FLEXIBLE TIME AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF ACADEMIC STAFF OF UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

Abstract

The study focused on the nexus between flexible time and communication skills of academic staff of universities in South-South region of Nigeria. The study employed the multi-stage sampling technique in selecting the samples. For the population, eighteen (18) universities made up the primary units, and the academic staff of the universities represented the secondary units which vary across the institutions under study, with a total population of 12,158. For the sample size, the Cochran’s determination method was used to get a total sample size of 384. As a result, the 384 academic staff was proportionally allocated to the 18 universities using Bourley proportion allocation technique. With the aid of quantitative method (questionnaire), the data for the study were derived, where the said questionnaire was designed through google form and distributed through social media cum online. The Median and the spearman’s correlation technique were used and the results showed that there is a high moderate positive significant relationship existing between flexible work and the self-development of the academic staff of universities in South-South Nigeria. And having met the condition of providing subsidized internet data bundle for staff, with policies for implementation, it was recommended that university authorities should ensure a smooth and timely process of communication from one cadre to another and from one department to another for more flexibility with the use of social media platforms, so that staff wherever they are, will be well communicated and informed.