Social work, stress and burnout: A review

Abstract

Stress and burnout for health care professionals have received increasing attention in the literature. Significant administrative, societal and political changes have impacted on the role of workers and the responsibilities they are expected to assume. Most writers suggest that social work is a highly stressful occupation, with stress deriving in particular from role conflict between client advocacy and meeting agency needs. This article reviewed the social work literature with two questions in mind: Are social workers subject to greater stress than other health professionals? What factors contribute to stress and burnout among social workers? We found that most of the literature was either anecdotal or compared social worker stress with general population norms rather than with stress levels of workers in comparable professions. Such empirical research as is available suggests that social workers may experience higher levels of stress and resulting burnout than comparable occupational groups. Factors identified as contributing to stress and burnout included the nature of social work practice, especially tension between philosophy and work demands and the organization of the work environment. There was some evidence that supervision and team support are protective factors.

Development and Evaluation of Cognitive Behavioral Group Treatment to Reduce Psychological Stress of Emotion Labor Workers: A Preliminary Study

“…Zapf et al(2006) (Hochschild, 1983;Bogner et al, 1990). Adelmann(1989) (Lloyd et al, 2002;Lee TK, 2007). 이들은 고객과의 접촉 빈도가 높 고 다양한 서비스 대상자를 상대해야 하고 여러 사람에게 긍정적인 감정을 지속적으로 표현해야 한다 (Lee TK, 2007).…”

“…또한 내담자에게 서비스를 제공하는 활동에 있어 많은 갈 등을 경험하고 조직 내의 강도 높은 요구수준을 충족시키 는 부담으로 인해 좌절 수준이 높다고 보고된다 (Lloyd et al, 2002). 자신의 직업에 대한 만족도 역시 낮고 (Park SH, 2001) 높은 수준의 소진을 보고한다 (Guy et al, 2008 (Park CY et al, 2012).…”

Examining the Impact of Job Burnout on the Health and Well-Being of Human Service Workers: A Systematic Review and Synthesis

“…Job burnout is a response to chronic exposure of workplace strains and is marked by feelings of emotional depletion, cynicism, and a sense that no matter the effort, there will be no progress in your work (Maslach & Jackson, 1981). Though job burnout research literature in the human service sector abounds (Boyas & Wind, 2010;Campbell, Perry, Maertz, Allen, & Griffeth, 2013;Lim, Kim, Kim, Yang, & Lee, 2010;Lloyd, King, Chenoweth, 2002;Smith & Clark, 2011;Sprang, Craig, & Clark, 2011), as do studies that examine its antecedents (Acker & Lawrence, 2009;Ben-Zur & Michael, 2007;Font, 2012;Hamama, 2012;Kim, 2011;Jourdain & Chênevert, 2010;Lizano & Mor Barak, 2012), fewer studies have focused on the impact of burnout on worker well-being. We know from empirical research findings that workers experiencing burnout are at greater risk of underperforming (Taris, 2006) and of leaving the job (Mor Barak, Nissly, & Levin, 2001).…”

“…Though no statistics on the rates of stress and burnout among human service workers exist, there is evidence to suggest that human service sector workers are at greater risk of stress and burnout due 168 LIZANO to the emotive nature of human service work (Guy, Newman, Mastracci, & Maynard-Moody, 2010;Lloyd, King, & Chenoweth, 2002). When compared to 26 other occupations, social service work was one among the six professions with the worst experiences of physical health, psychological well-being, and job satisfaction in the workplace (Johnson, Cooper, Cartwright, Donald, Taylor, & Millet, 2005).…”

Early Career Resilience: Interdisciplinary Insights to Support Professional Education of Radiation Therapists

“…Radiation Therapists (RTTs) are not unique in terms of their exposure to the potential of burnout (10)(11)(12) other professionals share similar concerns and there is much we can learn from other professions that are engaged in emotional labour.…”