Participatory Ergonomics and Workers' Commitment in Selected Secondary Healthcare Institutions in Akwa Ibom State

This study was conducted to examine the nexus between participatory ergonomics and worker’s commitment in selected secondary healthcare institutions of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The survey research design was adopted for the study, while a sample size of 456 were drawn from a population size of 2760 using Krejcie and Morgan’s formula. A structured questionnaire was developed for the study and administered to 456 sampled respondents. Hypotheses of the study were tested using structural equation modelling technique (SEM). Results of the analyses revealed that there is a positive, weak, but significant relationship between participatory communication and feedback and healthcare workers competitiveness: PC&F (β: 0.098, t-value: 2.206, p-value: 0.014). In addition, results indicate that a strong, positive, and significant relationship exist between participatory job design (PJD) and employee competitiveness: PJB (β: 0.799 and t-value: 20.831, p-value: 0.000). Based on these findings, it was concluded that Engaging workers in designing their tasks ensures that they are not only comfortable but also more focused and effective in their roles and also, prioritizing participatory job design initiatives such as collaborative task allocation, design of workstations, flexible work plan and schedule, and team- based care planning. It was recommended that employees should be involved in designing tasks with a clear understanding of how those tasks impact operational efficiency, patient care quality, and personal productivity. It is also possible to build a continuous feedback loop between employees and management to ensure that job design is regularly updated to meet evolving needs.