Work-Life Balance Issues: A Qualitative Analysis of Counselor Educators

Considering professional trends and expectations in academia, the role of a counselor education faculty member is changing. It is important for researchers to explore how counselor educators manage workplace responsibilities in addition to managing personal/familial obligations. This phenomenological study analyzed the electronic reflections of 27 counselor educators regarding their experience with work-life balance (WLB). For this study, WLB is conceptualized as the management of professional and personal responsibilities simultaneously. How counselor educators define, obtain, and maintain WLB was of particular interest. Participants described their roles as educators, defined WLB, and provided strategies for obtaining and maintaining WLB. The themes and subthemes gleaned from this study are important for higher education, WLB and wellness research studies.