NJCDA: Assessing Personality Traits, Life Balance Domains, and Work Addiction Among Entrepreneurs

New Jersey Career Development Association (NJCDA)

Assessing Personality Traits, Life Balance Domains, and Work Addiction Among Entrepreneurs

Thursday, November 16, 2023 | 12:00PM - 1:00PM

Entrepreneurship is often understood as creating a new venture or, in a broader sense, a choice individuals make for self-employment on their account and risk. While entrepreneurs are often passionate about their work and find their jobs enriching and fulfilling, entrepreneurs also indicate that their job is highly demanding and associated with severe work-related stressors. Consequently, becoming an entrepreneur has been described as “one of the most stressful occupational choices”. Entrepreneurs are more likely to experience work addiction due to their strong identity connection with their ventures and difficulty separating their work lives from their personal lives. Given that entrepreneurs are more likely to experience work addiction and lack of life balance, understanding personality traits and life balance domains associated with work addiction among entrepreneurs may be pertinent to enhancing career development for entrepreneurs when engaged in career counseling. The purpose of this study is to identify the association of life balance, as measured by 10 domains on the Life Balance Inventory (LBI); personality, as measured by the Big Five Inventory (BFI); and work addiction, as measured by the Work Addiction Questionnaire (WAQ) among entrepreneurs. The knowledge gained will help career and mental health counselors provide counseling services to help entrepreneurs obtain life balance.

Presentation Agenda/Outline: This presentation will help the audience:

1. Understand the association between personality traits, life balance domains, and work addiction among entrepreneurs

2. Discuss techniques that career counselors can use to help entrepreneurs obtain life balance.

3. Equip career counselors with innovative strategies to enhance the career development of entrepreneurs when engaged in career counseling.

Presenters' Bio:

Dr. Sumedha Therthani is an Assistant Professor at Monmouth University. Her prior academic positions include serving as an Assistant Professor at The State University of New York at New Paltz and Mississippi State University. Dr. Therthani completed her Masters-in-Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Clinical Psychology from India and received her doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Mississippi. During her Ph.D., she was recognized with an outstanding researcher award.

Her research interests encompass a broad range of topics within the field of counseling and mental health, such as work addiction, substance use, tele-mental health, multicultural issues in counseling and supervision, and professional identity in Counselor Education. She has experience presenting at various national and regional conferences. As an Assistant Professor, Dr. Therthani is dedicated to educating the next generation of counselors and contributing to the advancement of knowledge in her field.

Outside of her academic commitments, Dr. Sumedha Therthani embraces a diverse range of interests. She finds delight in exploring new destinations through travel, enjoys cooking, and maintains an active lifestyle through exercise. These passions complement her academic pursuits, highlighting her dedication to both personal growth and professional achievement.

Dr. Melissa Spencer is an Assistant Professor at Merrimack College. She completed her Masters from Jackson State University and her Ph.D in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Mississippi. Her research interests include racial trauma and mental health stigma surrounding African Americans and African American college students. She is interested in the way the medical professions' historical mistreatment of African Americans influences the consumption of mental health services. Other interests include food insecurity in collegiate athletes, research to practitioner gap, community outreach of mental health services, and cyberbullying. Melissa’s expertise is in Play Therapy, Inpatient & Outpatient Mental Health Treatment, Substance Use, Serious Mental Illness, Emergency Mental Health/Crisis Counseling, and Applied Behavior Analysis with individuals on the Autism Spectrum.

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