SOURCES OF WORKPLACE STRESSORS AMONG UNIVERSITY LECTURERS IN SOUTH WEST NIGERIA: IMPLICATION FOR COUNSELLING

Abstract

This work investigated the sources of stress among University Lecturers. The population for the study was all academic staff in Nigerian Universities .The 364 subjects who were made up of 223 males and 141 females were drawn from eight (8) Nigerian Universities. One research question and one hypothesis were raised to guide the study. The ex-post-facto research design was employed. A self Report Perceived Stress Assessment Questionnaire (SRPSAQ) constructed by the researcher was used to elicit information from the participant. The instrument had two (2) sections. Section A and B. Section A elicited information on bio-data and section B elicited information on degree of stress inducing factors by choosing “strongly agree†(4) ‘Agree†(3) :Disagree†(2) Strongly “disagree†(1). The face and content validities were ensured while a test-re-test reliability coefficient of 0.86 was obtained. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation and inferential statistics (t-test). Result revealed that the level of perceived stress among male and female lecturers was not significantly different. Also, further finding revealed that lecturers experience stress. Sources of most stress include: Poor research incentives (87.35%), poor condition of lecturers offices (81.32%) lack of facilities (78.10%) and students project supervision (77.52%). The findings were discussed and counseling strategies offered.