IMPACT OF JOB STRESS ON JOB PERFORMANCE OF ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF: A CASE STUDY OF KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY, MALETE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT This study examined the relationship between job stress and administrative staff performance at Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria. In order to achieve the stated objectives, descriptive of a case study type of research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of all the 556 administrative staff in Kwara State University Malete. The sample size for the study based on the Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table was 222, while stratified random and proportionate sampling method was used for the selection of the respondents. Data were collected with the use of questionnaires titled: “Job Stress Assessment Questionnaire” (JSAQ) and “Administrative Staff Job Performance Assessment Questionnaire” (ASJPAQ). Data collected were statistically treated with descriptive statistics such as mean (M) and standard deviation while inferential statistic like Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) statistics was used to test the formulated hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that: pressure to attain/ set high standard in achieving personal/ job demand goals (M = 3.95), long hours of duty especially during exam periods (M = 3.91), inadequate facilities/resources needed to perform assigned tasks and duties (M = 3.85), and workload/time pressure of work (M = 3.64) were the most predominant causes of stress among administrative staff at the KWASU. It was also found that, the level of stress among administrative staff at KWASU was moderate, while their level of job performance was also at moderate level. Findings also showed that, the consequential effects of stress on administrativestaff manifest itself in terms of absenteeism of staff at work (M = 3.94), poor interpersonal relationship between co-workers (M = 3.85), inability of staff to meet up with deadlines (M = 3.77) and reduced quality of work performance (M = 3.50). Finding also indicates that working ahead of time to minimize threatening situation (M = 3.91), managing one’s time properly (M = 3.85), having enough rest and sleep (M = 3.78), being assertive instead of aggressive (M = 3.50), and watching comedy movies (M = 3.31) were the most highly adopted strategies for the management of stress among administrative staff at KWASU. The study further revealed that, stress level (r- value = -0.606; p - 0.030 < 0.05) had significant relationship with performance of administrative staff at KWASU. Based on the findings, the study recommended that, The Management of KWASU: should endeavour to promote health awareness and knowledge and also establish an effective Assistance Programme for academic staff to help identify, refer and recuperate those under high level stress; and should encourage administrative staff to continually adopt the strategies found in this study in order to manage stress level, minimize consequential effects as well as enhance their job performance.