Areas of Worklife and Job Burnout among Sport Industry Professionals: The Case of Athletic Academic Support Professionals

The current study examined factors in the work environment that contribute to job burnout among sport industry professionals. Leiter and Maslach (2000) Areas of Worklife Model was applied to theoretically guide the exploration of job burnout among academic support professionals who serve college student-athletes. Additionally, the extent to which job burnout had an impact on individuals’ turnover intentions was explored. The sample (n = 244) consisted of academic advisors and learning specialists affiliated with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I programs. Results indicate academic support professionals experience depersonalization and high levels of emotional exhaustion related to an incongruence in job-fit in the areas of perceived job control, community, rewards, values, and workload. Additionally, higher levels of emotional exhaustion were found to impact participants’ intentions to leave their current jobs. Practical solutions for addressing job incongruences along with theoretical implications of the results are provided.