Comparison of the Finding with the Framework
Spillover Theory
This study sought to explore the factors contributing to female certified athletic trainers'
attrition and retention rates in the NCAA DII collegiate setting. Many theories could have been
applied to help explain this phenomenon. For this study, spillover theory was chosen to bring
meaning to the female certified athletic trainers' experiences. Kumar and Janakiram (2017)
defined spillover theory as a carryover of feelings, emotions, attitudes, skills, and behaviors that
are an established part of their work into their family life, and vice versa. Spillover further
explains how the positive and negative experiences are transferred between the work and home
domain (Sok et al., 2014).
Athletic training in the collegiate setting tends to be suited toward employees without
children. From the researcher's experience, the expectation is to be available to the student-
athletes, coaches, and administrators at all times. The researcher further perceived that taking
time away from work to tend to family or social needs was viewed as unfavorable. As referenced
in chapter one, Fuegen et al. (2004), Sayer (2005), Kamphoff (2010), and Inglis et al. (2000)
discussed the societal guilt pressure placed on working women. With nearly all certified athletic
training, mothers reported difficulty in balancing personal and work lives (Mazerolle & Eason,
2016a). Employment opportunities for women have grown in athletic training. However, despite
this trend, few women are employed as head certified athletic trainers. A large number choose to
leave the profession by 30 years primarily because of a desire to start a family (Kahanov &
Eberman, 2011).
Conversely, Mazerole & Pitney (2012) reported that certified athletic trainers working in
the clinical setting believed that clinical work was better suited to work-life balance. This
perception is supported by Kahanov and Eberman (2011), with 45% of women in the collegiate
ranks planning to leave for a career setting more suited to family life. This study examines the
barriers to female retention in athletic training and what aspects most significantly affect
women's abilities in the NCAA DII collegiate setting to achieve work-life balance and slow
women's attrition rate from the collegiate setting.
Pradhan (2016) defined spillover theory as the impact the domains have upon each other
regardless of the established boundaries. For study participants, the creation of boundaries
seemed to come with experience/longevity in the profession, support from prior mentors and
current staff, and a relationship with the administration that allows them to make these decisions.
Participants all described numerous instances where work carried into home life. This left them
feeling resentful that work was taking away from their family time. To keep women in the
collegiate setting, something will have to give with expectations, support, and autonomy. The
following sections will discuss spillover theory as it relates to each theme of this study.
Spillover Theory and Role Overload/Role Conflict
The findings of this study as it pertained to role overload/role conflict are consistent with
the negative aspect of spillover theory and increased desires for attrition from the profession of a
certified athletic trainer (Mazerolle et al., 2015c; Bruening & Dixon, 2008; Eason et al., 2017;
Naugle et al., 2013; Kahanov & Eberman, 2011). The participants indicated numerous areas
where role overload/role conflict crosses over more often into their family and personal life.
Some of the participants believed that the coaches and administrators understood the role of the
certified athletic trainer. In contrast, others alleged that these two groups did not understand the
different roles to the degree that they should. The perception coaches and administrators have of
the certified athletic trainer's professional role can significantly impact the certified athletic
trainer's daily life.
Almost all of the female certified athletic trainers indicated that one of the most
significant challenges to maintaining work-life balance is the lack of control over their schedule.
The coaching staff determined their daily schedule. They were expected to conform to the
schedules and constant changes in that schedule with minimal consideration given to the effect
it had on individuals outside of the immediate coaching bubble. This made it difficult for the
participants to schedule personal appointments and plan and attend family activities. This lack
of autonomy had a considerable negative effect on the women in this study.
The female certified athletic trainers also discussed how insufficient staffing and
expanding workload left them feeling exhausted and burnt out. Many indicated that there never
were enough hours in the day to complete all of the required tasks of their position. They
routinely brought work home in an attempt to be present with their family. Furthermore,
student-athletes, coaches, and administrators also all had the personal phone numbers of the
certified athletic trainer, making them accessible to these individuals at all day and night hours.
In listening to these women describe this experience of attending to work duties while trying to
be present at home, the researcher questions whether this time could be considered family
time. Being in the presence of your family does not equate to spending time with them,
connecting with them, and being present in the moment.
In all, the effects of role overload/role conflict and its impact on work-life balance for
the female certified athletic trainers were quite adverse. Most of the participants felt as though
their mental health had suffered because of their job expectations. They indicated higher levels
of stress and anxiety and noted that these feelings had increased each year. The expectations of
their profession also took a physical toll on their body. Several participants shared instances
where they were injured on the job or were stricken with life-threatening health conditions,
ignoring the signs for medical attention because they felt they needed to be at work.
Spillover Theory and Support Networks
Strong support networks have been shown in the literature as one of the essential factors
in the retention of female certified athletic trainers (Mazerolle et al., 2015c; Goodman et al.,
2010; Eason et al., 2017). Spillover theory explains how the relationships between supervisors
and coworkers' as important facilitators of work-life balance for female certified athletic trainers.
The participants described the positive and negative impact that their athletic administration and
coaches have on maintaining balance in their career and family life.
Having solid support networks both at work and at home can reflect a positive association
between work to home and home to work. The female certified athletic trainers overall indicated
strong support networks within their athletic departments and at home. The majority felt
supported as parents by their athletic directors and the coaches with whom they work. Support
from their head certified athletic trainer and certified athletic training colleagues were the
most important in establishing work-life balance.
The policies and practices established in the athletic training department by the head
certified athletic trainer were noted as the primary factor for the decision to continue in the role
of a certified athletic trainer at the collegiate level. The participants in the head certified athletic
trainer's role shared that the experiences they had under the head certified athletic trainers when
they were younger in their profession were crucial to their longevity and the reasoning behind
the policies and practices they have established in their departments. A few participants felt that
their head certified athletic trainers did not have policies and practices supporting work-life
balance and family needs. There were concern and hesitation to start a family for these women if
they stayed in the position and at their current institution. They were not confident that they
would be given the same flexibility afforded to other women at different institutions.
Spillover Theory and Women as Caretakers and the Guilt Factor
Spillover theory describes the challenges that female certified athletic trainers
experience while balancing a collegiate athletics and parenthood career. Naugle et al. (2013)
reported that female certified athletic trainers stated that work hour expectations, travel
requirements, and inflexible schedules create the largest source of conflict in finding work-life
balance. Further, Mazerolle and Eason (2016c) found that women tend to emphasize the
caretaker role, with societal norms making it difficult for them to manage both work and family
responsibilities. Participants shared their philosophy of the role of women as caregivers. They
revealed their perception that women tend to carry more guilt when not attending to family
needs. However, the same guilt was felt by our participants when they took time away from
work to spend with family. They described feeling they placed a tremendous burden on other
staff members that were also overworked. They worried that they had placed an unfair request
on top of their workload, which led to an increased feeling of guilt and worries, resulting in
them not being fully present with their families.
They also believed that women have a natural predisposition to the caregiver role than
men. This phenomenon has also been noted in prior research (Bruening & Dixon, 2008;
Kahanov & Eberman, 2011; Mazerolle & Eason, 2016c; Mazerolle et al., 2015c). This area is
most affected by the overflow of work to family life and vice versa. Most female certified
athletic trainers indicated that they bore a great sense of guilt and regret over missed family
time because of work responsibilities. All but one participant that had children indicated that
they were primarily responsible for childcare in their household.
In this study, the female certified athletic trainers, regardless of family status, all
recounted numerous instances where they missed family events due to work responsibilities.
These moments left them with feelings of great sadness, regret, and anger because their jobs took
them away from the most important people. At times, for two participants, work provided a
much-needed reprieve from their marriage and family stresses.
The participants who had children all discussed having robust support systems at home
from spouses, family, and friends. These support systems made it possible for their children to
be involved in activities and manage childcare duties' constant shuffle. However, despite robust
support systems, these participants were saddened that they missed so much time with their
children. Some of the participants moved heaven and earth to ensure that neither their jobs nor
their family suffered because of the other's needs. But this came with a price tag regarding their
physical health.
Spillover Theory and Culture of Athletics
Spillover theory describes the impact that athletics' culture has on female certified athletic
trainers' work-life balance. As established in the prior section, women are predisposed to
caretaking and struggle to balance work and family (Mazerolle & Eason, 2016c). Pressure to win
and the general competitive nature of sport erode work-life balance for female certified athletic
trainers (Goodman et al., 2010). Mazerolle et al. (2016c) further stated that athletics' culture
creates a natural competition between work and life.
Most of the participants in this study felt that athletics' culture does not support working
mothers, women, and families. The primary factors noted included long workdays (12 or more
hours daily), schedule changes with little or no communication, and the expectation of
availability to student-athletes and coaches at any time it is needed. Most of the participants
stated that the occurrences mentioned above happened daily, with coaches and administrators
assuming that the certified athletic trainers could easily accommodate these requests. Personally,
there have been times when the inability to accommodate last-minute changes was addressed
with the head coach. The response is typically one of disgust and a "how dare you" attitude
toward not complying with their wishes. This creates a negative spillover into family life, where
work is expected to take precedence over others' caregiving needs in support of the team.
While the participants noted a negative attitude toward support toward working mothers,
many also stated that they were aware of what they were signing up for when they entered the
profession. While this may be a valid statement, the number of women choosing to leave the
collegiate, professional-level indicates that this expectation of workload is becoming less
acceptable among young professionals. If colleges and universities want to maintain longevity
within their athletic training departments, it appears that some changes will be needed to
keep women in the profession.
Spillover Theory and Gender Equity
Spillover theory relates to gender equity in a similar manner as it does to the culture of
athletics. In Fuegen et al. (2004), the ideal worker works 40 or more hours per week for 40 or
more years and does not take time off to raise children. Similar to the culture of athletics section
before, many of the participants indicated there were issues of gender equity within their athletic
department. While Title IX has allowed for more opportunities for women, it does not mandate
equal work environments (Mazerolle et al., 2012). The subthemes were salary equity, trust in
ability, double standards, and equitable treatment. Despite their perception of gender inequity,
many women felt this, unfortunately, came part and parcel with working within athletics.
Almost all of the participants indicated they are not financially compensated for their
work and education level compared to males in the department. This overflows into their home
life, affecting their financial ability to support themselves, let alone a spouse and children. One
participant noted that the hours the certified athletic trainers keep are often outside of the
traditional hours that daycares are open. This often creates an additional financial burden paying
for babysitters and nannies outside of the traditional working hours.
Many female certified athletic trainers indicated that they routinely have their medical
opinion questioned or contradicted by their male coaches and administrators. They also believed
in a double standard in expectations, including women being treated equitably compared to the
department's coaches and administrators. In the researcher's experience, having to tackle this
daily becomes exhausting and frustrating. For many of the participants, they shared that they
carry home their frustration, anxiety, depression, and at times anger. This can affect their home
life, marriage, and interactions with their children. In the researcher's experience, bringing
negative work emotions home leads to spousal tension, a short temper with children and can
easily lead to resentment in caring for children and household tasks. This creates a negative
spread into family life.
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