The well-documented day-to-day and long-term experiences of job stress and burnout among employees in child welfare organisations increasingly raise concerns among leaders, policy makers and scholars. Testing a theory-driven longitudinal model, this study seeks to advance understanding of the differential impact of job stressors (work–family conflict, role conflict and role ambiguity) and burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation) on employee disengagement (work withdrawal and exit-seeking behaviours). Data were collected at three six-month intervals from an availability sample of 362 front line social workers or social work supervisors who work in a large urban public child welfare organisation in the USA. The study's results yielded a good model fit (RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.96, NFI = 0.94). Work–family conflict, role ambiguity and role conflict were found to impact work withdrawal and exit-seeking behaviours indirectly through burnout. The outcome variable, exit-seeking behaviours, was positively impacted by depersonalisation and work withdrawal at a statistically significant level. Overall, findings, at least in the US context, highlight the importance of further examining the development of job burnout among social workers and social work supervisors working in child welfare settings, as well as the utility of long-term administrative strategies to mitigate risks of burnout development and support engagement.
Childcare providers face multiple work-related stressors. Small studies of childcare providers have suggested that providers have high levels of depression compared to the general population. However, unlike other caregiving professions, the research examining childcare providers is sparse, and there is little information to inform practices and policies to support childcare providers. This study identifies specific work-related stressors for childcare providers and examines the impact of those work-related stressors on their personal well-being. A total of 26 home-based and centre-based providers participated in seven focus groups in Central Texas. Themes from the focus groups identify parental interaction as the most prominent stressor for providers followed by the public perception of providers as "babysitters." Providers also discussed the impact of stress on their personal well-being manifesting through exhaustion, sleep disturbances, and physical health problems.
This cross-sectional study tests a theory-driven, conceptual model examining factors supporting or hindering child welfare workers' (n = 359) efforts to speak up (voice) or disengage psychologically (neglect) or physically (exit) from their jobs. Based on path analysis results, key findings indicate that workers who feel included in decision-making are more likely to exercise voice and less likely to engage in neglect. In contrast, workers who experienced supervisory and organizational support are less inclined to exit. The findings should be instructive to scholars and practitioners interested in capturing how employees' responses to stressful and complex work environments are expressed.
KEYWORDS.Employee voice, job neglect, exit/intention to leave/turnover, inclusion in decisionmaking, supervisory and organizational support, job stress What may spark an individual's decision to provide critical yet important feedback to a supervisor despite the potential risk? What influences one's decision to refrain from putting full effort in their work or take steps toward quitting? These types of day-to-day situations underscore the importance of how one's inability to speak up or decision to not participate in work activities may impede organizational success. In child welfare organizations, these questions are particularly germane as workers often confront a host of work-related challenges resulting in
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