Date of Award
5-1-2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Workforce Education and Development
First Advisor
Hunter-Johnson, Yvonne
Abstract
Recent literature regarding occupational stress in higher education has predominantly focused on students or student-facing activities such as teaching and advising, overlooking stress in research creation, research production, and research administration. Guided by the Job Demands-Resources model and Organizational Support theory, this dissertation used a mixed methods approach to address this gap through an examination of stressors and stress moderators among U.S. tenure-track faculty, tenured faculty, and university research administrators. Results from this dissertation study showed that members of the academic research workforce encounter a variety of occupational stressors that impact their job performance and overall well-being. Quantitative results revealed a link between perceived occupational support and perceived organizational support and that perceived stress was highest among early career faculty members. Qualitative results identified operational intensity, organizational complexity, negative workplace climates (such as bullying, racism, and sexism), and interpersonal factors as job demand stressors. Identified job resources that moderated stress included institutional support, social resources, talent management, and well-being resources. These findings suggest that institutions can enhance employee well-being and research creation, production, and administration through implementation of support systems that facilitate positive work climates.
Access
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