“No One’s Thriving During Football Season”: A Narrative Inquiry on the Biopsychosocial Well-Being of Collegiate Athletic Administrators and Their Partners

Research has hinted at the effects organizational culture may have on sport employees and their families, but this relationship has primarily been explored through the experiences of the employees and has not considered the experiences of their families. Additionally, this relationship has not been directly examined from a biopsychosocial (i.e., biological, psychological, and social well-being) perspective. Thus, the purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore the stories of collegiate sport administrators and their partners to construct their narratives of well-being within the context of sport. Nine dyads—a college athletic administrator and their partner—participated in narrative interviews. Following a two-step narrative analysis, two distinct narrative archetypes were constructed: organized life around sport and organized life around family. This suggests that, in contrast to much previous literature, there are some sport employees who are prioritizing nonwork life over career. The findings also suggest sport influences all domains of health though non-direct changeways, which has implications for the biopsychosocial model of health. Specifically, for both archetypes, work in sport both enhanced and diminished employees’ and their partners’ biopsychosocial health, but participants focused mostly on the everyday impacts on social health. Practical implications for sport organizations include systemic changes to allow for better work-life negotiations.