The Role of Work-Study Boundary Congruence in the Study and Life Outcomes of Working Student

Abstract

Boundary congruence, which is defined as the match between the person’s role management preferences and the constraints of the environment, is associated with work-study conflict, work-study facilitation (Butler, 2007), well-being (LeComte-Hinely, 2013; Li, Wang, You, & Gao, 2015), and academic performance (Butler, 2007). Boundary congruence is a role management process (Kreiner, Hollensbe, & Sheep, 2009), which is especially important for university students who are working while studying (Butler, 2007); that is, have multiple roles to manage and balance in their lives (Lingard, 2012). As there was no measure of work-study boundary congruence suitable for use with university students, and there was little consensus over the conceptualisation and operationalisation of the work-study boundary congruence construct, the main aims of this research program were to (a) develop and validate a psychometrically sound measure of work-study boundary congruence for university students who work, and (b) apply the scale to assess mediation and moderation models of work-study boundary congruence. This research was guided by boundary management, person-environment fit (Kreiner, Hollensbe, & Sheep, 2009), and conservation of resources theories (Hobfoll, 1988; Hobfoll, Freedy, Lane, & Geller, 1990), so as to increase our understanding of how students manage the dual, competing roles of work and study. This PhD thesis reports a series of three studies presented as three journal articles, which meet these objectives: Study 1 addresses the first aim; with Studies 2 and 3 fulfilling the second aim. Study 1 involved conducting focus groups, generating and reviewing items, and piloting and testing a Work-Study Congruence Scale suitable for use with working students. A 16-item scale, with four key dimensions of work-study boundary congruence with university demands/resources, occupation, family, and leisure was devised. Data from a large sample of Australian university students (N = 511; 70% female; Mage = 24.02 years) were collected and analysed for item suitability and factorial structure (exploratory and confirmatory analyses). Scale reliability and validity were assessed. Study 2 used the newly developed scale to examine potential mechanisms (i.e., work-study facilitation and work-study conflict) underpinning the associations between work-study boundary congruence and the general well-being and engagement of university students. This study employed a sample of Australian university students (N = 251; 70% female; Mage = 24.68 years). The results showed that work-study boundary congruence was related to more work-study facilitation and less work-study conflict. Conflict was associated with less well-being, while facilitation was associated more with well-being and greater university engagement. Work-study boundary congruence was associated positively with well-being via both work-study facilitation and work-study conflict. Study 3 used a sample of Australian university students (N = 401; 67% female; Mage = 21.71 years) and investigated the mediating effect of work-study boundary congruence on the associations between contextual supports (of family and work) and well-being, effort at university, and perceived future employability. The study also assessed the moderating role of proactive personality in these associations. The results showed that contextual supports were associated with well-being, academic performance, and perceived employability via work-study boundary congruence, and that lower levels of proactivity strengthened the associations between both contextual supports and work-study boundary congruence, which, in turn, strengthened the indirect links between the contextual supports and outcomes via work-study boundary congruence. The development and validation of a new work-study boundary congruence scale suitable for use with university students, which is theory-driven, will contribute to the boundary management research and literature. University students, and those who work to assist them, will benefit from understanding the effect of work-study boundary congruence on student well-being, university engagement, academic performance, and perceived employability. In addition, they will also benefit from understanding the roles that contextual supports and personal resources play in boundary management, especially where there are risks of working students experiencing poor well-being and/or discontinuing with their studies at university due to an inability to manage conflicting life roles. Increasing research in this area will also inform training and intervention programs that can help students manage their multiple roles.