Impact of Role Description on Burnout Among Academics in Nigerian Universities

Abstract This study examined impact of role description on burnout among academics in Nigerian Universities. It was a research design of survey type. Respondents consisted of 250 lecturers. A self-developed questionnaire titled “Roles Description and Burnout Questionnaire (RDBQ) “was used for data collection. The findings revealed that there is relationship between role ambiguity and cognitive weariness among academics in Nigerian Universities. The findings revealed that a correlation exists between role ambiguity and emotional exhaustion among academics in Nigerian Universities. Finally, the findings revealed that there is a relationship between gender differences and burnout among academics in Nigerian Universities. The study concluded that ambiguous roles description influence burnout among academics. It was therefore recommended amongst others that management should ensure that staffs receive assignment with necessary resources to complete them. Individual roles are well spelt out for their role responsibility not to be borne by others. Keywords: Role, description, burnout, academics, universities.