Emotional Demands and Service Quality among Non-Teaching Staff in Public Universities in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria

The non-teaching staff in universities are crucial to the success of the day-to-day administrative functioning of the institution, and provision of worthwhile experience for students. In spite of their indispensability, these categories of staff members are often confronted with considerable emotional demands in their routine interactions, which can have implications on the quality of services provided. This study, therefore, investigated the emotional demands and quality of service of non-teaching staff in public universities in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria. In line with the objectives of the study, three research questions were raised and answered. The study adopted descriptive correlational research design. The population comprised 10,202 non-teaching staff in all the seven public universities in the two States. The sample size comprised 1020 (representing 10% of the total population) non-teaching staff selected from four public-owned universities from the two States using the Stratified Random Sampling Technique. Data for the study were gathered using a structured, validated and reliable (r = .75) questionnaire titled “Emotional Demands and Service Quality Questionnaire” (EDSQQ) patterned along the modified Rensis Likert four-point rating scales. Data collected were analysed using frequency counts, mean and Standard Deviation to answer research questions one and two and Multiple Regression Analysis to answer research question three. Findings showed a moderate level of emotional labour and emotional involvement among non-teaching staff in the universities and that both emotional labour and emotional involvement significantly predicted service quality among the staff, with emotional labour showing a slightly stronger contribution. It was recommended, inter alia, that efforts should be geared towards strengthening employees’ emotional involvement through empowerment and collaborative decision making, and at the same time, embracing emotional labour through appropriate job schedule and access to emotional guidance services. Keywords: Emotional Demands, Emotional Labour, Emotional Involvement, Service Quality, Non-Teaching Staff, Public Universities.