Relationship between Work-Life Balance and Performance of Staff at University Libraries in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

Job performance of university library staff is based on skills and knowledge in librarianship which can be affected by internal and external factors such as work, family, personal and community responsibilities. For librarians to carry out their duties effectively there is need for minimal interference of work from non-work responsibilities such as family, personal, and community responsibilities. To achieve expected performance, library staffs need to prioritize their work obligations and balance other duties outside the workplace. The study aimed to determine the relationship between work-life balance and work performance of university library staff in Meru County. The study's objectives were: to determine the activities that form the basis of job performance, examine the influence of family, personal and community responsibilities on the performance of university library staff. The study was anchored on border, social, compensation and spillover theories. It adopted descriptive research design. The study's target population was thirty eight (38) university library staff from (four) 4 universities in Meru County. Census sampling method was applied because the population was small with the use of questionnaire as the main research instrument. The pretest of the research instrument was conducted at Chuka university library which enabled checking of validity and reliability. The four (4) sampled for pretesting represented 10% of the sample population which is adequate for conducting pilot study. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (median and percentages) and inferential statistics (regression analysis) while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. SPSS was used to analyze quantitative data which was presented using tables. The findings from normality test showed normality since all the probability values of all variables was more than 0.05. From the analysis, the test statistic value was 2.182 denoting no violation of auto-correlation assumption. Pearson Product Moment Correlation technique was conducted to establish correlation co-efficient. There was a positive correlation between the work performance and all independent variables, this meant that, when the values of work performance increases, so does the values of work, family, personal and community responsibilities. The multiple linear regression indicated the model was statistically significant in forecasting the effects of the four factors on work performance in the study. This study concluded that there is a relationship between work-life balance and performance of staff at University Libraries in Meru County. Personal responsibilities predicted strongest influence on work performance. Community responsibilities forecasted a stronger relationship which was statistically significant on work performance. Family responsibilities affect university library staff work performance to a very small extent. Work responsibilities have a strong correlation with work performance though not statistically significant. Personal responsibilities predicted strongest influence on work performance. University library staff to engage in community responsibilities since community involvement promotes personal growth and work experience and the opportunity to learn more about community work. The study will add knowledge to existing scholarly work to benefit students, scholars and researchers. This study will contribute to up-to-date debates on work-life balance matters among university library staff and students in the field of information science. Further research can be done to shed light to university library management on how to balance non-work responsibilities with work performance for optimal work productivity.