Invest until the End? Examining Camp Counselor Experiences of Inevitable Exit, Identification, and Support

Abstract

This research examined how camp counselors anticipate and experience inevitable exit from roles centrally characterized as requiring intensive emotional work. This study extended previous inquiry on planned exit from organizations, examining the way known exit shapes socialization, identification, and social support in helping professions. The researchers analyzed counselor membership and exit experiences through three primary themes regarding inevitable exit, identification, and support. This study theoretically contributes to current scholarship on organizational exit and offers practical insight regarding member care in the workplace, specifically demonstrating that members often hyper-invest or completely withdraw as they anticipate inevitable exit from emotionally-intensive roles.

Keywords:

• Emotional Work
• Identification
• Inevitable Exit
• Support
• Totalistic

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).