Work Engagement of Librarians in Federal Universities Northwest Nigeria

Background: Work engagement is crucial for the success and survival of organizations in a competitive environment. Highly engaged employees are essential for achieving organizational mandates. This study examines the work engagement of librarians in federal university libraries in Northwest, Nigeria.

Method: The study employed a quantitative research methodology and survey research design. Two research questions guided the study: (1) What is the level of work engagement of librarians in federal universities in Northwest, Nigeria? (2) What are the constraints to the work engagement of librarians in federal universities in Northwest, Nigeria? The target population included 332 librarians in federal universities in Northwest, Nigeria, with all librarians being part of the total enumeration. Data were collected using a questionnaire, with 305 out of 332 distributed questionnaires being retrieved and analyzed using descriptive statistics via SPSS.

Findings/Results: The results revealed a high level of work engagement among librarians. However, significant challenges included lack of work-life balance, inadequate skill set, lack of growth and recognition, unmet opportunity growth needs, and misunderstandings between managers and workers regarding work engagement.

Implications: Higher work engagement among librarians can enhance performance, creativity, innovation, competitive advantage, productivity, and efficiency in federal university libraries in Northwest, Nigeria.

Conclusion: The study concludes that addressing the identified constraints can significantly improve work engagement and overall organizational performance.

Recommendations: The study recommends that the management of Federal University libraries in Northwest Nigeria, in collaboration with Human Resource managers, should educate and enlighten both management and librarians on the importance of work engagement for organizational success and rapid growth.