The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1 - 42

James C . Stoner

illuminate the choices and decisions leading to
RA departure.
Regardless of why RAs choose to remain
in the position, it is important to address their
emotional exhaustion. RA supervisors should
identify RAs who are emotionally exhausted
and address the problem prior to the next
year of employment. If it remains true that
RAs with higher emotional exhaustion receive
lower performance evaluations from their residents (Nowack et al., 1985; Nowack & Hanson,
1983), then supervisors should begin the developmental conversation of "coaching them out"
since RAs with high emotional exhaustion
(and thus lower job performance) are as likely
to continue their employment as their counterparts with low emotional exhaustion.

Job Satisfaction
RAs with higher levels of job satisfaction reported lower levels of burnout in each associated dimension (emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). This finding aligns with those of studies
conducted in other disciplines, such as nursing
(Laschinger et al., 2009; Leiter, Harvie, & Frizzell, 1998) and education (Cooley & Yovanoff,
1996; Fisher, 2011). Although this finding does
not imply causality, it does suggest that additional research on RA burnout is warranted
for the sake of further understanding RAs' job
satisfaction.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The purpose of this study was not to understand the lived experiences of RAs that lead
to their burnout; therefore, it is important to
follow up with additional qualitative research
to fill this remaining gap. Despite this, it is
still worth briefly revisiting recommendations
42

for addressing burnout from past literature.
Paladino et al. (2005) recommended providing
continuous training for RAs to assist with alleviating burnout. Workshops targeting stress
management among RAs as a way to reduce
burnout has often been suggested (Hardy &
Dodd, 1998; Hetherington et al., 1989; Nowack
& Hanson, 1983), but there is little research
investigating the effectiveness of such workshops as intervention programs. Additionally,
when opportunities that could target burnout
existed, they neglected to target burnout. At
the time of their study, Bowman and Bowman
(1995) found that among departments that
provided an RA-focused academic course to
supplement training only a third of the courses
addressed burnout and job stress. Therefore,
departments with existing content-delivery
structures should incorporate burnout-centric
topical areas into the curriculum, whether
that be required RA courses, in-services, or
traditional trainings. Within those modalities, revisiting the delivery methods of specific
high-intensity, emotionally draining training
topics such as confrontation, sexual assault,
and mental health may also benefit new staff
by managing expectations and setting a positive, supportive tone.
Over-commitment and the need to be constantly available also contribute to burnout
(Freudenberger, 1975). These observations
naturally align with the RA position because
the nature of the job leaves RAs feeling that
they are always working, 24 hours a day, which
leads to burnout (Hetherington et al., 1989),
especially in the depersonalization dimension
(Paladino et al., 2005). Therefore, supervisors
should make it a priority to encourage RAs to
leave campus and spend time away from their

T h e J o u r n a l o f C o l l e g e a n d U n i v e r s i t y St u d e n t H o u s i n g

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1

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