Libraries at University of Nebraska-Lincoln

 

Date of this Version

Winter 7-22-2020

Comments

Copyright 2020 by the authors.

Abstract

Stress has been identified as one of the factors that affect the job performance level of employees. The paper investigated the effect of stress on the occupational performance of librarians in federal university libraries in South East, Nigeria. Three specific objectives and research questions that focused on causes of stress, effect of stress on the occupational performance of librarians and the strategies for encouraging stress management practices guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The entire population of 191 librarians were studied; therefore, no sampling was made. A 43 items questionnaire was used for data collection. Cronbach Alpha method was used to determine the internal consistency of the items and the overall reliability result is .95. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. The findings reveals that the causes of work stress among librarians include inadequate or poor working tools and facilities, increased workload, poor incentives and few promotional opportunities from management, and inadequate or lack of amenities; stress affects the occupational performance of librarians to high extent in the following ways: low productivity level, physiological ill-health, psychological imbalance, delay in completing assigned tasks, lack of commitment, and inability to relate well with colleagues and users; and the strategies for encouraging stress management practices include organizing stress management workshops, conferences and seminars, engaging a psychologist often to council librarians on stress management strategies, and establishing a fitness section in the library complex. Based on the findings of the study it is recommended that policies should be formulated and implemented to support stress management practices in the libraries; library managements should organize stress management sensitization programs for librarians; and librarians who perform very high should be recognized, rewarded and encouraged.

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