary infrastructure, preventive maintenance, ventilation, refrigeration reliability, and safe handling support. The cross-sectional self-report design is acknowledged as a limitation because the main predictor and outcome measures were reported by the same respondents at one time point.