Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 1 - 11

Working in Residence Life
During a Pandemic: Impact of COVID-19
on Residence Life Staff Members'
Mental Well-Being and Intention to
Continue Working in Residence Life
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has led to drastic changes in the operations of
higher education institutions and their residence life departments. While the
pandemic, in general, has negatively impacted the mental well-being of individuals,
residence life staff have faced unique stressors and challenges due to their job
responsibilities. This exploratory quantitative research study examined residence
life staff's social-psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic and
their intention to continue working in residence life. Data were collected via a
survey sent to ACUHO-I members. The final sample consisted of 107 respondents,
diverse regarding gender, race/ethnicity, position type, and housing arrangement.
Results indicate that residence life staff experienced a significant decrease in
social-psychological well-being from before to during the pandemic, regardless of
demographics, position type, and housing arrangement. Concerns about health
were related to lower social-psychological well-being, while having a supportive
supervisor was associated with higher levels of well-being. Concerns about health
and low social-psychological well-being were associated with intention to leave
residence life, indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected
not only staff's social-psychological well-being but also their retention.
Note: This study is endorsed by the ACUHO-I Research Committee. ACUHO-I is committed to
the creation and dissemination of knowledge about campus housing and the broader issues
that impact the post-secondary experience.
R
ecruiting and retaining residence life
staff has been a concern for the profession
for many years (Davidson, 2012;
Jones, 2001; St. Onge et al., 2008). Research
has explored factors that impact recruiting
and hiring (Belch & Mueller, 2003) as well as
the job satisfaction of residence life staff (Davidson,
2012; Reed, 2015) to understand what
could be done to retain more professionals
in the field. Studies have also highlighted the
Volume 48, No. 1 * 2021
11

Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 1

Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 1 - Intro
Journal of College & University Student Housing Volume 48, No. 1 - Cover1
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