Rekindling the service provider passion for work: The three ‘r’ approach in dealing with burnout among student affairs personnel in Kenyan universities

Abstract

Burnout is a state of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion resulting in job dissatisfaction, lowered productivity, absenteeism and high turnover at the workplace. Student Affairs Personnel in universities are often required to spend considerable and intense time with students facing psychological, social and physical problems coupled with feelings of frustration, anger, embarrassment, fear, and despair. Such an environment can easily lead to burnout if not checked. The purpose of this study was to establish the burnout mitigation measures applied and recommend suitable approaches that can be adopted by all Kenyan Universities. The study was guided by Maslach’s Multidimensional Theory and Holland’s Theory of Career Choice. The causal – comparative study design was used. The target population was drawn from randomly selected public and private universities in Kenya. This population constituted of personnel working in the student affairs departments who were involved with students on a daily basis to provide guidance and counseling services. Purposive sampling was used to select 179 respondents to form the required sample for the study. A Burnout Questionnaire for Student Affairs Personnel (BQSAP) and Dean’s Interview Schedule (DIS) were the instruments used for data collection. Data was analyzed descriptively by using Percentages, frequencies and means. The responses obtained during interview schedules were presented as excerpts. The findings of the study can be used to help in the creation of burnout awareness, coupled with adoption of relevant counselling models among the affected staff. The assumption is that if one is aware of the burnout level then he/she can adopt relevant interventional measures and/or coping mechanisms.