Influence of Role Conflict on Social Work Practice of Selected Hospitals in Port Harcourt

Abstract

Sylvaline Mbata

This study examined the influence of role conflict on social work practice of hospitals in Port Harcourt. Role conflict (role ambiguity) has been examined as the independent/predictor variable in this paper. Also, social work practice served as the key dependent variable or criterion variable under which the measures such as employee burnout and employee job performance have been appraised. The population of the study consisted of 350 administration and middle administrative social workers from the selected hospitals. The study sampled 350 respondents out of which 331 of them were found useful and valid for the study analysis. The study used a mixed methods approach, utilized structured questionnaire consisting of open-ended, closed- ended questions and multiple-choice questions with the Likert scale measurement. Thematic content analysis, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis were used to analyses the data. The study used Pearson Products Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) to test the hypotheses with the aid of SPSS 25.0. The reliability of the research instrument was tested using the Cronbach alpha to ascertain the reliability of the instrument.The study revealed that social work job roles and responsibilities are very clear. The study found that directives and instructions given within the department are vague. Also, the study found that no information is provided on how social workers are being appraised for promotion. The study revealed that a negative relationship between role conflict and employee burnout exists. The study revealed that role conflict directlyinfluences employee job performance. It was revealed from the study that the role conflict reduces the level of employee job performance. The study revealed that hospital social workers are developers, educators, advocates, case managers, coordinators, counselors, and many more things but they are overall built to address needs and serve the marginalized. They are of a great resource to communities, hospitals and other organizations. These findings suggest that individuals may be able to reduce the negative impact of role conflict in their environment by adopting positive behavioural styles while avoiding negative ones. Understanding how a hospital social worker’s number of years of experience in their field can have a moderating effect on how role conflict impacts on social work practice. It is important to consider harmonizing/ synchronizing various roles when hiring an individual for a hospital social work practice.

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