Occupational Stress Amongst Librarians in Federal and State Universities in South–Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Agitated by the information gaps that exist in the literature on stress within the Nigerian context, the researcher decided to undertake a study on the subject with focus on librarians. Survey research technique was adopted for the study and a customized questionnaire was used as the primary instrument for data collection. The main findings are that librarianship, like professions, predisposes its practitioners to certain occupational stressors, that these stressful experiences are caused by poor remuneration, unexciting routines and inadequacy of the basic work tools of librarianship, and that the lack of job satisfaction leads to some other unpleasant consequences. These findings, amongst others guided the researcher to recommend that emoluments and other remunerative packages should be reviewed upward, that more staff at the senior professional cadre should be employed and that heads of libraries should rotate their staff regularly.

KEYWORDS Occupational Stress – Librarians Stressors – Librarians – Nigeria