UNDERSTANDING BURNOUT LEVELS AND FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ATTRITION OF ENTRY-LEVEL PROFESSIONALS IN HOUSING AND RESIDENCE LIFE

Transcription

1 1 UNDERSTANDING BURNOUT LEVELS AND FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ATTRITION OF ENTRY-LEVEL PROFESSIONALS IN HOUSING AND RESIDENCE LIFE Tom Ellett, PhD Associate Vice President, Student Affairs Christopher Stipeck Residence Hall Director (Special thanks to Carolyn Endick Graduate student NYU, who served on research team)

2 Introduction 2 Context of Study History and Literature Job Analysis Best Practices Research Process Findings

3 Context of Study 3 Déjà vu:20+ years of ACUHO-I efforts on R & R Longstanding topic of dialogue More attention given to this in the mid 2000 s Dr. Donald Kilbourn, one of the first ACUHO-I presidents (1951): recruiting staff is our biggest challenge facing our profession ACPA/NASPA Task Force-factors impacting recruitment and retention Jahr (1990): (there are) no two more critical areas than recruitment and retention

4 History & Literature 4 Housing and Residence Life Professionals Recruitment and Retention Survey Report (2002): differences between new and experienced professionals in benefits Belch & Mueller (2003) Pools or puddles? Belch Quality of life, remuneration, interest in the housing/residence life profession St. Onge, S., Ellett, T., Scheuermann, T., and Nestor, E., (2008, November). Factors Affecting Recruitment and Retention of Entry-Level Housing and Residential Life Staff: Perceptions of Chief Housing Officers. Journal of College & University Student Housing, 35(2), Scheuermann, T. & Ellett, T. E. (2007, June). A 3-D view of recruitment and retention of entry-level housing staff:déjà vu, deliberation, decisive action. Journal of College & University Student Housing, 34(2),

5 Source: Maslach work & Additional item * - St. Onge, Ellett, Scheuermann & Nestor (2006) Study of Job Analysis: Christopher (2006) Job Analysis 5 Retention Related Factors Work Experience Measures Job Burnout Workload Dissatisfaction Skill Utilization Role Ambiguity Job Satisfaction Perceived Support Professional Development Fairness Career Measures Career Resilience Career Identity Career Loyalty Career Mobility*

6 Image Discussion 6 Job Burnout Occurs over time Mismatch between job design and employee skill Decision making is chaotic and unclear Accountability is low Christine Maslach defined burnout as a sense of exhaustion, cynicism, and negative self-evaluations about the work experience. Maslach also identified work overload as a condition that leads to burnout (Nelson, 2005). Workload Dissatisfaction Exists when employees don t have the resources or skills to handle a high volume of work Work is high in intensity, complexity, and duration

7 7 Image Discussion Work associated with HRL operations may put a high degree of strain on resident directors and other housing professionals. Housing leaders could address these conditions by redesigning jobs and work processes to optimize factors that may reduce job burnout: Clarity, Consistency, Responsibility, Task Volume, and Task Duration. Housing leaders can also address this problem by recruiting and selecting staff who are better prepared to handle the unique demands of HRL operations. Source: Christopher & Bleiberg (2006)

8 Image Discussion 8 Retention Implications - Promotional Opportunities Without promotion opportunities, career advancement is difficult to achieve and, logically, dissatisfaction is a likely result (Markham, Harlan, & Hackett, 1987). Housing leaders likely have less influence over actual promotion opportunities since organizational structure and budgeting may be outside their control. However, housing leaders may be able to enhance the perceptions that promotions are attainable by ensuring that promotions are determined by clear and consistent policies, fair evaluation criteria manageable selection procedures. Source: Christopher & Bleiberg (2006)

9 % of Respondents Appeal of Benefits for Entry Level Staff 9 100% 90% Supervision and Mentorship Study 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Taken from the Supervision and Mentorship Survey - contained over 381 participants in ACUHO-I membership of entry level professionals. (Belch, Ellett & Bleiberg, 2007)

10 What literature says about Best Practices 10 Key strategies in retention: Policies Domestic Partners Respective Living Space Collateral Assignments 12 Month Contract Length and/or accommodating flexibility Professional development support Pets Process Involvement in decisions Attention to the individual Broad approach to professional development Source: Belch, Dunkel & Wilson (2006)

11 Best Practices 11 Key strategies in retention: Perks: Personalizing campus residence (i.e. external entrance) Washer/dryer Non-institutional furniture; (i.e. wooden kitchen cabinets) Meal plan Plan for addressing amenities in living space Access to degree programs Amenities within department s scope and abilities Source: Belch, Dunkel & Wilson (2006)

12 Best Practices 12 Key strategies in retention: Personalities: Strong leadership and supervisors who care and have vision Leadership that shows a willingness to change Professional development encouraged through words, actions, and resources Staff ownership Staff exhibit genuine enthusiasm for work Acknowledging the importance of fit between individual and dept/institution Source: Belch, Dunkel & Wilson (2006)

13 Study Background 13 ACUHO-I supported research project Intent was to measure the experience of entrylevel professionals employed in housing and residence life Follow-up study from 6 ACUHO-I Commissioned Research Studies on Workforce Development

14 Research Methods 14 Partially designed with 24-item on-line survey and 16 survey question Maslach Burnout Inventory (General Version). MBI is leading measure of burnout inventory in field of Psychology. Pilot tested self designed portion of instrument Stratified random sample by ACUHO-I region 3 institutions/size of institution category/region 327 sample with 174 respondents 54% response rate All ACUHO-I (U.S. only) regions represented Quantitative analysis included descriptive statistics; Chi- Square tests of significance; correlations & ANOVAs

15 Survey Respondent Profile 15 29% of respondents at 10,000 students enrolled or more

16 Survey Respondent Profile 16 Demographics

17 Survey Respondent Profile 17 Demographics

18 18 Survey Respondent Profile

19 Survey Respondent Profile 19 Co-Curricular Experience 77% served as an RA 70.7% indicated they have been a student employee 44.8 % participated in RHC/RHA 24.1 % served as an Orientation Leader

20 Roles Performed/Stress Created 20 Roles of Entry Level Staff % of staff with those roles Crisis Responder 97.7% 47.9% Committee Work 97.7% 37.1% Counselor 97.1% 39.5% Supervising Staff 92.5% 40.7% Conduct Officer 90.2% 46.7% Program Planning 83.8% 15% Budget Preparation 79.8% 21.6% Advising Hall Council 75.7% 31.7% Room Assignments 53.2% 21% Stress created by role

21 21 Data on Scope of position

22 22 Data on Scope of position

23 Being on Duty 23 (At least weekly total: 38.4%) (At least monthly: 77.7%)

24 Being on Duty 24 Level of Satisfaction with After Hours On-Call (Nights/Weekends) Very Unsatisfied 9% Very Satisfied 5% Not Satisfied 32% Satisfied 54%

25 Living in & Stress 25 Do you reside in the hall you work? Yes: 94.2% No: 5.8% Do you think living in contributes to increased stress? Yes: 61.7% No: 27.8% Not Sure: 10.5%

26 26 Living in & Stress

27 27 Supervisor & Professional Development

28 28 Supervisor & Professional Development

29 29 Future Plans 5 years from now

30 Maslach Burnout Inventory Results 30 Exhaustion High: 73 (42%) Medium: 69 (40%) Low: 31 (18%) High: 63 (37%) Medium: 55 (32%) Low: 53 (31%) Cynicism Job Efficacy High: 83 (49%) Medium: 59 (35%) Low: 28 (16%)

31 Findings: Does size matter? 31 Size / Numbers relation to burnout Three factors were statistically significant: As the size of residence hall population increases, the MBI ratings for higher levels of exhaustion and cynicism were significant As the size of the residence hall population increased so did the intention to leave the field of residence life and housing Those who had less than 10 staff to supervise had a significant lower rating on the MBI scale for exhaustion (.010) There was no statistical significant difference with University/College enrollment size and MBI scales

32 Findings: What makes one stay? 32 What factors contribute to staying? If you were an RA before staff intention states they are more likely to stay in the field 5 years from now, significant at the.019 level. As the number of years increase for people in the field, the more likely staff intention to stay in residence life and housing 5 years from now (.02) Men have a higher rate of intention to stay in the field of housing and residence life than women

33 Findings: Role of Advising 33 Staff members are more likely to have increased level of exhaustion if they advise hall council (Those who advise Hall Council have higher level of Exhaustion on MBI Scale. Also, correlation with variables significant at the.040) Staff members are more likely to be satisfied with their work after hours work if they advise hall council (Significant at.04 n=174)

34 Other Findings 34 Staff who have higher cynicism and lower job efficacy from the MBI scale have lower level of clear expectations from their supervisor Being on duty strongly correlates with career intention for staying in housing and residence life (but not at a statistically significant level) Staff members who work in more than one office (outside of housing and residence life), have a higher level of satisfaction with their position than those who do not

35 Findings we expected to find, but were 35 not proven Differences in burnout among staff in buildings with only first-year students Difference in burnout in small vs. large institutions 3 year myth -- the longer one stays in residence life the more burned out they would be Expected less satisfaction with professional development opportunities

36 Further study suggestions 36 Apply the Maslach Burnout Inventory to the field of student affairs at large A qualitative study on what live in staff -- at all levels -- do to find a work/life balance Administer the same study at a different time of year (other than November) What else should we be interested in knowing.

37 Moving Forward 37 Consider ways to reduce stress where possible Compensation time or group outings away from campus Evaluate your duty process Staff to student ratio Can your larger buildings have more staffing support? RAs are excellent candidates Encourage responsibilities with other student affairs offices More training/support with crisis response

38 Thank you for attending 38 Questions/Comments Contact Information: Tom Ellett: Chris Stipeck: