UCLA

This qualitative study examined the manifestation of work-related stressors that SAPros of Color who provide direct services and support to Students of Color working at a large, tier-one research institution experience. Additionally, this study explored participants’ self-care behaviors and strategies used to cope and probed for potential institutional systems and supportive practices that either promote or inhibit their ability to care for themselves. Semi-structured interviews with 20 SAPros of Color served to center their voices, allowing for an in-depth exploration of their experiences and perspectives which were transcribed, coded, and analyzed by the researcher. Study findings support and extend extant literature wholly focused on SAPros of Color within this research context. More specifically, this study’s findings highlight the compounding impact of infrastructural dynamics (i.e., understaffing, low SAPro of Color representation, heavy and disproportionate workload burdens, supervisor relationships, limited time) and racialized job-related stress (i.e., subjection to ‘isms, cultural taxation, supporting Students of Color in distress) on study participants’ self-care behaviors and coping practices during the workday, and ultimately their overall well-being. Collectively, these findings are important to reemphasize since workload, SAPro burnout, and attrition from the profession is strongly associated with prior student affairs retention and attrition studies (Mullen et al., 2018; Tull, 2006).