The Influence of Work Locus of Control on Perceived Stress of Librarians in Public Universities in South Western Nigeria

The study examined the influence of work locus of control on perceived stress of librarians in public universities in South Western Nigeria. The research design was the ex-post facto. The study used both primary and secondary data sources. A simple random sampling method was used to select seven public universities which yielded 92 respondents. Total enumeration technique was used in the administration of questionnaires. Sixty-three respondents completed and returned their questionnaires which were used for analysis. Work locus of control and perceived stress inventories were used to obtain data. One hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. Data were analysed using percentages, mean, standard deviation and t- test for independent samples. Results indicated a significant difference between perceived stress of librarians who have external locus of control and librarians who have internal work locus of control. It was shown that librarians who have external work locus of control (externals) perceived a higher level of stress than librarians who have internal work locus of control (internals). It was concluded from the study that work locus of control of librarians had influence on their perceived stress.