An Investigation of Factors Responsible for High Labor Turnover Within Nightclubs in Nairobi
View/ Open
Date
2006-11Author
Kioko, Kaunda J
Type
ThesisLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Labour turnover occurs when workers leave an organization and need to be replaced by
new recruits. It can therefore be described as the rate of movement (separations) from an
organization in a given period. It can occur through resignations, dismissals and
retirement. Although it can be healthy to an organization in terms of bringing in new
employees to supplement existing skills and in keeping the organization competitive and
in line with the dynamics of business, high labour turnover can be expensive in terms of
advertising, recruitment and training, bad reputation, as well as cost of associated
management and supervisory time.
High labour turnover is almost synonymous with the practice of labour relations within
nightclubs. This study therefore sought to understand the factors responsible for high
labour turnover within nightclubs in Nairobi, by seeking answers to the following
questions: Do wages and salaries in this sector influence the rate of labour turnover?,
does employee perception of labour laws impact on labour turnover?, and finally, does
discrimination (ethnicity and sex) impact on labour turnover within nightclubs in
Nairobi?
Thirty two (32) establishments were randomly selected from the seven (7) divisions of
the city of Nairobi. A sample of 96 respondents was interviewed for the study including
36 key informants.
Findings from the study revealed that employees frequently change or leave nightclub
employment mainly because of pay related issues. The other contributing factors include
workers stage in life and thus age levels, human resource management structures,
employee level of education and employer's approach to human capital among others.
One thing that came out clearly is that high labour turnover within nightclubs is evident
and although it can be contained, it will require concerted efforts from the government
(Ministry of Labour), trade unions, workers and more so employers to effectively reduce
it. There is need to review most of the labour laws if they are to be applied equitably
between the worker and the employer, the trade unions need to be more aggressive and
committed to their covenant with the workers, and finally, there is need for the employers
to change their attitudes towards their workers and probably seek to invest more wisely in
human capital in order to get the expected return for their investment, while at the same time checking the rate of labour turnover in this sector .
Sponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
Department of Sociology, University of Nairobi