Workplace Social Support and Occupational Stress as Predictors of Lecturers’ Job Effectiveness in Public Tertiary Institutions in Kebbi State

Abstract

This study examined workplace social support and occupational stress as predictors of lecturers’ job effectiveness in public tertiary institutions in Kebbi State. The study was guided by two research questions and adopted a correlational research design. The population comprised 1,637 lecturers, from which a sample of 310 lecturers and administrators was selected using proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected using three instruments: Workplace Social Support Rating Scale (WSSRS), Occupational Stress Rating Scale (OSRS), and Lecturers’ Job Effectiveness Rating Scale (LJERS). The instruments were validated by experts and yielded satisfactory reliability coefficients. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that the level of lecturers’ job effectiveness was low. The findings further revealed that workplace social support and occupational stress jointly made a statistically significant contribution to lecturers’ job effectiveness, with R = 0.680 and R² = 0.462, indicating that the two predictors jointly explained 46.2% of the variance in lecturers’ job effectiveness. The study concluded that workplace conditions and occupational demands are important factors influencing lecturers’ effectiveness. It recommended strengthening workplace social-support mechanisms and implementing effective occupational-stress management strategies to improve lecturers’ teaching, research, supervision, community service, administrative responsibilities and professional development.