Creating Sustainable Careers in Student Affairs: What Ideal Worker Norms Get Wrong and How to Make It Right

This book argues that the current structure of student affairs work is not sustainable, as it depends on the notion that employees are available to work non-stop without any outside responsibilities, that is, the Ideal Worker Norm. The field places inordinate burdens on staff to respond to the needs of students, often at the expense of their own families and well-being. Student affairs professionals can meet the needs of their students without being overworked. The problem, however, is that ideal worker norms pervade higher education and student affairs work, thus providing little incentive for institutions to change. The authors in this book use ideal worker norms in conjunction with other theories to interrogate the impact on student affairs staff across functional areas, institutional types, career stage, and identity groups. The book is divided into three sections; chapters in the first section of the book examine various facets of the structure of work in student affairs, including the impact of institutional type and different functional areas on employees' work-lives. Chapters in the second section examine the personal toll that working in student affairs can take, including emotional labor's impact on well-being. The final section of the book narrows the focus to explore how different identity groups, including mothers, fathers, and people of color, navigate work/life issues. Challenging ideal worker norms, all chapters offer implications for practice for both individuals and institutions.

About the Author :
Margaret W. Sallee is Associate Professor and HigherEducation Program Coordinator in the Department of Educational Leadership andPolicy at the University at Buffalo. Herresearch focuses on two broad areas: faculty work and the graduate studentexperience. She uses a critical lens toexamine the intersection of individual experiences and organizational cultureto interrogate the ways in which gender and other social identities operate oncollege campuses. She has spent much ofthe past decade focusing on work/life balance and the ways in whichinstitutional norms and culture shape parents' experiences on andoff-campus. She also is deeplyinterested in how gender affects individuals' experiences and is particularlyinterested in the role that gender and masculinities play in men's lives. Kristen A. Renn is Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University where she also serves as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies for Student Success Research. Her contributions to scholarly and professional communities of practice in student affairs and higher education include leadership in the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), and the American Education Research Association (AERA).

Review :
"This book could not have come at a better time. For years, we've behaved as if you can't have a successful student affairs operation if your team isn't 24/7, never-saynever, go-down-with-the-ship, . . . and we've watched as promising professionals sadly, and sometimes defiantly, walk away. 2020 has showed us there are, and must be, other paths forward, and Creating Sustainable Careers in Student Affairs will help illuminate the way."--Melissa S. Shivers, Vice President for Student Life "The Ohio State University" "Every once in a while a book is published that changes ourprofession and how we do our work. Creating Sustainable Careers in StudentAffairs is that book! This book is a must-read series of insightful chapters ascontributors unpack the norms associated with the concept of the 'idealworker.' As we think about student affairs work of the future, this book shouldbe required reading for every educator and practitioner." --Tony Cawthon, Alumni Distinguished Professor, and Director, Graduate Studies, Student Affairs & Higher Education "Clemson University" "In Creating Sustainable Careers in Student Affairs, Margaret W. Sallee and colleagues provide a new dimension to the dialogue andresearch literature on invisible labor in the academy. Using the ideal workermodel to frame the institutional cultures and structures that create andperpetuate inequitable work demands, Sallee and colleagues offer evidence ofand recommendations for actions to reduce these inequities. This is a must-readfor all higher education leaders, faculty, and human resource professionals whowork in or support the student affairs profession." --Jaime Lester, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, and Professor, Higher Education Program, College of Humanities and Social Science "George Mason University"