Relationship between Self-Care Practices and Job Satisfaction among Female Police Officers in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Job satisfaction is important in promoting employees' work performance. This study sought to establish the relationship between Self-care practices and Job satisfaction among female police officers in Nairobi County. The objectives of the study were; to establish the levels of self-care practices among female police officers in Nairobi County, Kenya, to find out the levels of job satisfaction among the female police officers in Nairobi County, Kenya and to determine the relationship between self-care practices and job satisfaction among female police officers in Nairobi County, Kenya. The research design was a quantitative cross-sectional design. The target population was 1325 female police officers in Nairobi County, the sampling method was stratified random sampling and the sample size was 438 respondents. This study used 2 two standardized tools which were the Institute of Functional Medicine Self-Care Practice Scale used to obtain information on the Self-Care strategies and the Paul Spector Job Satisfaction survey which obtained information on the level of job satisfaction among the respondents. Descriptive statistics including frequency and percentage and inferential statistics such as Pearson Moment of correlation were used for analysis. Findings showed that 48.2% of respondents exhibited “Good” self-care, while only 6.7% exhibited the “Best” level, whereas physical and social self-care lagged behind mental and professional domains. In terms of job satisfaction, 48.4% reported dissatisfaction, 37.6% were ambivalent, and only 14.0% expressed satisfaction. A statistically significant positive correlation (r = .372, p < .01) was found between self-care and job satisfaction, suggesting that improved self-care may enhance job satisfaction among female officers. The study recommended that the National Police Service should institutionalize and promote structured self-care programs. The programs should be integrated into the officers’ routine schedules as part of wellness policies. By doing so, the wellbeing, morale, and overall job satisfaction and performance of female police officers will be enhanced