Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalisation, and Personal Accomplishment— the Case of Burnout Among School Social Workers in Hong Kong

Abstract

This report is based on a study conducted in 2001, of the burnout phenomenon of school social workers in Hong Kong. The major purpose is to describe the pattern of burnout of school social workers in a context of changes introduced by the Hong Kong Government to improve the cost-effectiveness of social welfare services. As conceived, burnout is a multidimensional phenomenon defined by a high level of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation and a low level of personal accomplishment. The responses of 190 school social workers to a self-administered questionnaire distributed through 32 agencies in Hong Kong showed that slightly over half of the respondents were adjusting well in their job, and only a small proportion could be clearly identified as “burnouts”. However, a substantial proportion was found to exhibit a high level of emotional exhaustion or depersonalisation despite a high level of personal accomplishment. The findings suggest that appropriate measures should be undertaken by agencies and schools to prevent school social workers from experiencing burnout. As a developmental phenomenon, any early signs of burnout should be seriously looked into; for it would otherwise counteract the intended effects of any changes designed to enhance service effectiveness.