THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB STRESS AND EMPLOYEE RETENTION IN A PUBLIC HEALTHCARE INSTITUTION DURING COVID-19

Abstract

Background: The research examines how organizational culture affects the relationship between job stress and employee retention in public healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare staff at Pakistani teaching hospitals experienced extreme occupational stress because of their elevated work duties and dangerous work environment and institutional problems. The research investigates organizational culture's impact on employee retention because it helps maintain staff stability during health emergencies.

Materials and Methods: The research employed a non-experimental quantitative method with mediation analysis. The research team selected 300 participants through stratified sampling from four major teaching hospitals in Lahore Punjab: Jinnah Hospital and Lahore General Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Gulab Devi Hospital. The researchers used adapted survey questionnaires to gather data from participants. The researchers performed statistical analysis through mean descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation tests for relationship assessment and Sobel tests for mediation effect evaluation.

Results: The research data showed that healthcare staff members experienced extreme job stress yet they maintained both high organizational culture and employee retention levels. The study established three important relationships between job stress and employee retention and between job stress and organizational culture and between employee retention and organizational culture. The study established organizational culture acts as a partial mediator between job stress and employee retention because it helps reduce the adverse effects of job stress.

Conclusion: The research demonstrates that organizations need to develop robust positive organizational cultures to protect their staff from job stress which leads to better employee retention in public healthcare facilities. The research demonstrates that cultural interventions together with organizational support systems play a vital role in sustaining employee commitment during health emergencies and pandemics.