New Ways of Working and Burnout in the Post-Pandemic Era: A Case of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), Kenya.

Abstract

New Ways of Working (NWW) is portrayed as a model involving flexible work arrangements made possible by information and communication technology (ICT). These flexible work arrangements have gradually evolved as the new normal in organizations particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, at the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) in Kenya, this evolution is evident in the embrace of teleworking and hybrid working. Due to the novelty of NWW, there has been little research on its psychological outcomes and underlying processes. More particularly, the psychological effects it has on individuals, as well as the elements that contribute to such effects, especially within the nuanced context of a developing country. Consequently, the aim of this study is to find out to what extent New Ways of Working (NWW) relate to employee burnout among the Kenyan National Health Insurance Fund Employees and how organizational support (training and provision of material resources) moderates this relationship. The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and basic psychological needs (ABC) theory provides the theoretical framework. The results of the analysis from the surveyed NHIF employees (n=117) showcase non-significant findings (a) the anticipated positive relationship between NWW and burnout proves non-significant, (b) training and provision of material resources have no significant relationship with burnout, (c) both training and provision of material resources do not moderate the relationship between NWW and burnout. These are novel insights into the relationship between NWW and burnout in the setting of a developing country. The findings are evaluated, and discussed based on theory, and various suggestions for further research and practice are made.