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It is the long hours and crisis response responsibilities that drain RDs
the most, negatively impacting how they are able to care for themselves.
Being Seen as People First, Employees Second
All participants felt that having positive relationships with departmental colleagues,
and even across campus, was a salient value that aligns with one of the core values
of the profession (Riker, 1993). Having healthy workplace relationships can help staff
work towards a common purpose and find meaning in their work (Manning, 2017).
Two of the three sites embraced a " family-first " mentality: If staff needed to use time
during the workday, within reason, to run errands or tend to family matters such as
attending a child's play, it was culturally acceptable to do so. There was a collective
mentality among all departmental leaders interviewed that if a staff member needs to
take time during the day, they can make up the work at another point.
Three participants, who indicated that they had a racially minoritized identity, revealed
that their inability to bring their authentic selves into the workplace contributed
to their feelings of burnout. One felt internal dissonance in consistently being asked,
based on their identities, to lead the racial and social justice work in their department.
Negative experiences in the workplace serve as a social determinant of health and can
impact how staff are able to take care of themselves mentally, physically, and socially
(World Health Organization, 2017).
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS
Senior- and mid-level department leaders can demonstrate intentional efforts to foster
a culture of well-being for professional live-in staff through the formation of personal-professional
relationships and positive role modeling behaviors. Additionally,
benefits that can augment the low salaries, such as allowing pets or providing comp
time, can support staff well-being, although a higher salary is also always appreciated.
Resident director staff overall both acknowledged and appreciated the emphasis on
relationship building, the level of support they received from supervisors, and certain
staff policies and benefits, thus supporting existing research that demonstrates the
value of these practices in promoting a culture of well-being (Preston et al., 2021).
However, tension points expressed by participants indicate that there is still opportunity
for departments to reconsider the purpose of their RD positions, particularly by
reviewing the position, revisiting their recruitment practices, and focusing on telling
the story of the role of residence life on their campus.
Position Review
The traditional responsibilities of an RD have remained intact, but they have been expanded
due to changing student characteristics, new policies, and national events in the
past two decades (Nguyen et al., 2018). The role has become so all-encompassing that
it might be time to differentiate responsibilities. While a full-time, live-in staff member
could still be assigned as the primary contact for a specific residential community for
Volume 49, No. 3 * 2023 63
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