Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

D.B.A.

Degree Granting Department

Business

Major Professor

Douglas Hughes, Ph.D.

Co-Major Professor

Quintin McGrath, D.B.A.

Committee Member

Matthew Mullarkey, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Joann Quinn, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Paul Spector, Ph.D.

Keywords

emotional exhaustion, mental health, productivity, school-work facilitation, student engagement, survey research

Abstract

This dissertation investigates several of the multifaceted challenges faced by employed graduate students, a growing demographic within U.S. higher education. Against a backdrop of intensifying technological change, evolving labor market dynamics, and increased educational attainment, these individuals encounter pronounced school-work-family conflict (SWFC), resulting in a heightened risk for personal burnout (PB).

Building upon the job demands-resources theory, this research explores whether school-work facilitation (SWF) and student emotional engagement (EE) might attenuate the deleterious relationship between school-work-family conflict (SWFC) and personal burnout (PB), with gender and number of children included as controls.

Data from 489 participants, collected via a single cross-sectional survey administered to working MBA students at 13 U.S. based business schools, was analyzed using moderated regression to test the study’s hypotheses. Key findings reveal that neither SWF nor EE demonstrate significant moderation effects while the significant positive relationship between SWFC and PB is reaffirmed. Gender also demonstrates a statistically significant correlation, whereby women report higher degrees of burnout compared to men.

Findings of this study imply a need for universities and employers to develop targeted interventions addressing the significant impact of school-related conflict on burnout. These implications are presented in concert with the study's limitations, including a design that prevents the interpretation of any causal findings and a reliability weakness when measuring student engagement. Consequently, future research is recommended to validate key instruments, further investigate the nuanced roles of gender and parenthood in the burnout of employed graduate students, and examine potential moderators, such as social support and work autonomy, to identify effective protective resources.

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