PART TIME WORK ARRANGEMENTS AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT OF FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS IN PORT HARCOURT

Abstract

The study examined the relationship between part time work arrangements and employee engagement of fast food restaurants in Port Harcourt. The cross sectional survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised of 373 employees from 10 Fast Food Restaurants in Port Harcourt. A sample of 191 was used for the study. A structured questionnaire with consideration to face and content validation for the collection of primary data was adopted for the study after a reliability coefficient test which its least result was above 0.70 through the adoption of Cronbach Alpha. Descriptive statistics (pie chart, mean and standard deviation) were used to analyze demographic data and research questions. While inferential statistics (Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient) were used for the test of hypotheses. Findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between part time work arrangements and employee engagement of fast food restaurants in Port Harcourt; Organisational culture significantly moderates the relationship between flexible work arrangements and employee engagement of fast food restaurants in Port Harcourt. The study concluded that part time work arrangements with employee engagement and is being moderated by organizational culture. The study recommended amongst others that management of fast food restaurants in Port Harcourt should allow part-time workers to have a say in their schedules. This could involve offering options for shift swapping, providing a range of hours to choose from, or accommodating personal commitments as such would increase their job satisfaction and physical engagement; Management of fast food restaurants in Port Harcourt should prioritize inclusive communication strategies that ensure part-time workers are kept informed about company news, changes, and opportunities for involvement as such would enhance their cognitive engagement.