Burnout and Social Work

Social Work and Burnout

Social workers are the voice of those who are most valuable. On a daily basis they are subjected to children’s horrific situations. Social workers wittiness children that have suffered neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and death. Being subjected to this mental torment every day can causes burnout.

Article

A peer reviewed article that describes burnout and the effects on social workers is Burnout in Social Workers Treating Children as Related to Demographic Characteristics, Work Environment, and Social Support .The article was written by Liat Hamama

Burnout

The index of the dislocation between what people are and what they have to do. It represents an erosion in values, dignity, spirit and the will- an erosion of the human soul. It is a malady that spreads gradually and continuously over time, putting people into a downward spiral(Maslach & Leiter 1997).

The Study

The study was conducted in Israel in 2007It was a Questionnaire studyParticipation rate was 75% This study was based off of the four dimensions of burnout. The dimensions were physical, psychological, social and organizational.

Participants in the study

180 questionnaires where distributed The average age of participants was 36 years oldThe average years on the job experience was 8.5 yearsParticipants worked directly with children and adolescentsThere were76 participants in social welfare agencies and 50 in various community settings such as probation services, after-school childcare faculties, home-based childcare services, residential facilities, and hospitals.

Data Collection

The information for the review was finished utilizing a four- section poll.The first questionnaire was demographic characteristics such as age, gender, family status, education and seniority in the social work profession . The second was a burnout questionnaire, burnout was assessed using Maslach Bumout Inventory, which was developed for human service professionalsThe third questionnaire was work conditions to pinpoint all items they thought were related to extrinsic and intrinsic aspects of social workers work environment.The fourth questionnaire was social support , to see if they felt supported by work colleagues, direct supervisor, and the organization manager. (Hamama Liat, 2012)

Results of Study

The most unmistakable finding in this study identifies with the connection found between expert rank the support of social workers and direct supervisors and the feeling of burnout.The study found that the more support that a social worker received from colleagues and supervisors in their earlier years in the field the less likely that they will burnout the longer they are in the field.

Final Study Results

Conducting this study the researchers found that working in an environment of children and adolescents that have been neglected, physically abused and sexually abused can cause physical and mental stress on the social worker that causes burnout. Working with particular population is very emotional and with out the support of a team the social worker will feel inadequate and hopeless to help the clients. A social worker has to find time to wind down and relax not just physically but mentally and emotionally. (Hamama Liat, 2012)

Preventing Burnout

training within the organizationStrengthen their social support systems Development of worker‘s hobbies“time-outs” for social workersCreative activities in the work environment

References

Hamama L. , (2012)Social Work Research (SOC WORK RES), Jun2012; 36(2): 113-125. (13p)Burnout in Social Workers Treating Children as Related to Demographic Characteristics, Work Environment, and Social Support.