International Business & Economics Research Journal – September/October 2016 Volume 15, Number 5 Copyright by author(s); CC-BY 219 The Clute Institute The Influence Of Job Stress On The Components Of Organisational Commitment Of Health Care Personnel In The Eastern Cape Province South Africa Vongai Sarah Ruzungunde, University of Fort Hare, South Africa Chan Murugan, University of Fort Hare, South Africa Clifford K. Hlatywayo, University of Fort Hare, South Africa ABSTRACT Health care personnel are often exposed to strenuous working conditions due to their nature of work. The study assessed whether job stress affects the organisational commitment of employees within the health institutions. A quantitative design was used; the sample consisted of 141 respondents from selected public health institutions within the Nkonkobe Municipality Region, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Cluster sampling was used to select the hospitals and then the simple random sampling was used to select the sample from the cluster. Pearson Correlation Analysis was used to solicit the sought relationships. Results of the study showed significant relationships between job stress and organisational commitment showing that job stress has an effect on the commitment of workers. These findings are helpful and useful to the health department in implementing policies and procedures that will reduce job stress in employees in order to ensure that high levels of commitment towards the organisation are maintained for optimal success. Keywor ds : Job Stress; Work Stress; Organisational Commitment; Health Employees INTRODUCTION tress occurs when an individual is faced with an opportunity that he/she desires but which carries uncertain outcomes yet it is of great importance to them (Robbins & Sanghi, 2006). It affects us differently thus Yahaya, Yahaya, Ma’alip, Ramli, and Kamal, (2012) view it as subjective. Stress is a great contributor to decreased organisational performance, low quality in the presentation of work and absenteeism arising from stress related health problems, among many other reasons (Yahaya et al ., 2012; Iqbal, Ehsan, Rizwan & Noreen, 2014). Health care employees work in an environment which exposes them to stressful conditions. They work long hours; subject to overtime and work on weekends; leaving them with little time for personal endeavours (Nomaguchi, 2009; Crouter, Head, McHale & Tucker, 2004). These employees also face heavy workloads, low professional prominence, difficulties in relating within the workplace, medical inflation, overcrowded hospitals and difficulty in the accomplishment of the roles, amongst other challenges (McNeely, 2005; Hall, 2004). Public health care employees, in the developing world, face much worse conditions as they deal with numerous patients and usually work under sourced and overcrowded environments and yet they are expected to perform to the best of their abilities. Pressure mounts on health care employees when they try to maintain and balance the roles of work and family. When this balance is not well managed it results in a decline in performance; high turnover and absenteeism. If not managed well occupational stress will affect one both physically and emotionally (Jamal, 2005; Yahaya et al ., 2012). These are evident in employees experiencing job stress and these both diminish the quality of care provided by the employees (Hall, 2004; Bakker & Leiter, 2010). Stress is an area of concern for employers and employees: as organisations seek to optimise employee output and employees make work meaningful to them (Hlatywayo, Mlanga & Zingwe, 2014; Uppal, Mishra & Vohra, 2014). S