ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Leadership in Education
CAREER SUCCESS AMONG UNIVERSITY LECTURERS 1 Exploring the mediating role of Work Engagement in the relationship between Job Flexibility and Career Success among University Lecturers in Nigeria
Provisionally accepted
Elom S Omena1
Gabriel C Kanu2*Maryann C Okeke2Lawrence O Amazue2Ikechukwu V.N. Ujoatuonu2Ogochukwu C Kanu3Alexander U Amaechi2Emmanuel A Agu2Cecilia O Apex-Apeh2Ijeoma L Oji2- 1Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic Unwana, Unwana, Nigeria
- 2University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nsukka, Nigeria
- 3Government of Enugu State of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria
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Career success serves as a primary determinant of professional satisfaction and achievement among university lecturers. At Nigerian universities, lecturers are required to demonstrate sustained engagement and dedication to address academic challenges and attain professional advancement.This study investigated the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between job flexibility and career success among university lecturers in Nigeria. Four hundred and forty-one (441) lecturers consisting of 299 (67.8%) males and 142 (32.2%) females whose ages ranged from 27-63 years (M= 43.07, SD= 8.93) drawn from six federal universities in South-East Nigeria, participated in this study. Three instruments were used for data collection in the study, namely, Job flexibility Scale, Subjective Career Success Scale, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). A two-wave investigation utilizing a time-lagged design was implemented over a one-month period, with a two-week interval between data collection points. Hayes PROCESS macro was used to analyze the data. Results showed that job flexibility positively correlated with career success. Job flexibility was positively related to work engagement. Work engagement and career success were positively related. Work engagement mediated the relationship between job flexibility and career success. The implications of the findings indicate that the academic profession requires the ability to adapt and demonstrate various roles, along with the necessary resources to support career advancement and personal growth. Also organizations that proactively support and enhance an employee's work engagement and commitment through their career experiences have the potential to promote the employee's professional growth, leading to various benefits for the organization.
Keywords: Career success, Job flexibility, Nigeria, University lecturers, work engagement
Received: 29 Aug 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Omena, Kanu, Okeke, Amazue, Ujoatuonu, Kanu, Amaechi, Agu, Apex-Apeh and Oji. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Gabriel C Kanu
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