The Implications of the Midyear Departure of Residence Directors in Housing and Residential Life

Abstract

High attrition rates among entry-level student affairs professionals have been documented for decades, yet little research has examined the implications of midyear departures within housing and residential life. Residence directors serve as live-in professionals responsible for crisis response, student conduct, staff supervision, and community development. When a midyear departure occurs, the disruption extends beyond the vacancy and affects supervisors, colleagues, and residential communities. The problem addressed in this study was the organizational and supervisory impact of midyear residence director departures. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to examine the factors contributing to midyear departures and to explore how those departures affected supervisors’ workload, stress, and burnout. This study was grounded in an interpretive model and informed by the job-demands resources framework. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, open-ended questionnaires, field notes, and document review. The sample included nine supervisors employed at 4-year public institutions in the southwest region of the United States who had experienced the midyear departure of a residence director within the previous 2 years. Interviews were conducted virtually, recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns across participant narratives. Findings indicated that midyear departures were driven by excessive workload, limited control, inadequate supervisory support, value misalignment, and sustained postpandemic work intensity. Supervisors reported increases in residual workload, emotional exhaustion, role overload, diminished morale, and prolonged vacancy strain. In several cases, supervisors described symptoms consistent with burnout and decreased organizational commitment. The study concluded that midyear departures produced significant ripple effects, intensifying job demands while diminishing available resources for supervisors. Sustainable retention efforts v require institutional recalibration of workload expectations, strengthened supervisory preparation, equitable resource distribution, and systemic approaches to employee well-being that extend beyond individual self-care strategies