Perceiving Balance: Exploring Work-Life Balance in School Administrators through Resource Drain Theory

This study aimed to identify the relationship among variables, as identified from the literature (stress, emotional exhaustion as a symptom of burnout, job satisfaction, and practices of self-care) that correlate with perceived work-life balance in public school building-level administrators in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Additionally, this research aimed to predict perceived work-life balance by employing multiple regression analysis to assess the impact of the aforementioned predictor variables. The population for this study was all building-level school administrators from Intermediate Units (IU) 22, 23, 24, and 25 whose superintendents granted permission for their school administrators' participation. The AWLBP survey consisted of three demographic questions, twenty-one stress questions from the ASI, nine emotional exhaustion questions from the MBI, four job satisfaction questions from the JSS, twenty-one self-care questions from the NAMI, and five work-life balance questions from Valcour (2007). Ninety-four surveys were included in the final data set, meeting the required 90-participant response rate. Data was analyzed using Pearson's Correlation, Multiple Regression, Independent-Samples T-Tests, and One-Way ANOVA. The first tested hypotheses found significant relationships between all eight compound variables: administrative constraints, role expectation, interpersonal conflict, emotional exhaustion, nature of work, psychological self-care, workplace self-care, and work-life balance. A regression equation exists for the two compound variables, whereas work-life balance is predicted by levels of workplace self-care and administrative constraints. The independent variables, administrative constraints, emotional exhaustion, role expectation, interpersonal conflict, nature of work, workplace, and psychological self-care, accounted for 64% of the variance in the dependent variable, work-life balance. The t-tests showed significant gender differences in work-life balance, administrative constraints, and emotional exhaustion. Female respondents reported lower levels of work-life balance, higher levels of stress related to administrative constraints, and higher levels of emotional exhaustion. Lastly, there were no statistically significant differences among the building levels regarding their work-life balance. The findings from this study indicated avenues of future study connected to work-life balance, administrative constraints, and workplace self-care. Furthermore, it is essential to conduct further analysis to identify the challenges and unique considerations that school districts must address concerning female administrators. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]