Effect of Employee Participation in Grievance Handling on Employee Commitment in the County Government of Tharaka Nithi, Kenya

Employee commitment is essential for organizational effectiveness because committed employees demonstrate stronger organizational attachment, higher motivation, improved service delivery, and greater willingness to contribute toward institutional goals. However, employee commitment within Kenya's devolved county governments continues to be weakened by limited employee involvement in grievance resolution and organizational decision-making. This study examined the effect of employee participation in grievance handling on employee commitment in the County Government of Tharaka Nithi, Kenya. The study was anchored on Social Exchange Theory and adopted a positivist research philosophy, quantitative research approach, and descriptive and explanatory research design. The target population comprised 3,497 employees drawn from ten county departments, from which a sample of 321 respondents was selected using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Primary data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and simple linear regression analysis. The findings established that employee participation had a positive and statistically significant relationship with employee commitment (r = 0.671, p < 0.05). Regression analysis further revealed that employee participation significantly predicted employee commitment (β = 0.671, B = 0.704, t = 16.181, p = 0.000), explaining 45.0% of the variation in employee commitment (R² = 0.450). The study concluded that involving employees in grievance resolution processes strengthens organizational trust, enhances workplace morale, promotes procedural fairness, and significantly improves employee commitment. The study recommends that county governments institutionalize participatory grievance management systems by promoting employee consultation, involvement in grievance investigations and decision-making, and responsive communication to strengthen employee commitment and improve public service delivery.