Professional identity and turnover intentions of social workers in Beijing, China: The roles of job satisfaction and agency type

Abstract

In order to address the ascending turnover rate among social workers in China, this article presents the idea, based on social identity theory, that professional identity is an important factor influencing turnover rate. Employing structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques, the study found that professional identity was negatively associated with social workers’ turnover intentions, and that social workers’ job satisfaction mediated the relationship between professional identity and their turnover intentions. The findings suggest that more work needs to be done on social work education and public image construction in China.

‘I Respect You but I Am Not Willing to Be You’: Critical Reflections of Western Teaching of Social Work to Students in China—What Can be Learned Both Ways?

“…Wages and the cost of living is a huge problem for social work in China. Shenzhen was one of the pilot areas for developing social work jobs and in fact, the Shenzhen Social Work Association said that poor wages are one of the two top reasons as to why social workers leave their jobs (Jiang et al 2019). Students whose families can afford education, can study social work but as graduates cannot afford to work as one.…”

“…I think low wages are connected to your question about professionalism as well. If the job is not valued by society, then it is difficult to increase remuneration (Jiang et al 2019). My thoughts are that while social work is an emerging field in China, perhaps management and government jobs are an important career route, then your social work studies can help in discussing/developing new policies and legislation.…”

“…I think this is a big issue at this point in history in many countries. It is a long-term aim to change the understanding of what social work in China is (Cai et al 2018;Jiang et al 2019;Zhang et al 2019). As I mentioned in an earlier email, I have ethical questions about my role in teaching an emerging profession in a culture different to my own and try to imagine what social work will look like in China in the future.…”

“…We know that China's social work still has a long way to go and front-line social workers are the backbone of promoting the development of social work in China. I think China needs to introduce advanced social work practice methods (Chen et al 2018;Guo 2017;Jiang et al 2019;Wang and Chui 2017). Furthermore, China needs to cultivate many talents who really love social work; not only to care about disadvantaged people but also to care about social workers.…”

“…I've been reading articles about burnout because in Australia we often connect burnout to our emotional state. However, when we emailed earlier, we discussed how burnout and compassion fatigue (or a reduction in empathy) can be related to wage stress and a lack of professional recognition of social work (Jiang et al 2019;Tang et al 2017). Your comments about burnout being related to role expectations are very pertinent.…”