Influence of Employee Recognition on Job Satisfaction among Non-Teaching Staff in Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institutions in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

Job satisfaction among non-teaching staff is an important human resource outcome in Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions because support employees sustain administration, student services, technical operations, security, maintenance, and institutional coordination. Despite their contribution, limited empirical attention has focused on how employee recognition influences job satisfaction among non-teaching staff in Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions in Meru County, Kenya. This article examined the influence of employee recognition on job satisfaction among non-teaching staff in Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions in Meru County. The study was guided by Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory and adopted a descriptive and correlational research design. The target population comprised 235 non-teaching staff, from which 148 respondents were selected using stratified random sampling and simple random sampling. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and 130 valid responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression. The findings showed that employee recognition was practiced at a moderate-to-high level, with verbal appreciation and management recognition being stronger than formal awards and appreciation events. Employee recognition had a positive and statistically significant relationship with job satisfaction (r = 0.657, p = 0.000). Regression results further showed that employee recognition explained 43.2% of the variation in job satisfaction and had a positive, statistically significant effect on job satisfaction (β = 0.641, t = 9.867, p = 0.000). The null hypothesis was rejected. The study concluded that employee recognition significantly improves job satisfaction among non-teaching staff. The study recommended that Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions institutionalize structured recognition programmes combining supervisor feedback, verbal appreciation, public acknowledgment, formal awards, certificates, management recognition, and appreciation events.