Work Related Stress and its Causes among Selected Built Environment Academics in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions

Abstract

Work related stress has negative effect on productivity and satisfaction among workers in various field. An important barrier to understanding how work-related stress affects individual academics in the built environment is scarcity of empirical studies in the area. As a result, this study aims at examining the main causes of stress and the level of risks associated with the stress among academics in the built environment. Questionnaires were administered to academics in the built environment faculties, schools and institutes offering courses such as Architecture, Building, Estate Management, Quantity surveying, Surveying and Geoinformatics and Urban and Regional Planning in the South West and North Central geopolitical zones of Nigeria. A systematic sampling technique was adopted to administer the questionnaire to respondents. The results show that work related stress among built environment academics is high (>60% on work related stress grading scale) and causes were classified into organizational factors, job demand and job role. The most important risk factors were also identified as problem with office accommodation inadequate temperature control, lack of privacy (physical factors), poor communication, lack of career progression and job insecurity (organizational and job role factors). Due to the high level of work-related stress among academics in the built environment, their performance in discharging duties in terms of research and teaching have been affected. Management of higher institutions should provide incentives and enabling environment to individual lecturer to address those factors identified in other to improve their overall performance.