Demographic Determinants of Quality of Work Life of Librarians Working in Nigeria

Abstract

Information and communication technologies have brought profound change in the work environment of library professionals. Changes can bring uncertainty, fear and dissatisfaction. The purpose of the study was to measure the Quality of Work Life of librarians and to ascertain the relationship with some demographic characteristics. Respondents are 175 librarians working in various library types in Nigeria. A Quality of Work Life scale was used to collect data for the study. Findings show that Quality of work life of librarians in the study is relatively high in areas of opportunity for continued growth and security, social integration in the work organization, and social relevance of work. However, important areas such as fair remuneration, training and retraining, provision for job performance and equal right issues were areas of dissatisfaction for the librarians. Findings also show significant relationship between Quality of Work Life and gender, age, institution type and years of work experience. There was no relationship with educational qualification. Essentially, librarians’ Quality of Work Life need to be a positive one in all areas and for all concerned for job retention and good productivity. It is therefore imperative that librarians map out advocating strategies to improve their work environment and also ensure adequate compensation. This will help increase their Quality of work life in this digital era.