Empathy, Relationship Management and Job Performance of Librarians in Public Academic Libraries in South–East Nigeria

Abstract

The study explored Empathy and Relationship management and Job Performance of librarians in public academic libraries in South-East, Nigeria. The study articulated two research objectives, two research questions, and two hypotheses. It employed a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 667 and a sample size of 316 was derived from William Bill (2004). A structured questionnaire was used for collecting data. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) coefficient was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed a significant relationship between Empathy, relationship management and Job Performance of Librarians in public academic libraries in South-East Nigeria. This implies that librarians who demonstrate understanding, compassion and concern for the feelings and experiences of others are more likely to establish interactions with users and colleagues, thereby enhancing their job performance. The study recommended that library administrators should promote a workplace culture that values empathy by organizing interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence training and that management of public academic libraries should strengthen relationship management among librarians by encouraging teamwork, effective communication and conflict resolution.

Keywords: Empathy, Relationship Management, Job Performance, Emotional Intelligence, Academic Libraries, Librarians, South-East, Nigeria.