Job Enrichment and its Motivational Effect on Student Employees in a College Recreational Services Setting

The ability of recreational sport departments to offer quality programming and services often depends on whether they are able to employ and retain quality student employees. These student employees are critical in the performance of tasks associated with the daily operations connected with recreation programs. This study examined the role of perceived organizational support (POS) on student employee attitudes. It is beneficial for university recreational sport departments, specifically directors, to be cognizant of the role POS can play in the work experience of student employees. The relationships between POS and commitment (affective, AC and normative, NC) and satisfaction were investigated for 152 student employees of a campus recreation center. No significant differences in students' perceptions of POS were found based on gender, tenure, or type of supervision (student staff member, professional staff member, or graduate administrative assistant). However, the regression equations with POS and AC, POS and NC, and POS and satisfaction were all significant, explaining 46.2%, 39%, and 53.3% of the variance, respectively. The results of this study of the relationship between POS and commitment mirror several others from the field of industrial and organizational psychology, and it can be demonstrated that student employees reciprocate favorable treatment when they trust that their department will reward them in return. Future studies should focus on some of the particular antecedents of POS (e.g., supervisory support, participation in decision making, organizational justice, trust, and careerist orientation), as well as other possible outcomes of POS, and might provide more depth in understanding exchange relationships for student employees of recreational sports departments.

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confidence: 99%

Perceived Organizational Support and Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Pack

Jordan

Turner

et al. 2007

“…There is little known about what students learn from working in campus recreation departments. Studies on campus recreation employment looked at aspects of morale (DiMonda & Smith, 1994;Kellison & James, 2011;T. Miller, 1993), position responsibilities (G. L. Miller & Grayson, 2006), job satisfaction (Johnson, Kaiser, & Bell, 2012;Pack, Jordan, Turner, & Haines, 2007), and affinity to the institution (Fresk & Mullendore, 2012).…”

Section: Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Campus Recreation Employment on Student Learning

Hall

2013

This study examined the influence of part-time employment at a campus recreational sports department on full-time college students' learning. The student employees indicated they attributed their experience working in a campus recreational sports department to their perceived gains in critical thinking, integrative learning, appreciation of diverse perspectives, collaboration skills, and communication skills. Students working at a campus recreational sports department were invited to complete an online survey, which was developed for this project. The questionnaire, containing rating scales and open-ended questions, captured the perceptions of change by the student employees regarding their learning. A concurrent triangulation mixed-method design was used to analyze the data. The quantitative data were analyzed using multiple regression for each of the learning outcomes and one-way ANOVA analyses were conducted to identify differences between the positions. The qualitative data were analyzed using open coding to identify themes. The data were triangulated with job recruitment materials. The student employees indicated they attributed their perceived gains in learning to their experience working in a campus recreational sports department. The multiple regression analysis resulted in two significant predictors, which included collaboration skills and communication skills. While the one-way ANOVA analyses was not able to be conducted between the positions held by the students, the results showed students attribute their experience working in a campus recreational sports department to their perceived learning in specific areas. These results demonstrate the need for more in-depth study of each of the learning outcomes to gain more thorough understanding of the impact of students who work in a campus recreation department.

“…In literature that has examined recreation student employees, there have been varying results. The earliest study conducted by Miller (1993) used an experimental design to implement a series of job enrichment workshops for 68 recreation student employees at a small private college who were classified to be generally apathetic to their job responsibilities. The workshops included opportunities for students to give and receive feedback on their work responsibilities.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, Kearney and Tingle report that peer evaluation may be critical to overall work satisfaction in a recreation environment. Miller (1993), as well as Kearney and Tingle (1998), highlighted the importance of providing job enrichment strategies and consistent feedback for overall job satisfaction.…”

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confidence: 99%

An Examination of Variables Related to Student Employment in Campus Recreation Programs

Johnson

Kaiser

Bell³

2012

Previous literature on student employment within campus recreation departments has focused on a variety of work-related factors, but has been limited by examining single institutions. The current study extended this area of research by examining 290 recreation student employees at 11 institutions located throughout the United States to determine how important five work-related variables were to student employment. Results indicated all variables were rated high in importance, but ability to work around class schedules was most important. Results also indicated that females believe pay rate is more important than males, first year employees do not desire supervisory roles as much as students with more work experience, and students who have supervisory responsibilities find these roles more important than students without such roles. These results can be used by recreation administrators to better understand the priorities of their employees, which ultimately could impact quality of work.