The New Majority: Psychological Flexibility as a Moderator of the Impact of Employment on Academic Performance and Burnout in College Students

Abstract

College is hard and proven harder for students who do not fit traditional-student norms. The new majority of college students are working part-time or more, over the age of 25, and/or supporting a family while balancing requirements to fulfill a degree. Students today who balance multiple roles face unique challenges that can either hinder or contribute to their academic functioning while putting them at risk for the harmful and deteriorating effects of burnout. Although little research exists at the moment, there is evidence that working while enrolled can have some benefits under certain conditions. Working around 15 hours per week or more has been reported as ideal for a thriving bi-directional relationship between work and school. However, working only 15 hours a week is not feasible for some of our new majority students. Other factors that may impact academic functioning are just starting to be explored through research. One of these factors is psychological flexibility, which involves engaging in effective, meaningful action, even when that action fosters contact with painful or unwanted thoughts and feelings. It is supported as a fundamental aspect of psychological health and an important predictor of academic functioning. The current study observes moderating effects of psychological flexibility and valued living in relation to burnout and academic performance. Results strongly suggested that valued living and psychological flexibility may be more important than workload in predicting academic functioning and burnout symptoms. Students in this study displayed better academic performance when they were experiencing meaning in either their school or work domain or reported engaging in general valued based living, even when working 16 hours a week or more. On the other hand, consistent with previous findings, students were found to be more at risk for burnout overall if a heavy workload was reported. Several implications for future directions of how best to assess the needs of our current working student population are discussed.