Work Related Stress and Employee Commitment at Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi Uku, Delta State of Nigeria
The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of stress in Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi Uku as well as to establish the link between work stress and the three dimensions of employee commitment among the 256 permanent teaching staff of the Polytechnic. For this purpose, structured questionnaires were randomly sampled on 120 teaching staff of the polytechnic, out of which 110 were duly completed and returned. Results from the research questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive and regression analysis. The findings reveal that work stress is negatively related to all the three types of commitment, namely, affective, normative and continuance, which is in line with the existing literature. The result of this investigation gives an implication that teaching staff with low job stress will be more committed than those with a high level of stress. This therefore, underscores the relevance of managing stress by reducing workload and role conflict and increasing lecturer’s autonomy. The paper offers practical suggestions of how the school management can reduce the level of stress among its teaching staff. This will in no small measure improve lecturers commitment and ultimately improve their performance at work towards raising the standard of the school graduates.
