“We signed up for it”: a qualitative examination of job resources in elite sport support staff members

ABSTRACT

Elite sport can be challenging for both athletes and those working closely with them. While some research has focused on the demands experienced by support staff members (SSMs), little attention has been paid to the resources they use to face such demands. Using a qualitative approach, this study investigates the job resources of SSMs in elite sport. Individual semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 SSMs with various roles. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: motivation and accomplishments, emotional control, adaptive coping, social support, maintaining life balance, and organisational structures and hierarchy. These themes highlight the variety of resources SSMs use in response to their experienced environmental demands. This study offers the first comprehensive attempt to examine job resources among a broad range of SSMs. Our findings provide insights into the way elite sports organisations may support the functioning and well-being of their employees.

KEYWORDS:

• Stressors
• job demands
• well-being
• athlete entourage
• JD-R model

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability

Pseudonymized interview transcripts are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Audio files from the semi-structured interviews will not be shared.

Additional information

Funding

This work did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.