Work–Family Conflict: Understanding Workplace Relationships for Collegiate Athletic Trainers

Role congruence has been suggested to be a facilitator for work–life balance for the athletic trainer, but to date, it has only been superficially explored. Conceptually, role congruence is based on relationships and roles within the organization; thus, the purpose of the study was to further investigate professional relationships between coaches and athletic trainers related to work–life balance. To accomplish this, 28 credentialed athletic trainers were interviewed via the Zoom platform. Three identifiable themes were found within the data. The first them role congruence reduces stress for the athletic trainer and was supported by two themes: (a) role congruence facilitates a positive work environment and (b) incongruence facilitates a stressful work environment. The second theme, peak season expectations and job demands limit work–life balance, was defined by (a) hours worked, (b) coaches’ expectations, and (c) sport is demanding, which impacts work–life balance.