WORKLOAD AND AREAS OF SPECIALISATION AS CORRELATES OF JOB STRESS AMONG UNIVERSITY LECTURERS IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

This study investigated the influence of workload and areas of specialization on job stress among university lecturers in Southwestern Nigeria. A survey research design was used in the study. The population of this study comprised all university lecturers in Southwestern Nigeria. The sample consisted of 1358 lecturers selected through stratified random sampling technique. An instrument titled “Questionnaire on Stress Assessment” was used to collect data. The validity of the instrument was ascertained while test-retest reliability method was used to determine the reliability and a reliability coefficient of 0.92 was obtained. Data collected was analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Scheffe Multiple Comparison test. The results showed that lecturers’ workload and areas of specialization have significant influence on lecturer stress level (F = 5.178, p < 0.05, and F = 10.503, p < 0.05 respectively). It was concluded that lecturers’ workload and areas of specialization have significant influence on stress experienced by university lecturers. It was therefore recommended that the university administrator and government or private owners should look into lecturers’ workload and consider the excess so that necessary steps could be taken on how to normalize it. There should be an improvement in the working conditions of university lecturers