The study sought to investigate the factors that predict or account for dispositional optimism among casual workers in selected firms in Eldoret town, Kenya have been working under temporary employment terms for many years. The study tested the following null hypotheses: HO1. Age is not a significant predictor of dispositional optimism among casual workers in selected firms in Eldoret town, HO2. Gender is not a significant predictor of dispositional optimism among casual workers in selected firms in Eldoret town, HO3. Religious affiliation is not a significant predictor of dispositional optimism among casual workers in selected firms in Eldoret town, HO4. Level of education is not a significant predictor of dispositional optimism among casual workers in selected firms in Eldoret town, HO5. Skill possession is not a significant predictor of dispositional optimism among casual workers in selected firms in Eldoret town and HO6. Family support is not a significant predictor of dispositional optimism among casual workers in selected firms in Eldoret town. The population of the study comprised all the casual workers who were working in manufacturing firms in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya and the inclusion criterion was that one had to have worked on casual terms for a period of at least five years. The firms were 5 in total with a population of 401 from which a sample of 163 casual workers was drawn using stratified sampling technique. The study adopted the Ex post facto design. Study data were collected using a questionnaire which was developed based on the study hypotheses which were administered with the help of research assistants. The study data was analyzed using regression analysis, presenting results for both the t-statistic and ANOVA. All analysis was conducted using SPSS 17 version 22. The level of significance adopted by the study was α = 0.05. The study established that age, gender, religious affiliation, level of education and family support were significant predictors of dispositional optimism as confirmed by the results of hypothesis testing. Based on the findings however, skill possession did not have a significant prediction on dispositional optimism among casual workers in the study
Keywords: Casual workers, Dispositional optimism
