2026 Theses Doctoral

How Lifestyle Behaviors are Associated with Occupational Well-Being in University Workers

Heyman, Nina Brojan

Burnout is a psychological syndrome that occurs in response to chronic interpersonal stressors experienced on the job that have not been successfully managed (Maslach et al., 2001). Educators are among the most burned-out groups in the U.S. workforce, with approximately 35% of college and university workers reporting that they feel burned out often or always (Gallup, 2022). Despite the clear and urgent nature of this problem, a critical knowledge gap persists in the development of targeted, evidence-based, and actionable interventions. To effectively design impactful physical activity interventions, universities must prioritize gaining a deeper understanding of the specific lifestyle behaviors prevalent within faculty and staff.

This dissertation provides a foundational understanding of how physical activity impacts psychological and physiological well-being in relation to the workplace and evaluates the associations between physical activity, lifestyle behaviors, coping behaviors, and markers of overall health in university workers.Chapter 1 introduces the problem of burnout among university workers, provides an overview of its prevalence and drivers within this working population, and it establishes the significance of this research, while also stating the specific aims and hypotheses of this dissertation. Chapter 2 provides a narrative review of the literature that explores the role of physical activity in mitigating burnout in the workplace. Within the review, studies highlighted that physical activity is a powerful and accessible tool for mitigation for burnout. Incorporating regular exercise, whether it’s aerobic, resistance, or combined, has been shown to reduce core components of burnout. Most notably, these modes of exercise have been shown to alleviate emotional exhaustion and depersonalization while simultaneously increasing personal accomplishment.

The first study (Chapter 3) evaluated the relationships between physical activity behaviors, health-related quality of life, fatigue, decisional balance, and self-efficacy among university workers through a cross-sectional study design. Higher levels of physical activity were significantly correlated with higher levels self-efficacy, lower levels of fatigue, reduced workday sitting and activity tracker use, and positive decisional balance for exercise. Fatigue was negatively associated with all dimensions of quality of life, physical activity participation, lower levels of self-efficacy, and increased perceived barriers to participate in exercise. Self-efficacy & decisional balance significantly correlated with leisure-time physical activity levels in university workers. Not only do these results highlight the bidirectional relationship between physical activity and fatigue, where fatigue acts as a barrier to exercise and a direct consequence of physical inactivity, but they underscore the roles of behavioral patterns and psychosocial processes that inform health outcomes.

The second study (Chapter 4) was a secondary data comparative analysis of multidimensional distress and well-being, as measured by the Mayo Clinic Well-Being Index, between university workers who intentionally utilize exercise as a coping strategy and those who do not. Utilizing exercise as a coping strategy was associated with a high rate of reporting feeling burned out from work, greater distress, and increased risk for adverse health outcomes (e.g., fatigue, burnout, poor quality of life). Additionally, the data confirmed indicated that role moderated the relationship between exercise coping and WBI scores. While exercise coping was not a significant correlate of distress scores for staff, the results confirmed that it was significant for staff, indicating that faculty who used exercise as a coping strategy had higher levels of distress compared to those who did not. These findings emphasize the potential of exercise to serve as a maladaptive coping strategy in university workers and highlight the need for a tailored approach to supporting emotional and mental health and well-being in university settings.

In conclusion, these findings deepen our understanding of the relationships between physical activity behaviors in university workers and how those behaviors connect with fatigue, psychosocial constructs, coping with work stress, and overall well-being. Not only do the findings in this dissertation provide key considerations for workplace well-being support strategies for university workers, but the outcomes and observed patterns offer direction for future research. Specifically, understanding the complexities of exercise as a coping strategy and exploring how the interconnection of physical activity behaviors, psychological constructs, and fatigue can be drivers in developing meaningful workplace well-being interventions tailored for university workers.