Committee Chair

Walker, Ruth V.

Committee Member

Shelton, Jill A.; O'Leary, Brian J.

Department

Dept. of Psychology

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

Researchers have found LGBTQ+ college students report discrimination based on their sexuality (Kosciw et al., 2022; Tetreault et al., 2013); however, there is little research into how discrimination on campus impacts LGBTQ+ faculty and staff. I addressed this gap through a survey that analyzes differences in LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ faculty and staff on perceived organizational support, burnout, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions. Through conducting a series of Independent Samples t-tests, I found that LGBTQ+ faculty and staff report significantly lower perceived organizational support, higher levels of burnout, lower levels of job satisfaction, lower levels of organizational commitment, and higher levels of turnover intention than non-LGBTQ+ faculty and staff. Through a multiple regression I found that burnout and job satisfaction are significant predictors for turnover intentions in LGBTQ+ faculty and staff, over and beyond job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, and organizational commitment. Implications for organizations will be discussed.

Acknowledgments

I feel completely indebted to my thesis chair, Dr. Ruth Walker. She has been so supportive and helpful throughout my entire time in graduate school. Even with her busy workload, there has never been a moment where I have felt like she has not worked to make time to assist me when I need it. Having you as my advisor has made this process so much better for me. I am also so thankful to my two other committee members, Dr. Jill Shelton and Dr. Brian O’Leary, for providing their expertise and feedback through their own fields of study. This opened my eyes to new perspectives and ways to analyze the data.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

5-2025

Subject

Burn out (Psychology)--United States; College teachers--Job satisfaction--United States; Discrimination in higher education--United States; Gay college teachers--Job stress--United States

Keyword

LGBTQ+ Research; University Faculty and Staff; Burnout; Job Satisfaction; Turnover Intentions

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

ix, 49 leaves

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Date Available

5-31-2026

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Available for download on Sunday, May 31, 2026

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