Human Service Workers Research Articles

Employee Compensation of Nonprofit Child Welfare Agencies in New York: Crises and Strategies

ABSTRACTWhile existing literature documents the low compensation of nonprofit human services workers, it is not well understood how managers of these organizations perceive and respond to the problem. Adopting resource dependency and competing institutional logics perspectives, we chose the New York nonprofit child welfare sector—a heavily government‐funded field—as a collective case to study these issues. Based on interviews with 17 leaders of the primary NY nonprofit child welfare agencies, we found that these agencies' employee compensation was primarily constrained by government contracts, and they were torn by conflicting institutional logics from the state, the labor market, private funders, and unions. Overall, government contracts and market competition determined worker pay, and nonprofit child welfare agencies faced labor competition not only from peer organizations, but also from the government and for‐profit sectors. With the “great resignation” atmosphere and increased cost of living intensified by the COVID‐19 pandemic, agencies were under tremendous pressure to raise worker pay. However, programs chronically underfunded by the government were incapable of providing competitive wages and were experiencing high staff turnover and vacancies. Agency leaders agreed on the need to push the government to pay programs adequately but disagreed about advocacy goals and messaging. Most leaders had reservations about aggressive collective bargaining measures such as “going on strike.” These common but attenuated labor dynamics, related managerial responses, and implications for the future of the sector are discussed, particularly in response to competing institutional pressures.

“The system allows for it to happen”: the experiences of human service workers in engaging with Aboriginal participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of human service workers (HSWs) in engaging with Aboriginal participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Methods Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with HSWs engaging with Aboriginal participants of the NDIS on Kaurna Country (Adelaide, South Australia). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results In total, n = 10 HSWs participated in the study. Three themes impacting upon HSWs ability to effectively engage with Aboriginal participants were identified: (1) lack of access to training, support and supervision, (2) difficulties in navigating assessment and intervention, and (3) limited availability of culturally specific services. Conclusions This study contributes to Australian disability policy and practice with insights gained from the experiences of human service workers engaging with aboriginal participants of the NDIS. Systemic changes are required within policy and funding arrangements to create a system flexible enough to respond to the needs of Aboriginal Peoples with disability.

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Gratitude at Work Scale in Employed Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The Gratitude at Work Scale, originally developed by American scholars, has been widely administered to mental health professionals and human service workers to explore gratitude in the workplace. No Chinese-language instrument is currently available for assessing workplace gratitude. The aims of this study were to (a) translate the original English version of the Gratitude at Work Scale into a traditional Chinese version (TC-GAWS), confirm its factor structure, and analyze its psychometric properties among newly employed nurses and (b) develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the TC-GAWS short form. A psychometric study using a cross-sectional web-based design was conducted in Taiwan. Three hundred twenty-two employed nurses completed a battery of self-administered online questionnaires that included a demographic datasheet, the Gratitude Questionnaire-Six-Item Form, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10, and the Thoughts of Quitting Scale. IBM SPSS 24.0 and AMOS 28.0 were used for data analysis, and Cronbach's alpha and Pearson's correlation were used to assess reliability and concurrent validity. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted. The internal consistency and stability of the TC-GAWS total scale were .88 and .91, respectively. The exploratory factor analysis showed a satisfactory Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of .88 and a Bartlett's test value of 654.01 ( p < .001), suggesting that 64.55% of the total variance was explained by the two-factor TC-GAWS. After item reduction, the CFA of the six remaining items of the TC-GAWS short form revealed adequate fit statistics for a two-factor structure and a second-order factor. Strong correlations were found between the 10-item and six-item TC-GAWS ( r > .94) in the two samples, suggesting good concurrent validity. The overall scores for the 10-item and six-item TC-GAWS had similar convergent validity, with moderate-to-strong correlations for the Gratitude Questionnaire-Six-Item Form ( r = .45 and .540), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 ( r = .49 and .51), and Thoughts of Quitting Scale ( r = -.57 and -.53). The CFA yielded a two-factor, six-item model that exhibited good fit with the latent constructs of χ 2 / df = 11.06/8 = 1.38, p = .198, comparative fit index = .996, goodness-of-fit index = .979, root mean square error of approximation = .045, root mean square residual = .030, and standardized root mean squared residual = .023. Both the 10- and six-item TC-GAWS instruments demonstrated good reliability and validity in nurse participants. The TC-GAWS may be used to measure gratitude in nurses in the workplace. This instrument has the potential to facilitate a better understanding of gratitude in nurses, which may be applied to the improvement of nursing management, research, and education.

Illegitimate work tasks: an investigation of psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the BITS instrument and its suitability in human versus ‘non-human’ service occupations

BackgroundIllegitimate tasks, i.e. working tasks that are perceived as unnecessary or unreasonable, are commonly measured by the Bern Illegitimate Tasks Scale (BITS). Despite a growing research attention paid to illegitimate tasks, the Swedish version of BITS needs yet to be properly evaluated. Moreover, previous multiorganizational studies in this field have taken for granted, without really testing it, that the instrument functions invariantly in different contexts; a prerequisite for meaningful comparisons.MethodsTwo occupational groups that differs hugely—966 human services workers (teachers and registered nurses) and 750 non-’human service’ workers (construction and IT-workers) were targeted utilizing questionnaires data collected 2018 within the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) study. Psychometric properties, i.e., reliability, dimensionality, and measurement invariance between the occupations were examined using confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models. Also, the associations between the two dimensions of illegitimate tasks and job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion, respectively, were tested.ResultsGood reliability was supported and two- versus one-dimensionality showed better psychometric properties. Partial scalar measurement invariance was satisfactory supported with only 25% relaxed constraints of equal intercepts between groups. Examining the two subdimensions revealed different associations with emotional exhaustion, where the associations was more substantial for unreasonable tasks. Nevertheless, the findings point to potential improvements for future investigation.ConclusionsThis study shows that the Swedish version of BITS is working satisfactory and allows for meaningful comparisons of occupational groups. Furthermore, construct validity of the two dimensions was corroborated.

Self-Care Pedagogy in the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Post Pandemic Faculty Survey

This exploratory study describes the post pandemic integration of classroom-based self-care pedagogy with students engaged in field placements in human services organizations. Forty-nine undergraduate faculty members at a large public university system in New York City completed an online survey about how they teach self-care (i.e., integrate self-care pedagogy) in their courses, their needs for resources, and barriers to integrating self-care. The survey is grounded in the National Organization of Human Services (NOHS) Ethical Standard 35, which requires human services workers to prioritize their own wellness and self-care. Burgeoning research demonstrates the deleterious effects of the Covid19 pandemic on undergraduate students’ well-being. Students’ difficulties are further exacerbated for those undertaking human services work in community-based organizations as student interns. Faculty recognized the mental health challenges faced by students in field placements, both because of the demands of agency-based human services work, as well as the exposure to sensitive classroom discussions about clients’ psychosocial needs and traumas. However, most faculty have not meaningfully integrated self-care into the curriculum. This study highlights the need to develop strategies to promote student well-being and mitigate the effects of exposure to potential sources of vicarious trauma. Recommendations for best practices for undergraduate departments are offered.

Corrosion beneath the surface? The emotional navigation of managerialist regulation in German welfare organizations

PurposeRegarding how the public regulation of human services is perceived within welfare organizations and how the latter cope with it, the role of emotions (as mediators between structure and agency) proves highly relevant while often being hidden beneath the surface. This article shows how a specific approach to such regulation – here: managerialism – may impact on “emotional regimes” at the organizational and individual level, affecting the attainment of organizational goals and workers' health.Design/methodology/approachThe article primarily draws on multiple qualitative case studies across two welfare sectors (four organizations) in Germany (continuing education/active inclusion; long-term care). The study research was conducted between 2020 and 2022 and based on 36 interviews with caseworkers and managers, focus group interviews and expert dialogues at industry level.FindingsThe results suggest that the managerialist regulation of welfare services breeds complex and ambiguous emotional regimes. Business-like management techniques elicit various emotions, affecting the motivational basis of human service work. While the experience of hard challenges may raise positive feelings, coping patterns often put strain on organizations and staff alike. In the short run, related emotional regimes tend to make service delivery proceed smoothly, yet in the long run they may have corrosive effects and problematic repercussions on macro-level developments.Originality/valueThe study highlights the role of emotions in publicly regulated human service settings by intermingling macro- and micro-level processes and thereby broadens the perspective of welfare state research as it reveals the impact of (managerialist) regulation on the dynamic organizational chemistry of such settings.

The impact of community resilience, well-being, and community attachment on human service workers’ burnout

Summary Burnout has become an increasingly prevalent condition, especially affecting professionals in direct contact with clients. Human service workers (HSWs) have quite emotionally taxing jobs supporting vulnerable groups. In developing a close relationship with the communities they work with, it could be possible that community-related variables have an impact on HSWs’ burnout. We aim to analyze the prevalence of burnout in a sample of HSWs from Portugal and the role of community resilience as a predictor of their burnout, as well as explore if their subjective well-being and community attachment could explain the relationship between community resilience and burnout, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through an online questionnaire between August 2020 and January 2021 ( N = 598). Findings Results indicate that HSWs presented medium to low levels of burnout, although 8.9% presented high levels. Those who reported lower levels of burnout perceived higher community resilience and had much higher well-being and community attachment. Findings point to community resilience having a significant direct effect on burnout and also an indirect effect, which was explained by subjective well-being and community attachment. Applications Results seem to suggest that this sample's low-medium levels of burnout could be linked to the benefit of experiencing high community attachment and working in communities with high resilience, which consequently impacted their well-being and burnout. This highlights the crucial role of the work context in professionals’ mental health, showing that a broader context needs to be considered in professional mental health promotion programs.

Applying the therapeutic function of professional supervision: Attending to the emotional impacts of human service work

Review of Applying the therapeutic function of professional supervision: Attending to the emotional impacts of human service work by Nicki Weld. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, London and New York. 2023 ISBN 978-1-032-41637-3, pp.158, Hardback, NZD59.99

Georgia Health Care Providers’ Experiences With Community Public Health Clients

Community health and human services workers play an integral role in communal public health. They are especially integral to meeting the needs of patients who are often on the margins of society. While we often conduct research from the perspective of the end-user – the patient or the client – we do not hear the voices of health and human services professionals with the same regularity. The purpose of this study is to examine the healthcare needs of public health patients from the perspective of community health providers in two Georgia counties. Through this case study, utilizing qualitative data garnered through three focus groups with the local public health department’s employees and affiliated human services providers as part of their quintennial Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), we call attention to several individual and systemic issues providers have identified as worthy of concern. These include health seeking information and behaviors of their clients, as well as the role of health insurance and health access for improved physical, mental, and sexual health. Systemically, providers identify the challenges of status, stigma, and consumer perceptions in the access and quality of care certain segments of the population receive and how provider bias can impede wellbeing. Although the CHNA data collection took place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our examination of the data took place during the height of the pandemic. As such, in this paper, we also provide practical implications and future directions for public health and human services providers who have endured the pandemic and sought to meet their patients’ needs during unprecedented circumstances.

A New Working Class: The Legacies of Public-Sector Employment in the Civil Rights Movement

A New Working Class: The Legacies of Public-Sector Employment in the Civil Rights Movement

Emotional labour job characteristics in compassion work – differentiating exposure, empathy, compassion, and distancing

ABSTRACT Previous research on compassion work has focused on the emotion regulation of human services workers. However, little attention has been paid to the job characteristics of this work. In this paper, we conceptualise a model of compassion work that differentiates the task characteristics (1) exposure and (2) empathy, and the work style requirements (3) compassion and (4) distancing. We tested an operationalisation of our compassion work model for its factor structure and validity in two studies (total N = 985). Our findings confirmed the proposed four-factor structure. Moreover, as expected, exposure was positively related to engagement and burnout, suggesting exposure is a challenge stressor in compassion work; empathy was positively related to burnout, suggesting empathy is a hindrance stressor in compassion work; compassion was positively related to work engagement and work meaningfulness, suggesting it supports self-enhancement in compassion work; and finally distancing was negatively related to burnout, suggesting it supports health and well-being in compassion work. Overall, these findings suggest our model is a promising vantage point for future research, job design, and health prevention in compassion work.

Developing Social Work Professional Identity Resilience: Seven Protective Factors

ABSTRACT The human service context is a complex space for social workers and service users, bringing both challenges and opportunities. The ability to navigate challenges is essential for social workers to appropriately support clients and maintain longevity in human service work. Practitioners are expected to possess resilience to mitigate these challenges. Social workers are familiar with the concept of resilience in relation to work with clients. However, it is important they develop their own resilience to withstand industry pressure and build professional identity resilience (PIR). In this article, we drew on an Australian grounded theory PhD study that explored the experience of professional identity development (PID) for newly graduated social workers, specifically the challenges they faced in relation to PID and the link between professional identity and resilience. PIR emerged as a key concept in the process of forming a social work professional identity and seven protective factors were identified that support the development of PIR. IMPLICATIONS Developing professional identity resilience can assist students and graduates to counter challenging experiences of being a social worker. Professional identity resilience plays an important role in the development and ongoing maintenance of professional identity and as such is essential knowledge for social work educators, professional associations, social work students and graduates.

Being seen… by human or machine? Acknowledgment effects on customer responses differ between human and robotic service workers

Intelligent machines are steadily replacing human workforce in retail and service. Although customers' short-term responses toward service robots are well understood, little is known about the potential long-term effects of replacing humans with robots in these settings. Drawing on social perception theory, the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model, and speciesism theory, the current research examines whether and how human and robotic service workers influence customers' loyalty responses depending on whether these living and nonliving entities acknowledge customers. Across three experiments and a series of different shopping settings (N = 1541), we expose customers to human (vs. robotic) service workers who do (vs. do not) acknowledge them through eye contact. A human (vs. robotic) acknowledgment was found to result in significantly more favorable loyalty responses; an effect mediated by the perceived warmth and, to a lesser extent, the perceived competence of the service workers. These findings hold across embarrassing (e.g., shopping for lingerie or sex toys) and non-embarrassing (e.g., shopping for shoes) settings, offering generalizable insights for managers and scholars concerned with the outcomes of implementing innovative human-centric technologies in various consumption contexts.

Diagnostic challenges of brucellosis in humans and livestock in Tanzania: A thematic review

Abstract Brucellosis is an endemic bacterial zoonosis in Tanzania, and is among the most prioritized zoonotic diseases in the country. Brucellosis affects public health and livestock production in developing countries. Most human and livestock cases are not detected by the existing surveillance systems resulting in significant underestimation of the disease burden, and poor management of human cases by using nonspecific antibiotics may potentially contribute to antimicrobial resistance. To quantify the factors related to underreporting and those associated with the challenges in the diagnosis of brucellosis in Tanzania, search terms including “Brucella” “diagnosis” and “challenges” were used to query in Google search engine and publisher databases such as MEDLINE, PUBMED, NCBI, Springer, Hindawi, and Elsevier. The search parameters were limited to publications between 1995 and 2020. The searches returned 319 publications and grey articles which were screened and 57 were eligible for inclusion in this study. Four main areas were identified that cause underreporting of brucellosis and hinder brucellosis diagnosis: (1) inadequate knowledge of brucellosis among stakeholders in the livestock value chain, (2) limited diagnostic capacity for brucellosis due to unawareness of diagnostic tests and lack of epidemiological background of brucellosis among human and livestock health service workers (3) challenges associated with diagnostic tests, which include unreliable availability of diagnostic tests and unskilled workers, and (4) the uneven distribution of brucellosis surveillance studies in the country. This study suggests that there is a need for (1) training on public health education and brucellosis awareness among stakeholders in the livestock value chain; (2) providing scheduled continuing professional education with regard to brucellosis and other zoonotic diseases to health and livestock workers; (3) future brucellosis surveillance studies must focus on unrepresented regions; and (4) lastly, we recommend that the rose Bengal plate test (RBPT) and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) should be considered in brucellosis diagnostic schemes as a complementary tool to hasten the implementation of an ongoing national strategy for the prevention and control of brucellosis in humans and livestock in Tanzania. We suggest that these recommendations be considered for inclusion in the national strategy for brucellosis control in Tanzania. One Health Impact Statement Brucellosis is a disease caused by bacteria of genus Brucella and is transmitted from animals to humans. Humans get infected through ingestion of infected animal products but also through contact with bacteria via broken skin or inhalation of aerosolized bacteria particles during culture in the laboratory. Humans working with animals or animal products and laboratory personnel are at higher risk of infection. Tanzania has recently established a One-Health desk in the Prime Minister’s Office to address all matters related to One Health. However, the desk is in the infancy stage, more studies must be done to fill knowledge gaps so that working instruments became realistic. This review provides a synthesis of information that could be used by the One Health desk and other One Health stakeholders in the country on how to improve the existing brucellosis surveillance structures for improvement of One-Health service delivery in the country.

Navigating Older Adults Service Provision during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of Bicultural and Bilingual Asian Human Service Workers

ABSTRACT The pandemic has spotlighted multiple long-standing inequities among marginalized populations. Of particular concern is the population of older Asian adults with limited English proficiency, who rely heavily on bicultural and bilingual Asian human service workers for culturally and linguistically appropriate service provision. With ever-evolving public health measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, new challenges arose for bicultural and bilingual Asian human service workers to provide timely and appropriate care. To better understand the challenges among bicultural and bilingual Asian human service workers, this qualitative study explores how these workers changed their service provision in assisting older adults with limited English proficiency. Using the purposive sampling strategy, ten bicultural and bilingual Asian human service workers participated in the study that employed a phenomenological approach. Findings suggest that the workers need additional support to create a more comprehensive system of care for their older Asian clients who carry dual cultures and systems during the time of public health emergencies. Implications for social work and human service practice are offered.

The Role of Staff-Assessed Care Quality in the Relationship between Job Demands and Stress in Human Service Work: The Example of Dentistry.

The aim of this study was to investigate staff-assessed care quality at the clinic as a predictor of stress and as a moderator between job demands (quantitative demands and role conflict) and stress among dental professionals as an example of human service workers. Cross-sectional questionnaire data from 1012 dental professionals (i.e., dentists, dental hygienists and dental nurses) working at 99 clinics were analysed by confirmatory factor analysis and a two-level hierarchical linear model. Stress, quantitative demands and role conflict were measured by the Swedish standard version of COPSOQ III and care quality was measured by three proprietary items. The results showed that staff-assessed care quality at the clinic was of importance for the individual workers’ experiences of stress. Furthermore, the staff’s joint assessment of the care quality at the clinic mitigated the negative effect of role conflict on stress among dental nurses. These results indicate that a high level of staff-assessed care quality at the clinic can contribute to reduced stress in dental professionals.

Responding to everyday problems and crises: Measuring community resilience.

Resilience is of the upmost importance to deal with everyday problems faced by communities. The concept of community resilience is gaining prominence in disaster management policy and practice, and it has been shown to be an important factor during pandemic recovery such as during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. We present an instrument for community resilience assessment adapted for disasters like the pandemics. The instrument was based on the theory-based and evidence-informed Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) Assessment Survey, adapted for the first time to Portuguese. Another strong feature of this study relates to the targeted participants, namely human service workers (598). They are key informants for their close involvement with communities. This version of the CART was reliable. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good relationship between the observed variables and their underlying latent constructs. Moreover, tests for measurement invariance across participants showed that differences in factor variances and covariances were not attributable to age-based differences in the properties of the scales themselves. Our findings support the fundamental idea that it is worthwhile to have an instrument to measure community resilience. Thus, our study adds to the evaluation of the CART, supporting its value as a robust instrument to measure resilience at the community level in different countries.

Managerialism: A workforce health hazard in human service settings.

This study assesses the relationship between managerialism and health among human service workers. A total of 2154 New York City human service workers participated in an electronic survey that included validated measures of a system of work organization (the Organizational Commitment to Managerialism scale [OCTM]) and a work stressor (the Effort Reward Imbalance scale [ERI]), and single items about physical, mental, and behavioral health. Controlling for demographic variables, logistic regression models were used to predict health outcomes assess the potential role of ERI as a mediator. Managerialism was associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, neck and back pain, gastrointestinal difficulties, sleeping disorders, anxiety, and depression. Mediation analyses suggested that the effects of managerialism on health were partially explained by ERI. Managerialism in human service agencies significantly increased the risk of adverse physical and mental health. Increased levels of a work stressor helped to explain part of this association.

Uniting two disciplines: An innovative partnership between family science and social work

AbstractObjectiveWe detail a case example describing the uniting of curricula from family science and social work into a comprehensive major that prepares students as both social workers and family life educators.BackgroundAs academic disciplines aimed at preparing undergraduates for careers in human service, family science and social work may compete for legitimacy and resources within higher education.MethodGuided by appreciative inquiry, we first offer our reflections on this case and its processes. In so doing, we discuss how faculty members worked together despite legitimate fears and concerns regarding the potential loss of professional identity to create a shared vision for undergraduate student preparation that honors the origins of both disciplines.ResultsFaculty collaborated to craft an enhanced curriculum that capitalized on collective strengths, overlaps in disciplinary origins and ethics, and market demands for licensed professionals. We provide a brief overview of family science and social work as separate disciplines, including their respective pathways to professionalization, ethical principles, and competencies, and practice guidelines as a way of illuminating commonalities.ConclusionWe conclude with lessons learned and a discussion of the future of family science and social work as partners rather than rivals with complementary disciplines.

Human Services During the COVID Pandemic: Using Behavioral Safety Programs to Protect Human Services Workers and Students.

ObjectivesBehavioral safety programs have been effective in decreasing injuries across a number of industries. The COVID-19 pandemic is placing stress on the human services field—an industry already noted for its high injury rate. As most organizations resume full operation in the midst of the pandemic, procedures to mitigate the risk of virus transmission are vital. The current manuscript describes the use of a behavioral safety program and its effects on COVID-19 transmission in a school serving setting.MethodsThis case study consisted of implementing an organization-wide behavioral safety program in a private school that served students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. During the course of the study, 124 to 128 direct care staff were employed by the school and served 168 students during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsDuring the behavioral safety program, there were a variable but continuous number of safety observations. The percent of safe behavior in the classrooms began near 90% and approached 100% at the conclusion of data collection. During the study there were no documented COVID-19 infections traced to the school.ConclusionsBehavioral safety programs could be effective in promoting behavior associated with minimizing virus transmission; therefore, these programs may also have utility in preventing communicable diseases in human service settings.