Barriers to Virtual Workplace Implementation in Nigerian Universities

This study investigates the potential barriers and employees' stated preference towards virtual workplace implementation in Nigerian universities. A questionnaire was administered to academic and non-academic staff of the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria. The questionnaire was divided into two parts; the first part is the respondent profile, followed by the barriers and staff perception towards virtual workplace. The findings showed that 64.6% of the respondents are not willing to accept the option of working from home 1,2,3,4, or 5 days per week if given the opportunity while 34.8% of the respondents said that they would accept the opportunity to work from home and 0.5% of the respondents admit that maybe they might accept working from home. The result also shows that the majority (87.07%) of respondents believed that the current electricity supply would hinder them from performing their work effectively if they accept the option of working from home. Also majority (64.91%) of the respondents believed that poor internet connectivity in the area where they lived would hinder them from working effectively from home if they accept the option of working virtually. The study identified unstable electricity supply, poor internet connectivity, and staff perception towards virtual work as barriers that will hinder effective implementation in Nigerian universities. This study concluded that these barriers should be critically examined and a mitigation strategy should be developed before implementing virtual workplace in Nigerian universities.