Moderating effect of Government Policies on Relationship between Workforce Autonomy and Service Delivery by County Government Workers in Kenya

This study sought to explore the relationship between workforce autonomy and service delivery by County Government workers in Kenya. The study also tested the moderating effect of National Government policies on resource distribution, monitoring and evaluation on workforce autonomy and service delivery. The term workforce refers to the total number of workers engaged in a specific activity or a group of people who work for a particular organization. In this study workforce includes all the county government workers that serve county residents while autonomy refers to freedom to determine one’s own actions. The study used a sample size of 228 respondents, who are the policy makers and supervisors of policy implementation at the counties. They were drawn from five county governments in the lower Eastern Region of Kenya. The study used correlation and regression to analyze the relationship between workforce autonomy and service delivery and the effect of national government policies on resource distribution, monitoring and evaluation on workforce autonomy and service delivery. Results based on the findings indicated that a significant positive relationship between workforce autonomy and service delivery by county government workers in Kenya. The study further revealed that the moderating variable did not have significant influence on workforce autonomy which influenced service delivery on the findings of the study concluded that there was moderately strong correlation between workforce autonomy and service delivery. This study recommends that county governments should put in place ways of enhancing workforce autonomy so as to effective and efficient service delivery. Workers should be empowered to be autonomous and to put in their best without pressure of over supervision so as to deliver services more.