Experiences of Teachers Engaging in Multiple Ancillary Services in the Higher Education Institutions

Faculty members in higher education increasingly perform multiple ancillary services alongside their instructional responsibilities. Although these additional roles contribute to institutional effectiveness and professional development, they may also intensify workload and create challenges for early-career teachers. This study explored the lived experiences of early-career teachers engaged in multiple ancillary services in private higher education institutions in General Santos City. A qualitative phenomenological design was employed to examine participants' experiences. Ten early-career faculty members with fewer than three years of teaching experience were purposively selected. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step phenomenological method, with member checking conducted to enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of the findings. Three overarching dimensions emerged from the analysis. Participants viewed ancillary services as valuable opportunities for enhancing teaching competence, leadership, and institutional contribution while identifying operational improvements and the importance of competent support personnel. Their emotional experiences reflected both appreciation and frustration, characterized by feelings of support, empowerment, role strain, and optimism for organizational improvement. Participants also gained important professional insights, emphasizing effective time management, leadership development, collaboration, appreciation of ancillary services, and collegial relationships as essential for successfully managing multiple responsibilities. Early-career teachers perceive ancillary services as integral to professional growth despite the accompanying workload challenges. Institutional support, equitable workload allocation, responsive administrative systems, mentoring, and recognition of service contributions are critical to sustaining faculty well-being and effectiveness. These findings contribute to the understanding of faculty role complexity in higher education and provide evidence to guide institutional policies and professional development initiatives aimed at improving organizational sustainability and the experiences of early-career academics.