Academic Workload and Performance in Developing Higher Education Systems: A Literature Review with Insights for Botswana Private Tertiary Institutions
Downloads
Academic workload plays a critical role in shaping staff performance in higher education, particularly in developing contexts where limited resources, growing enrolments, and expanding administrative demands intensify pressure on lecturers. This study adopts a structured narrative literature review approach, drawing on peer-reviewed journal articles, regional studies, and institutional reports identified through targeted database searches and thematic screening. The review synthesizes global and regional evidence on how workload influences teaching effectiveness, research productivity, and overall academic performance, with particular attention to Botswana’s private tertiary institutions. Grounded in the Job Demands–Resources model, psychosocial hazard frameworks, and Role Stress Theory, the analysis demonstrates how excessive teaching loads, administrative intensification, limited research support, and governance constraints contribute to occupational stress and performance decline. Evidence from Botswana indicates that these pressures are amplified by institutional rigidities, unclear expectations, and weak support systems. The review highlights a significant gap in research on workload and performance within African private tertiary institutions and calls for context-sensitive, policy-oriented research to inform sustainable workload management and institutional reform.
Ajayi, J. F. (1996). The African experience with higher education. Ohio University Press.
Anees, R. T., Heidler, P., Cavaliere, L. P. L., & Nordin, N. A. (2021). Brain drain in higher education: The impact of job stress and workload on turnover intention and the mediating role of job satisfaction at universities. European Journal of Business and Management Research, 6(3), 1-8.
Aturu-Aghedo, C. (2024). Exploring occupational stress determinants and employee job performance in selected universities in North Central Nigeria. FUOYE Journal of Public Administration and Management, 2(1), 176–176.
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands–Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328.
Caplan, R. D. (1987). Person–environment fit theory and organizations: Commensurate dimensions, time perspectives, and mechanisms. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 31(3), 248–267.
Ezenkiri, N. J., Mamman, H., Ezeani, U. D., & Torpev, T. F. (2021). Academic job: A review of stressors among teaching-staff of tertiary institutions. Sokoto Educational Review, 20(1&2), 1–11.
Faozen, F. (2019). Work stress: Antecedent variables and its impact on employee motivation and performance (Case study at the University of Muhammadiyah Jember). In Proceedings of ICOGISS 2019 (pp. 536–553).
Hargrove, M. B., Quick, J. C., Nelson, D. L., & Quick, J. D. (2011). The theory of preventive stress management: A 33-year review and evaluation. Stress and Health, 27(3), 182–193.
Hassan, Z., Ali, A., & Imran, M. (2024). Influence of workload and level of stress on work–life balance, organizational commitment and performance among the employees in higher education context of Maldives. Journal of Economics and Business Management, 3(12), 15–30.
Hilman, H., Edward, Y. R., & Faris, S. (2022). The effect of work–life balance and work stress on performance with job satisfaction as intervening variables at the office of the Ministry of Religion, Selatan Tapanuli Regency. International Journal of Science, Technology & Management, 3(5), 1321–1348.
binti Husin, Z., Bakar, R. S. B., Nor, M. Z. B. M., Yusoff, M. S. B. B., & Yasin, M. A. B. M. (2022). Expert Consensus on Mental Health Resilience Domains of a Module for Training of Trainers’ Programme: Delphi Method Study.
ILO. (2016). Workplace stress: A collective challenge. International Labour Organization.
Indhu, R., & Thirumakkal, R. (2015). Workplace stress and coping strategies: A review. International Journal of Management, 6(1), 1–8.
Isa, Z., & Palpanadan, S. T. (2020a). Lecturer workload and teaching performance: A conceptual analysis. Asian Journal of University Education.
Janib, J., Rasdi, R. M., Omar, Z., Alias, S. N., Zaremohzzabieh, Z., & Ahrari, S. (2021). The relationship between workload and performance of research university academics in Malaysia: The mediating effects of career commitment and job satisfaction. Asian Journal of University Education, 17(2), 85–99.
Jermsittiparsert, K., Petchchedchoo, P., Kumsuprom, S., & Panmanee, P. (2021). The impact of workload on job satisfaction: Does job stress matter? Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 20, 1–13.
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R., Snoek, J., & Rosenthal, R. (1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. Wiley.
Kartini, T. M., Sellina, S., & Nugroho, A. P. (2023). The influence of workload, work stress and work–life balance on employee work performance. Jurnal Ekonomi, 12(04), 2547–2553.
Lawer, T. D. (2021). Job satisfaction, academic workload, perceived stress and coping strategies among lecturers of the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Coast).
Luga, T. (n.d.). Work stress as predictor of job performance among academic staff of tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Kogi Journal of Sociology, 61.
Luzipho, N., Joubert, P. A., & Dhurup, M. (2023). Job stressors, work tension and job satisfaction of academics at a university in South Africa. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 21, 2015.
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1986). Maslach Burnout Inventory manual. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Mirkamali, S. M., Mazari, E., Khabare, K., & Zoughipour, S. (2016). Identify job stressors and their relationship with quality of work life (Case: faculty members of Birjand University). Organizational Culture Management, 13(4), 1133–1150.
Mohamedbhai, G. (2011). Higher education in Africa: Facing the challenges in the 21st century. International Higher Education, 63(1), 20–23.
Mulyadi, M., Sitiari, N. W., Meryawan, I. W., & Saputri, L. G. E. A. (2024). The role of workload, work–life balance and psychological factors on employee performance through work stress as mediation. Quality—Access to Success, 25(200).
Oyewole, B. K., & Agbesanya, F. O. (2024). Job stress as correlate of academic staff job performance in colleges of education in Southwest Nigeria. FUOYE Journal of Public Administration and Management, 2(1), 94–94.
Rashid, S., Subhan, Q. A., & Imran, M. (2022). Impact of work–life balance, workload and supervisory support on teachers’ job performance with mediating role of stress: A case of private institutions. International Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 3(1), 21–34.
Robbins, S. P. (2009). Organizational behavior (13th ed.). Pearson.
Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. McGraw–Hill.
Tsalasah, E. F., Noermijati, N., & Ratnawati, K. (2019). The effect of work stress on employee performance, psychological well-being and subjective well-being (Study at PT. Global Insight Utama Bali area). MEC–J (Management and Economics Journal), 3(1), 95–107.
Teferra, D., & Altbach, P. G. (2003). African higher education: An international reference handbook. Indiana University Press.
Teferra, D., & Altbach, P. G. (2004). African higher education: Challenges for the 21st century. Higher Education, 47(1), 21–50.
Uwannah, N. C., Egwuonwu, C. O. K., & James, N. C. (2022). Job autonomy, workload and home–work conflict as predictors of job satisfaction among employed women in academia. European Journal of Educational Management, 5(1), 35–48.
Yamani, N., Shahabi, M. A. R. Y. A. M., & Haghani, F. A. R. I. B. A. (2014). The relationship between emotional intelligence and job stress in the faculty of medicine in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Journal of advances in medical education & professionalism, 2(1), 20.
Yousefi, M., & Abdullah, A. G. K. (2019). The impact of organizational stressors on job performance among academic staff. International Journal of Instruction, 12(3), 561–576.
Yousefi, M., Devi, R., & Shuib, A. (2020). Organizational stress indicators and influence on academic performance in private universities among academic personnel. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(3A), 1–5.
Zamri, M. N., Aziz, W. A. W. A., Rasak, N. T. S., & Suhaimi, M. H. (2024). The relationship between workload and job performance in private higher education institutions: A case study in Kolej Poly–Tech MARA, Northern Malaysia. e–Academia Journal, 13(2).
Copyright (c) 2026 Roselight Chuma Pepukai, Yasmin Sultana Muchindu, Mlenga Jere (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
By submitting your manuscript to IJABS, you agree and confirm that the paper you have submitted is your own original and unpublished work, does not contain any defamatory or other unlawful content(s), and you will accept responsibility for plagiarism. You and your co-authors retain copyright and grant BESRA the right of publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.
