Burnout Of Social Workers Research Articles

The Evaluation of a Mindful Coaching Programme to Reduce Burnout in Social Workers in Hong Kong-A Pilot Study.

Social work professionals experience high levels of burnout, emotional exhaustion, and secondary traumatic stress (STS). This paper reports the findings of a pilot test of the Burn-Not-Out programme that aimed to reduce social workers' burnout, STS, and depressive symptoms and to enhance compassion satisfaction (CS), using the mixed methods evaluation methodology. Hong Kong social workers participated in the programme between December 2023 and March 2024 and completed pre- and post-programme self-administered online surveys including the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), healthy alongside self-constructed questions on boundary setting, and post-programme online focus group discussions. The results from 94 paired surveys revealed a concerning mental health profile of the participants at baseline, and, after programme participation, there were statistically significant reductions in burnout (Cohen's d = 0.73) and depressive symptoms (Cohen's d = 0.57) among the participants. The participants in the focus group reported that they valued the programme's emphasis on healthy boundaries, one-on-one coaching, and the sense of being cared for, which contributed to their mental health improvement. This study highlights the urgent need for more research on the role of psychological capital in social workers' resilience and calls for more empirical systemic interventions that can promote social workers' mental wellness, with sustainable policies that ensure manageable workloads and adequate workplace support.

Effective Interventions to Reduce Burnout in Social Workers: A Systematic Review

Abstract Social workers are at risk of developing burnout, which is associated with many adverse implications including increased risk of depression. A number of intervention studies have aimed to reduce burnout in this population; however, a systematic review of the evidence has yet to be performed. This review therefore aimed to fill that gap. A comprehensive search of major academic databases was conducted and the inclusion criteria were interventions that reported pre- and post-measures of burnout outcomes within a population of qualified social workers. Of the 2,456 records identified, nine were included in the review. Results showed that a number of burnout interventions have been developed for social workers, including mindfulness-based interventions, group-based skills training, exercise and taking a sabbatical. However, the overall quality of the studies was poor and therefore definitive recommendations for effective interventions could not be offered. Mindfulness-based and group skills development interventions warrant further investigation and organisational or institutional change to tackle burnout, alongside individual-level interventions, is crucial. It was concluded that future burnout intervention researchers should implement a greater methodological rigour, use theory to underpin intervention approaches, adopt a longitudinal design where possible, and administer validated measures of burnout.

Testing Mindfulness Mechanisms of Action on the Stress and Burnout of Social Workers

ObjectivesGrowing evidence suggests that mindfulness-based programmes (MBPs) can reduce stress and burnout among social workers. How MBPs support changes in these outcomes is unclear. This study attempts to identify what some of these mechanisms might be, using the clinically modified Buddhist psychological model (CBPM) as a guiding framework.MethodThis study used data from two randomised controlled trials investigating the impact of MBP participation on social worker stress and burnout. The data from participants (n = 94) who completed a Mindfulness-based Social Work and Self-Care (MBSWSC) programme, or a mindfulness and self-compassion programme (MSC) were combined. Structural equation models were constructed, and conditional direct and indirect effect models of changes in the CBPM domains (mindfulness, self-compassion, attention regulation, acceptance, non-attachment, non-aversion), mediating variables (rumination and worry) and outcomes (stress and burnout) were tested.ResultsThe results suggest that CBPM models, through mediated effects on stress, depersonalisation, and personal accomplishment, as well as direct and mediated effects on stress, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalisation, can provide useful frameworks for explaining how MBPs reduce stress and burnout among social workers. This study also found several other significant conditional direct and indirect effects. The pattern of these relationships indicate that multiple outcomes could be improved through different CBPM domains.ConclusionThis study provides initial evidence on the potential mechanisms through which MBP participation acts to reduce stress and burnout in social workers.Preregistrationhttps://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT05519267 and NCT05538650.

Examining Potential Psychological Protective and Risk Factors for Stress and Burnout in Social Workers

AbstractSocial work professionals experience high levels of stress and burnout. Stress and burnout can have a negative impact on the individual social worker, the organisations they work for, and perhaps most importantly, the quality of care that marginalised groups that are supported by social workers receive. Several work-related predictors of stress and burnout have been identified; however, no studies have examined the underlying psychological protective and risk factors which might help to explain changes in social worker stress and burnout. Using the clinically modified Buddhist psychological model (CBPM) as a theoretical framework, this cross-sectional study attempted to identify psychological protective and risk factors for stress and burnout in 121 social workers in Northern Ireland, using structural equation modelling, and conditional process analyses. This study provided promising preliminary evidence for a mediated effect CBPM as being a potentially useful explanatory framework of variation in social worker stress, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalisation. This study also provided evidence that several CBPM domains could have a direct effect on personal accomplishment. This study provides preliminary evidence that support programmes, which have the capacity to improve each CBPM domain (mindfulness, acceptance, attention regulation/decentering, self-compassion, non-attachment, and non-aversion) and reduce experiences of worry and rumination, are likely to support social workers to experience reduced stress, emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation of service users, and improvements in personal accomplishment.

Perceptions of Safe Staffing, Self-Reported Mental Well-being and Intentions to Leave the Profession among UK Social Workers: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine social workers’ perceptions of safe staffing levels and correlate these perceptions with standardised measurements of well-being in the UK. This cross-sectional mixed-methods study analysed data from 406 social workers from November 2022 until late January 2023. Data were collected using anonymous online surveys including both qualitative and quantitative methods examining mental well-being, burnout and intentions to leave the profession post-coronavirus disease 2019. Findings revealed that only one-third of social workers responding perceived that they work in an environment of safe staffing. There were also significant differences in well-being and an increase in personal, work-related and client-related burnout in social workers who believed their service did not operate a safe staff-to-service user ratio. Likewise, compared to those who perceived their service to operate within a safe staff-to-service-user ratio, those who perceived unsafe ratios were more likely to communicate their intention to leave the profession. Qualitative findings helped contextualise the quantitative results. These findings suggest that increased demand for social work services, shortage of qualified social workers, high workloads, inadequate resources and retention problems, contribute to additional pressure on existing staff and have implications for policy, practice and research in social work.

Social Work and Domestic Violence in Croatia Through a Gendered Lens

This article examines the gender-blind perception of the social work profession in Croatia and its relation to domestic violence cases. In the past few years, the media and the public have routinely expressed outrage at social workers for not preventing severe cases of violence against women and children. The shift from state socialism to capitalism in Croatian society has considerably affected the profession of social work and facilitated the defunding and understaffing of the welfare sector. I argue that a more nuanced, gendered approach is needed in demanding prevention work from social work centres (SWC). Most studies on the causes of burnout in social workers have ignored the feminisation of the profession and the gendered implication of their precarious professional position and responsibility to protect and help the most vulnerable members of society. The perceptions of social work by other experts working with cases of domestic violence and social workers themselves are important to comprehend a bigger picture of professional judgment and attributions of blame. In-depth interviews were conducted with experts working with domestic violence, including the police, judges, prosecutors, social workers, feminist NGO coordinators, and women’s shelter workers. The feminisation of social work and systemic undervaluing of care work contribute to the easy targeting of social workers while leaving the patriarchal institutionalisation unexplored. For this reason, I conclude that social workers would benefit from class and gender solidary with their clients to fight patriarchal biases.

Stress, cognitive appraisal, and burnout in social workers of residential child care

Stress and burnout are global epidemics that may cause negative consequences for workers and organizations. Social workers of residential child care are especially at risk, due to the inherent characteristics of their work. Subsequently, this study aimed to analyse these professional’s stress, cognitive appraisal, and burnout. The sample included 92 social workers (90.2% female and 9.8% male) with ages between 25 and 64 years old (M = 38.08; SD = 7.91). The evaluation protocol included a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Stress Questionnaire for Health Professionals, the Primary and Secondary Cognitive Appraisal Scale, and the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results indicated that 58% of professionals assumed high levels of general stress, and that physical fatigue and cognitive weariness were the burnout dimensions with higher values. The combination of sociodemographic variables, stress factors and cognitive appraisal were important to explain the burnout experience and can contribute to design interventions directed to these professionals.

Attachment Representations and Burnout of Social Workers

This paper examines the distribution of attachment representations among social work professionals using the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP; George, West, Pettem, 1997). In this sample, the influence of attachment on the occurrence of burnout syndrome is investigated, as this is considered as a trigger for further mental and physical illnesses. For this purpose, 79 social pedagogical professionals from the German-speaking part of Switzerland were examined over four time points using the Burnout Screening Scales - BOSS. The following distribution of attachment representations was found using the AAP: 25.3 % secure, 38.0 % insecure dismissing, 27.8 % insecure preoccupied, and 8.9 % unresolved trauma. This distribution differs significantly from other samples of non-clinical adults and psychotherapists. Interestingly, no general associations emerged between insecure attachment representations and burnout. A significant positive correlation was shown between "unresolved trauma" and the suspected diagnosis of "burnout occupation". The so far few but contradictory empirical findings on attachment representations among professionals require further research activities as well as an intensive sensitization with regard to attachment theory in basic and further training courses and a further establishment of self-awareness and supervision components in all psychosocial fields of work.

Job Demands, Resources, and Burnout in Social Workers in China: Mediation Effect of Mindfulness.

Internationally, human service professionals, including social workers, experience high burnout and turnover rates. Despite the recent and rapid development of contemporary social work in China, Chinese social workers similarly experience significant rates of burnout. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the factors that contribute to social work burnout. This study applied the job demands and resources (JD-R) model to examine the effects of JD-R on burnout in social workers (n = 897) from Chengdu, China, and whether these relations are mediated by state mindfulness. Structural equation modeling results supported the previously hypothesized dual process by which JD-R affect burnout, specifically in a sample of social workers in China. Job demands (JD) were positively associated with burnout, while job resources (JR) were negatively associated with burnout. These relations were partially mediated by state mindfulness. JR had a strong, positive direct effect on mindfulness (β = 0.38), and its total effect on burnout was high (β = −0.56). Meanwhile, JD had a slight negative direct effect on mindfulness (β = −0.09), and its total effect on burnout was 0.42. The results suggest that the implementation of mindfulness-based interventions for social workers can potentially mitigate the effect of JD on burnout, as well as increase the effect of JR on burnout.

Summary of Research on Occupational Health Psychology of Social Workers

With the cultivation of the government, the team of social workers continues to grow. The occupational mental health status of social workers has been paid more and more attention. Based on screening and combing the existing literature on occupational health psychology of social workers in China, this paper summarizes and reviews the research on psychological stress, anxiety and depression, and job burnout of social workers, extracts solutions and strategies from the existing research results, and hopes to be helpful to the construction and development of local social work talent team.

Predictors of Burnout in Social Workers: The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Scenario for Analysis.

The current health crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic increases the stress and anxiety levels in some professions, including social work. The present research aimed to determine the burnout levels of social workers in Spain during the first wave of the pandemic and the predictive variables. The methodological approach used was developed from a quantitative perspective through a simple random sampling from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) on a sample of Spanish social workers. The results showed high levels of emotional exhaustion (70.1%) and depersonalization (48.5%), although the data related to a reduced sense of personal accomplishment (36.6%) was low. The burnout level was 20.4%, a reduced record considering the values of the first two subscales. In contrast, the logistic regressions carried out showed that teleworking and psychological treatment are predictive variables of emotional exhaustion. With depersonalization, age (41–50 years) and the perception of needing psychological or psychiatric treatment in the future act as predictive variables. In critical scenarios such as a pandemic, work organizations should implement measures to reduce the high percentages of emotional exhaustion, the workload, and the dehumanization of professionals, a consequence linked to depersonalization.

Studying the Impact of Professional Interaction on Social Workers’ Emotional Burnout

The article deals with emotional burnout in social workers who work with people who witnessed the conflict, lost loved ones or with numerous refugees who moved to different parts of the country and are rebuilding their lives. The authors of the article used a free-form essay on the topic "The Most Problematic Situations in My Work with Migrants". They analyzed the obtained results using content analysis to identify the main manifestations of “burnout”, as well as possible preconditions for its occurrence. The research involved 245 social workers aged between 25 and 45 (work experience of 5 to 10 years), who assist those who have become migrants as a result of hostilities in eastern Ukraine. Most often, negative emotional states in social workers with emotional burnout cause difficulties in the adaptation of migrants from the war zone in eastern Ukraine. Content analysis has shown that most emotionally significant situations in the interaction between social workers and these clients arise because of psychological difficulties. Emotional states of social workers within the structure of emotional burnout are manifested through the identification-separation mechanism. In turn, social workers perceive negative emotional states as a manifestation of their psychological professional inability accompanied by disorders in self-identity and negative content of structural units of self-awareness. Social workers themselves experience several difficulties when communicating with clients and helping them to overcome problematic situations.

The Influence of Job Stress, Stress Coping Strategies, Empathy ability on Burnout of Social Workers in Long-term Care Facilities

The Influence of Job Stress, Stress Coping Strategies, Empathy ability on Burnout of Social Workers in Long-term Care Facilities

Religiously oriented mindfulness for social workers: effects on mindfulness, heart rate variability, and personal burnout

ABSTRACT This pilot study explored whether a Moving Pictures Experts Group-3 (MP3) delivery of a Religiously Oriented Mindfulness (ROM) intervention would improve mindfulness, increase cardiac vagal tone, and decrease Personal Burnout for a sample of social workers. To examine the efficacy of such a ROM, pre and posttest data were collected from N = 22 social workers in vivo (at job or university sites) using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and the Personal Burn-out dimension of the Copenhagen Burnout Scale. Paired-sample t-tests revealed significant differences between pre-and-posttest measures, indicating improvements on all measures with medium to large effect sizes for the MAAS, and HRV, and a smaller effect size for the decrease in Personal Burnout at posttest. ROM is effective in improving mindfulness, increasing HRV, and decreasing Personal Burnout in social workers. The religious nature of this mindfulness intervention, as well as the in vivo nature of this study design is novel in mindfulness studies. The results of this pilot study warrant further exploration of how a religious integration of practices in mindfulness can be effective in improving mindfulness, and self-regulatory function, and preventing burnout in social workers.

Burnout in social workers and socio-demographic factors

SummaryThe objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of burnout syndrome in a sample of Spanish social workers and analyse the influence of a series of socio-demographic variables that may potentially be related to the appearance and development of one of the three dimensions of burnout. A total of 947 Spanish social workers participated in the study.Findings33.2% and 22.1 of Spanish social workers experienced high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, and 54.2% experienced low personal accomplishment at work. The hierarchical regression analysis showed that having been on sick leave in the preceding year was the most important predictor of emotional exhaustion. Moreover, full-time employment status was the most robust predictor of depersonalisation, and professional activity in specialised social services was the main predictor of personal accomplishment. The low percentages of total variance explained imply that although certain socio-demographic characteristics are significant predictors, their effects are very small.ApplicationsPublic and private organisations devoted to social services should be aware of the need to prevent this type of psychosocial risk to which social workers are exposed every day. This would help improve the health and quality of their lives as well as reduce the high costs which frequent worker turnover and sick leave entail, and would also enhance the effectiveness of the services provided.

Factorial Validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) in a Sample of Spanish Social Workers

Burnout has been considered important to understanding the well-being of social workers and the quality of the services they render. Despite the ample international usage of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, its psychometric properties have come into question and alternative models of measuring the inventory have been suggested. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and the applicability of a Spanish version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) in an incidental sample of 947 social workers. Three alternative models of the MBI-HSS were tested for the purpose of identifying the most suitable model for measuring burnout in Spain. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the theory that the model of three correlated factors was superior to alternative models of one and two factors. The structure of three factors (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment) and 19 items showed the best adjustment and a suitable internal consistency of the dimensions of the MBI-HSS. These findings demonstrate that the MBI-HSS has validity and reliability acceptable for measuring burnout in social workers, providing valuable information to the managers of social services in order to reduce burnout among social workers. The limitations of the study and recommendations for future investigation are emphasized.

The Effect of Group Counseling Program on the Recovery of Burnout of Social Workers in Child Rights Protection Institutions

The Effect of Group Counseling Program on the Recovery of Burnout of Social Workers in Child Rights Protection Institutions

사회복지사의 조직몰입이 소진에 미치는 영향: 직무스트레스의 매개효과

사회복지사의 조직몰입이 소진에 미치는 영향: 직무스트레스의 매개효과

Personal value preferences and burnout of social workers

SummaryThe present study examines the connection between the personal value preferences of social workers and their burnout. A total of 512 Israeli social workers participated in the study.FindingsSocio-demographic characteristics explained only a small proportion of the variance in the social workers' burnout; however, years of experience in social work, education, and salary were significant predictors of the social workers' burnout. Personal value preferences explained a substantial proportion of the variance in the social workers' burnout beyond the effect of the socio-demographic variables. A higher preference for the benevolence, universalism, and achievement values and a lower preference for the power and face values were associated with less burnout.ApplicationsThe results obtained are discussed in light of the value congruence paradigm. The study's implications for the training and practice of social workers are discussed.

학교 내 사회복지사의 소진에 영향을 미치는 위험요인과 보호요인

학교 내 사회복지사의 소진에 영향을 미치는 위험요인과 보호요인