The role of supervisory support in stress management and prevention of occupational burnout of professionals working in social protection. Case study: Montenegro

Abstract

Supervisory support is recognised as a significant mechanism for identifying factors that contribute to stress and potentially generate conditions that are conducive to occupational burnout of professionals who work in the area of social protection. In Montenegro, the practice of implementation of supervisory support does not have notable continuity; rather, it is a consequence of reforms of the social and child protection system that have taken place over the past ten years. Supervisory support is implemented in social work centres in line with the Western European supervision model. The history of implementation of the supervision process has been marked by a strong emphasis on the administrative function over the supporting and educational functions. Such an approach has resulted in a number of dilemmas, contradictions and different professional views among key actors in the supervision process. This paper examines the implications of having applied such a form of supervisory support system in the field of stress management and prevention of burnout among professionals. Simultaneously, organisational solutions that have emerged as a result of the selected model of supervision are questioned. By indicating systemic deficiencies, we draw attention to the challenges of stress and burnout faced by social work professionals and supervisors. Emphasis on the role of supervision in the reduction of stress and occupational burnout enables profiling the idea of modifying supervisory support in the social protection system of Montenegro. Key words supervision; stress; occupational burnout; supervisor; professionals.