Work-related stress and burnout among social workers are on the rise because of extensive workload, job dissatisfaction and exposure to traumatic situations. Therefore, one should determine how they impact the well-being.
This study determined the factors and effects of work-related stress and burnout on the well-being of social workers.
An alarming number of social workers show no compassion towards the clients owing to burnout. Therefore, more research is needed for social workers to enhance their purpose and work engagement.
This qualitative study was designed from an interpretivist perspective. Fourteen social workers, aged 35–59 years, from two Department of Social Development and Welfare offices (Alice and King Williams Town) selected through purposive sampling participated in the study. Data were gathered by means of focus group interviews and grounded theory was applied for data analysis.
The study results confirmed that social workers attributed their work-related stress to lack of resources such as transport, computers and inadequate emotional support from their supervisors. Thus, they demonstrated impaired personal strength and poor human relations.
To achieve commitment and optimism, there should be recruitment of new staff and salary increase for social workers.
The study results should provide coping strategies for social workers when faced with secondary traumatic stress.
Social work is the leading profession in terms of experiencing poor physical health, poor job satisfaction and impaired well-being (Graham, Shier, & Nicholas,
From the eco-social approach, social workers are concerned about the structures of the society and how people relate to their social problems as social work practice is founded on the holistic model (Murty, Sanders, & Stensland,
physical stressors (e.g. concerns for safety and security of individuals)
task-related stressors (e.g. job density)
role stressors (e.g. unclear job description and expectations)
social stressors (e.g. poor human relations)
career-related stressors (e.g. limited opportunities for development).
It is no wonder that the new qualified South African social workers who went for exchange programmes to countries such as Malaysia and England for placement (i.e. 6 months practical) depicted task-related stressors and career related stressors as attributable to their disengagement because they were immersed in many paperwork and the guidance and support from the supervisors were minimal (Hollis,
Previous South African quantitative studies on burnout at the workplace seemed to have focused on nurses (Khamisa, Peltzer, Ilic, & Oldenburg,
The introductory discussion highlights how work-related stress among social workers from different countries contributes to burnout. Maslach, Jackson and Leiter (
Practically, this study’s findings may be of importance to the body of knowledge regarding social workers’ well-being, who work under excruciating conditions. Furthermore, from a methodological point of view, this study is of importance because the work-related stress is investigated qualitatively. Participants’ reactions to psychological, cognitive and behavioural stressors may assist the minister of Department of Social Development and Welfare to improve the work conditions including incentives for social workers. At the local level, the centre managers should liaise with the government in recommending the fringe benefits for social workers who are multi-skilled. The sequence in this article will be unfolded through highlighting theoretical perspectives on work-related stress and burnout in the ‘Literature’ section. Then the research methodology will be presented, followed by a discussion on the results of the study.
Christina Maslach introduced the theory of burnout and described job burnout as prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors at workplace (Maslach,
In South Africa, a total of 19% of social workers who migrated to countries such as New Zealand have led to burnout for those still working in the government sectors and non-profit organisations (NGOs) (Bartley et al.,
Considering that the budget made by the South African Department of Social Development for compensation of social workers was at 0.5% in 2015 and it will remain the same until 2021 (UNICEF,
The lack of funding in the Department of Social Welfare and Development has been documented as contributing to stress among social workers because it hinders them to implement interventions targeted at vulnerable people (Chiwara & Lombard,
Figley (
According to Lincoln and Guba (
In this study, two focus group interviews consisting of 14 social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development were conducted.
This study was conducted at the boardrooms of the two Department of Social Development and Welfare (i.e. Zwelitsha location and Alice) offices of the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. The purposive sampling is defined as a method that is deliberately an effort of gaining representation of sample by including the groups in the probable area (Creswell,
The criteria for selecting the sample included registration with the South African Council of Social Workers. Some of the participants were married, divorced and single. Participants also occupied different ranks and levels (grades). In this study, five of the participants were married, while seven were single as opposed to only two who indicated to have divorced. Of the 14 participants, eight had bachelor’s degrees in Social Work (SW), two had master’s degrees (SW), one had a master’s degree and postgraduate qualifications and the other three had bachelor’s degrees in SW and certificates related to their profession.
Biographical information of the participants.
Participant | Age in years | Marital status | Gender | Qualifications | Years of service in work | Place of work | Position at work |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P 1 | 35 | Single | F | Master’s degree SW) | 12 | Alice | Social worker |
P 2 | 39 | Single | M | Bachelor’s degree SW) | 10 | Alice | Social worker |
P 3 | 38 | Married | F | Master’s degree SW) | 12 | Alice | Social worker |
P 4 | 41 | Married | M | Bachelor’s degree SW) | 8 | Alice | Social worker |
P 5 | 59 | Married | F | Bachelor’s degree SW) and EAP Certificate | 24 | Alice | Senior social worker |
P 6 | 47 | Divorced | F | Bachelor’s degree SW) and HIV/AIDS certificate | 15 | Alice | Social worker |
P 7 | 28 | Single | M | Bachelor’s degree SW) | 4 | Alice | Social worker |
P 8 | 42 | Divorced | F | Bachelor’s degree SW) and Programme in Monitoring and Evaluation | 9 | Zwelitsha | Social worker |
P 9 | 44 | Single | F | Master’s degree SW) and Certificate in Debriefing | 16 | Zwelitsha | Social worker |
P 10 | 40 | Single | M | Bachelor’s degree SW) | 15 | Zwelitsha | Social worker |
P 11 | 30 | Single | M | Bachelor’s degree SW) | 6 | Zwelitsha | Social worker |
P 12 | 52 | Married | M | Bachelor’s degree SW) | 12 | Zwelitsha | Senior social worker |
P 13 | 25 | Single | M | Bachelor’s degree SW) | 2 | Zwelitsha | Social worker |
P 14 | 53 | Married | F | Bachelor’s degree SW) | 27 | Zwelitsha | Senior social worker |
EAP, employee assistance programme; SW, social worker.
Qualitative methods of data collection, such as observations and interviewing, are preferred by researchers working with interpretive paradigms (Creswell,
What job-related challenges hinder your professional efficiency?
How have you been coping with clients who experience domestic violence?
How do you handle situations where you should remove maltreated children from their caregivers?
What form of emotional support do you get from your immediate supervisors and/or managers?
How do you cope with trauma?
The focus group interviews were conducted over 2 days and lasted for 1 h 30 min each.
Prior to the focus group interviews, permission was requested to audio-tape the participants’ responses. Digital recordings were transcribed immediately after the two interviews were concluded, as Creswell (
The grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data. Three steps of coding –
Trustworthiness involves establishing credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability. To establish credibility, the participants were engaged in a prolonged discussion about work-related stress and its consequences as suggested by Connelly (
In reporting of findings, the researcher’s interpretations should be substantiated with the exact words ‘verbatim’ from the empirical study and assimilated with relevant theories as suggested by Creswell (
To avoid bias when reporting findings, Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls and Ormston (
More than a quarter of participants from both centres indicated that their professional efficiency is compromised because of a lack facilities. They indicated that they delay in attending families and children who should be rescued from hostile environments as a result of shortage of cars. For example, they cited:
There is a shortage of resources in our office. For example, here we are 21 staff and there is only one car which is now not working. (Participant 1, 35 years old, female)
When we have to go for visit, we would have to wait for the other person because there is only one car. (Participant 4, 41 years old, male)
We are unable to visit clients in need of counselling because there is only one car for almost 12 villages. (Participant 13, 25 years old, female)
The need for repairing equipment was also raised by participants as they struggle to compile monthly reports because of computers which do not function, as evident in the following extracts:
We have computers here but they are not working, and at the end of the month you are expected to submit your reports. (Participant 5, 59 years old, female)
The system that the department is using has failed us. We have a few of the resources here but they are not working. For instance, we have computers here but they are not working; if it is working there is no internet and some of our work requires us to capture our records for report filing but we cannot do that and that makes us to look as if we are inefficient. (Participant 6, 47 years old, female)
From the responses of the participants, it is evident that the social workers do not get support from their managers, especially in Alice:
Everyone do as they please here because of lack of observation by management. There was a time here when one that our colleagues was not paid for almost a year and when enquiring this they told him that he was not in the system and was not recognised as an employee in the department. Furthermore, other departments get incentives but here we are just working and we have been waiting for our benefits until now. (Participant 3, 38 years old, female)
This lack of accountability from the managers could be demotivating because the participants were aware that their colleagues from other departments had been given incentives:
We have been waiting for a long time here for money that we were promised but it has not reached us. We see people from other departments being rewarded for their work but to us…nothing. (Participant 1, 35 years old, female)
By gender, both female and male participants expressed feelings of regret for having pursued social work as there is no personal growth and recognition for their dedication. Their responses indicated impaired sense of purpose in life because they kept on referring to their friends who lead successful careers in other department:
I won’t lie to you, there are times when I regret doing this degree because even when you have experience in many areas such as clinical social work and restorative justice, when posts are being advertised, they are being filled by people from outside. Hence I say majority of us have lost courage and drink alcohol to forget their problems. (Participant 10, 40 years old, male)
A female participant who holds a masters’ degree in SW concurred by saying:
I do not even consider myself as someone who possesses a Master’s degree in social work because of how we are treated and the conditions we work under. We love doing our job and we are passionate about it, but there is no improvement in our salaries. My friends who work as teachers get promotion and some are principals as we speak. (Participant 1, 35 years old, female)
According to Jessen (
Regarding job satisfaction, there was a strong affirmation among the participants that they were not happy and they highlighted the lack of extrinsic motivation. Gagne and Deci’s (
I just don’t know any more. When I was still at school I thought that I would be busy everyday helping people, but when coming to the real world it’s a different story. I am even tired of coming to work because I know that I will just sit and do nothing. (Participant 2, 39 years old, male)
Every month we have to do reports and score ourselves, and that month I did campaigns and even went an extra mile but I was given a low score and my supervisor could not stand for me and fight for a higher score. (Participant 7, 28 years old, male)
Everyone likes to be praised when they have done well in what they were doing. Lack of recognition discourages a person and that is where we would feel tired of what we do. Just little incentives make a difference. (Participant 14, 53 years old, female)
The study results indicate that there are participants who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder when they provide counselling. Despite the 20 years of service, Participant 12 cited:
The work that we do affect us psychologically because at times, we are supposed to be emotionally strong for rape victims and parents whose children got killed while in prison. It is impossible for you to run away from the emotional pain although I suffer from insomnia and lately, my hypertension has gone high. (Participant 12, 52 years old, male)
Similarly, a female participant, who has been a social worker since she was 24 years old, mentioned that there is no safety at work and witnessing a scene where someone was shot has built anxiety. She has been quoted as follows:
There was an incident recently, where one of our colleagues was attacked here at work by someone unknown, even until this day I fear for my life. Whenever I watch television and there are killings, I just tremble because we could have been severely injured since that man was having a gun. Next year I will be retiring and I have no plans of extending it. (Participant 5, 59 years old, female)
Another male participant witnessed the domestic violence of elderly couple and he did not know how to intervene. He narrated as follows:
I could not believe my eyes when a 65 year old man severely beat his wife who was accusing him of adultery. He tackled her until she fell on the floor. (Participant 13, 25 years old, male)
Post-traumatic stress disorder falls under anxiety disorders and refers to a pattern of negative reactions following a traumatic event, commonly involving re-experiencing the event in the form of nightmares (Bernstein, 2016). These findings correspond with the study conducted in Finland, in which social workers who participated in a longitudinal study reported a burnout that manifested in a decline in overall physical health and respiratory infections (Kim, Ji, & Kao,
Owing to overwhelming workload experienced by social workers, it emerged that some participants have harboured anger and they would vent it out to innocent individuals. Such behaviour is called displacement. According to Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalytic theory (Freud & Bonaparte,
There are times I would throw my frustrations at my boyfriend and we would fight because I feel at times that he does not understand where I’m coming from but eventually we would be fine. Talking about things that bothers us helps in a relationship and also understanding one another boosts it. (Participant 9, 44 years old, female)
There were mixed feelings expressed by participants regarding debriefing. Debriefing is defined as reviewing accounts of what occurred and how an individual has reacted psychologically, emotionally and behaviourally to a traumatic situation (Miller,
When one of our colleagues was attacked, nothing was done. How do they expect us to work effectively when we know that people can go in and out of here as they please because there are no security guards at the entrance? I always fear for my life here. (Participant 5, 59 years old, female)
Another female participant expressed a wish that the workshops they attend(ed) should be more about debriefing as they do not cope:
I sometimes wish that these workshops that we go to would focus more on us on how we cope with different cases because I have a concern that we as social workers have nowhere to go when things get tough in the field. (Participant 8, 42 years old, female)
Another participant highlighted that despite having informed his manager about his bereavement, no support of any kind came forth:
I recently lost my younger brother in a tragic way and that affected my work performance. The department did nothing, only my colleagues supported me through that time and even booked me a psychiatrist in East London because I was not coping. (Participant 11, 30 years old, male)
It was clear from the participants that family support, human relations and religion play critical roles in their mental health. For example, the following extracts attest to this fact:
Every day we have services at church, so that is one thing that helps me to deal with everyday issues. I have also established prayer meetings with some colleagues. We do pray for strength and our souls have begun finding peace. (Participant 12, 52 years old, male)
As you can see that I’m married, my husband is very supportive and understanding I do not want to lie. When I get home feeling overwhelmed because of work issues, he understands and we talk about it, he encourages me and it’s all gone. (Participant 3, 38 years old, female)
Protective factors such as the family support and church have been documented as buffers against stress (Fuentes-Peláez, Balsells, Fernández, Vaquero, & Amorós,
Permission to conduct the study was obtained from Govan Mbeki Research and Development Centre (GMRDC), a unit at the University of Fort Hare, which ensures that any research study involving people as subjects should adhere to ethical principles, respecting the confidentiality, informed consent and privacy of the participants. Then, the letters detailing the purpose of the study were sent to the managers at the Department of Social Development and Welfare (Zwelitsha location and Alice) and focus group interviews with seven social workers from each location were requested. The researcher assigned numbers P1–P7 for participants in Alice and P8–P14 for participants in Zwelitsha to ensure anonymity. The roles of the researchers were explained during the focus group interviews.
From the findings of this study, it is clear that when a person has given himself or herself to his or her work, they may find purpose and resilience. For example, a male participant who used his car to attend the meetings and workshops demonstrates passion and dedication. Furthermore, there are participants who highlighted the importance of religion and family support as a form of coping in the face of adversity. In other words, such support and church services enable their resiliency effect. Participants showed that the only support that they get is from their families, mostly from their husbands – those who are married. The support that they get from home makes them to be able to face the challenges of the next day. This reveals that family support is vital when you are someone who deals with people who will also look to you for support, because at work you have to be professional and be confidential. Research by Grant and Kinman (
However, it is evident that some of the participants’ health has deteriorated because of workload and low salaries. Some of the participants got accepted at the hospitals because of depression and there were some reports of hypertension. Brinkborg et al. (
It is evident that the social workers are floundering (i.e. experience state of mental illness); thus, they reverted to alcohol abuse. The implications of drinking alcohol by social workers could bear negative consequences on their occupational functioning because they may be absent and end up being addicted. Furthermore, alcohol abuse may give rise to risk sexual behaviour owing to impaired judgement. Therefore, an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) should be considered for social workers to protect their overall well-being because work environments with high psychological distress could induce family conflicts as suggested by Zheng, Molineux, Mirshekary and Scarparo (
Because the social workers have been relating to the traumatic experiences, the use of empathy is necessary. Even in tragedies where the individuals experience helplessness and have suicidal ideations, they are expected to empathise and return to work immediately and attend to the next client(s) as if they have not been exposed to trauma (Cacciatore, Carlson, Michaelis, Klinek, & Steffan,
Based on the findings, it is most likely that the majority of social workers will resign unless the government improves the working conditions (human resources) and increases the salaries according to their qualifications and experience. There should be two cars in each centre to visit the clients, especially in remote areas. Most importantly, when the Department of Social Development and Welfare fails to revise the job descriptions of the social workers and assign them based on their expertise, their offices would always be congested and those in need of their services, such as indigent families, would continue to suffer. Finally, more cases of burnout would be inevitable.
Although this study yielded valuable information on how to improve the work conditions of social workers, there are limitations that impacted the study. The study was restricted to two locations. Although the group was homogeneous in terms of race and career, the difference was in the number of years in the profession as well as their marital status. Another potential factor that might have triggered the results is that the interviewer is the former lecturer of some of the participants. Another limitation has to do with the small sample size. With the utilisation of a small sample size, one cannot decisively sum up the findings, even though various questions were utilised as a part of a drive to decide how extensive the sample was. In future research, a larger population including a large sample of social workers is ought to be examined.
Although the findings cannot be transferred to other work environments, they prove meaningful for the purpose of the study. Research replicating the present study in other similar contexts will help to broaden the knowledge of social workers and their work-related stress. Finally, quantitative study would cover many participants whose experiences may influence the South African government to improve the lives of social workers.
Work engagement is a state of employees’ cognitive-affective well-being (Warr,
The author thanks the Department of Social Development for the support provided and the study participants for their participation.
The author declares that they have no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
The author conducted all the interviews and performed the write-up of the article, and is the sole contributor.
This -research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.