THE COVID-19 CRISIS AND REGULAR TELEWORK: THE EFFECT OF STRESS ON THE NIGERIAN OIL AND GAS EMPLOYEES’ WORK PERCEPTION

Egileak

  • Imoh Uford Dr., Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Obio Akpa Campus, Nigeria
  • Imaeka Charles Engr, MBA, School of Business and Society, University of South Wales, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
  • Justina Ekom Ekong Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Obio Akpa Campus, Nigeria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejmms.v7i2.1252

Gako-hitzak:

COVID-19, telework, stress, oil and gas employees, Nigeria

Laburpena

Regular telework and COVID-19 pandemic are emerging subjects in business literature. However, there are limited studies relating both variables to employees’ stress. This study adopted the ex-post facto research design with a sample size of 400 to investigate the relationships between regular telework during the COVID-19 pandemic and the stress factor among Nigeria oil and gas employees. The demographic data were analyzed using Power BI, while MS Excel was used to test the three hypotheses. The empirical analysis revealed a significant change in the work culture towards mandatory telework as opposed to flexible working practiced by International Oil Companies prior to the pandemic. There was also a significant and positive relationship between regular teleworking and the stress factor of the sampled employees. It was evident that 66% of the sampled employees were not willing to continue telework beyond the Pandemic. However, if employers are able to provide appropriate work tools and a manageable workload more employees may be willing to continue with telework. An area recommended for further studies is gender-based telework and its effect on employees’ performance.

 

JEL: L10; L71; M10

 

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Egileen biografiak

  • Imoh Uford, Dr., Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Obio Akpa Campus, Nigeria

    Dr. Imoh Uford specializes in Brand Management and Consumer Behaviour. Before joining the Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) in 2018, he had over 12 years of work experience which traverses the Nigerian banking, telecommunications and education (Consulting) sectors respectively. He obtained his Ph.D. (Marketing) degree from the prestigious University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He also holds an MBA (Marketing) degree, B.Sc. (Marketing) degree with a Second Class Honours Upper Division and a Diploma in Business Administration. He is a Full Member of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (MNIMN). Dr. Uford has very good research and data analysis skills, highly creative and imaginative thinking, excellent written and verbal communication skills as well as innovative approach to problem solving. He is a lecturer in the Marketing Department, AKSU. He is also an investment analyst, with several accomplishments in the Nigerian banking industry as well as many academic publications in both local and international Journals. Dr. Uford sits as a reviewer to many international Journals. He has been awarded Certificate of Recognition as a reviewer by Elsevier Journals and he is open for collaborations within his research interests.

  • Imaeka Charles, Engr, MBA, School of Business and Society, University of South Wales, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

    Engr. Imaeka Charles obtained her B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering (First Class) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). After her graduation, she was offered an appointment by UNN as a lecturer. She served barely over a year before joining Total E. & P, Nigeria, as a Cost Controller in 2014. She has worked in several departments within the organization and has many distinguished accomplishments. In 2018, she was certified as a global accountant by the ACCA, UK while in 2021 she obtained her MBA from the University of South Wales, UK. She possesses the ability to learn very fast and multi-task different assignments. She is passionate about innovative approach to problem solving and is available for collaborations.

  • Justina Ekom Ekong, Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences, Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU), Obio Akpa Campus, Nigeria

    Mrs. Justina Ekom Ekong specializes in Consumer Behaviour and Sales Management. Prior to joining the Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) in 2013, she had six (6) years of work experience in the telecommunications industry and pensions company, respectively. She obtained her M.Sc. degree in Marketing, MBA in Management and B.Sc. degree in Marketing all from the University of Uyo, (UNIUYO). Currently, she is a PhD candidate at AKSU. Mrs Ekong is a relationship manager with good marketing and sales skills. She is an eloquent communicator and team player who is result oriented. She also has a self-confident personality with a passion for excellence. Presently, she is a lecturer in the department of Marketing, AKSU, with some publications in both local and international journals. She is very much available for collaborations in any of the aforementioned research areas.

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2022-04-12

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