How Did Levels of Psychological Distress and Perceptions of Workplace Support amongst Children’s Social Work Staff Change during the Covid-19 Pandemic?

Abstract

Covid-19 brought about drastic changes in day-to-day life and working practices, and had a profound impact on the mental health and well-being of the general population. Certain professional groups have also been particularly affected. This study sought to explore how levels of psychological distress and perceptions of workplace support amongst social work staff changed during the pandemic. We present the results from a series of surveys conducted in four local authorities (LAs) in England, before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social workers and other social care staff (n = 62) were asked about their experiences of psychological distress, using the twelve-item General Health Questionnaire. Overall, we found the proportion of staff reporting elevated levels of psychological distress increased and, in line with previous studies involving social workers, was high relative to the general population. Yet, most staff also said they had high levels of support from managers and colleagues, whilst a small proportion reported an increased perception of workplace support during the pandemic, compared to before. We consider these findings in relation to Organisational Support Theory and reflect on the ability of LAs to provide effective support for social care staff.

The mediating effects of resilience on psychological distress in social workers in Singapore and South Korea during the Covid-19 pandemic

“…In the community setting, another study found that child and family social workers reported higher levels of stress because of higher caseloads during the pandemic (Ravalier, 2019). Other studies by Jones et al (2022) and Menachem and Yaira (2021) pointed to the increased psychological distress resulting from job demands during the pandemic. The job demands during the world-wide crisis caused by the pandemic thrust the social workers into a situation of having to find solutions to a myriad of new problems that arose during that time (Golightley and Holloway, 2020;Santiago and Smith, 2020).…”