Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Improving Praxis in Residence Life to Foster Staff Well-Being

Promoting staff well-being has been a challenge for many residence life departments long before the COVID-19 pandemic led to a decrease in the mental well-being of the general population as well as in residence life staff. The stressful work environment and demanding work hours in residence life have been linked to burnout and intentions to leave the field. This qualitative study explored the experiences of residence life staff during the pandemic, which, with its heightened stressors, provided a rich backdrop for studying ways to improve praxis in residence life by reducing stress and work demands and improving staff well-being. Based on interviews with 17 residence life staff, we found that the pandemic exacerbated challenges related to transparent communication and decision-making and affected professionals' ability to balance work and personal life, challenges that had existed in departments prior to the pandemic. Participants responded to these challenges by prioritizing their well-being, re-evaluating their careers, and leveraging technology to improve residence life praxis. We discuss implications for altering practice after the pandemic to increase staff well-being by facilitating start-stop-continue activities to address issues with workload and connecting staff to mental health services. [Discussion questions prepared by Asiyya Ashraf and Tremaine Love.]