Work Engagement, Burnout and Personal Accomplishments among Social Workers

1. Work Engagement, Burnout and Personal Accomplishments among Social Workers Dr Shereen Hussein Principal Research Fellow (Chair) King’s College London Shereen.hussein@kcl.ac.uk Melbourne, Australia, August 2017

2. Social work & burnout RMIT University

3. Social workers and stress • Social workers as actors for social change • Involvement with vulnerable people at the most difficult times in their lives • Emotional involvement and attachments • Working within a system (facilitators and challengers) • Impact on workers’ wellbeing, job quitting and general health • Potential impact on service delivery and quality of work RMIT University

4. Broader context • Shortages, turnover and workload • Society’s perspective and the profession’s image • Stigmatised occupation • Organisational structure • Levels of support at work • Spill-over effect and other stressors • In England, teams are generally specialised: children & families (CFSWs); adults & older people (ASWs) RMIT University

5. The Study • This study is funded by the Department of Health, Policy Research Programme. • Data collected through two consecutive evaluations of new models of social work. The first focused on children & families SWs and the other on adult & older people SWs. The studies were funded separately by the Department of Education and the Department of Health • A total of 3,786 social workers from 22 diverse local authorities in England RMIT University

6. Theoretical Concepts • The job-demand/resource model • High job demands exhaust employees’ mental and physical resources • job resources foster employees’ engagement and heighten the sense of personal accomplishments • The nature of task in hand • Emotional exchange theory (Direct work with clients, administrative etc.) • Organisational factors • Turnover, supervision, etc. (pressure/support) • Experience and personal characteristics • Different perspectives and social capital RMIT University

7. Measurement Instruments • Maslach burnout inventory (MBI) • ‘‘emotional exhaustion’’ (EE), ‘‘depersonalization’’ (Dp) and ‘‘personal accomplishment’’ (PA) • Work Experience (Exp) - 3 items: Exp1; Exp2; and Age • Work engagement (Eng)–6 items: Conf; Inno; Mis; DM; Sup; and T-O • Nature of task (DW)– 2 items: DW1 and DW2 • Resources and support (Admin)–2 items: Form and Meet RMIT University

8. Method of Analysis • Initial comparative analysis of mean scores of MBI for CFSWs and ASWs • Two Bayesian structural Equation models • With latent factor confirmatory analysis build in • Additional measured variables were also included in the model: gender (Gen); self-reported health (SRH) and ethnicity (Eth) • Model 1 used data obtained from ASWs (n=1,998) and Model 2 uses data from CFSWs (n=1,316), after list-wise deletion of missing values. RMIT University

9. Sample description RMIT University

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12. findings RMIT University

13. Variations in the characteristics of CFSWs and ASWs • CFSWs slightly younger and more ethnically diverse • Possible impact of migrants’ contribution • No significant difference in terms of self-assessed health or gender • ASWs tended to have significantly more positive views about work engagement • ASWs had longer experience • Reflecting higher turnover rates among CFSWs RMIT University

14. Variations in levels of burnout • For all SWs included in this study: • moderate EE (=22.3; =10.4); • borderline low Dp (=5.9; =4.3) and • borderline moderate PA scores (=31.9; =6.1) • CFSWs scoring worse than ASWs in all elements of burnout • CFSWs in general had • moderate levels of EE & DP and low levels of PA • ASWs displayed • moderate levels of EE & PA and low levels of Dp RMIT University

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16. Factors Influencing ASWs’ Burnout Levels • EE was positively associated with DP, while negatively associated with PA • Levels of work engagement (Eng) and administrative support (Admin) had the most significant effect on EE and Dp • The largest magnitude is observed between PA and ASWs work engagement • Perceptions of not spending excessive amount of time in completing forms and meetings reduced of EE and Dp • Levels of PA were significantly and positively associated with Exp and DW • Strong relationship between SRH and burnout measures RMIT University

17. Diagram of ASWs’ structural equation model results, significant associations only RMIT University

18. Factors Influencing CFSWs’ Burnout Levels • Similar to ASWs, Eng and Admin had the largest magnitude of association • Spending the right amount of time in administrative significantly associated with EE &DP;  PA • Unlike ASWs, the nature of tasks being direct work was not significantly associated with any of the burnout outcomes • More experienced staff displayed significantly lower levels of Dp and higher levels of PA • Women had significantly lower Dpscores but no other associations (unlike ASW) RMIT University

19. Diagram of CFSWs’ SEM results, significant associations only RMIT University

20. Main Findings • ASWs generally report more positive experience than CFSWs • Positive impact of job resources manifested through the levels of work engagement: • when SWs perceive their organization to provide a supportive and involving climate, where they can contribute to important decisions and take ownership • Having practical support with paper work and administrative tasks • while seems a simple target to achieve, has considerable impact on SWs wellbeing • DW significantly impact the levels of PA for ASWs • Work-experience has a significant role, particularly among CFSWs • Gender and ethnicity differences • Women having a better experience in general: female-dominated occupations; how men and women deal with stress in different ways • BME workers having a better experience: co-association with users; social networks … • The bi-directional relationship between health and stress (cause & effect ??) RMIT University

21. Discussion and conclusion RMIT University

22. Key Messages • Children social workers are more exposed to burnout • Experience makes a difference  retention strategies • The levels of engagement and ownership of social workers is significant to their levels of burnout and wellbeing • Administrative support and organisation of work is crucial • Gender and ethnicity .. • Why, and how the workplace can support different groups • Workers’ own health and wellbeing • Quality of care and services  what practical steps that could be adopted RMIT University

23. Further Reflections • Group discussion with 45 participants reflecting on initial analysis • A mixture of practitioners, managers, students, educators and policy stakeholders • Took place in 2016 • Discussions revolved around factors related to: • Individuals • Employers • Policy RMIT University

24. Individual Role • Resilience, personal reserve, own coping strategies (the role of social capital) • Wider life experience and in-work experience • However, more experienced staff tend to get more complicated cases • How to balance being emphatic and developing ‘thick skin’ • Ability to see ‘direct results’ • Links to the ‘nature of work’ and ‘direct working’ in the model • Setting realistic expectations • Work-life balance and external stressors RMIT University

25. Employer Role • Strategies in place to tackle stress at early stages • Protected spaces; the ‘little things’: thank you, how are you? Etc. • Top-down expectations (pressures on managers passed on) • Shared responsibility and ownership • Workload and staff retention • IT and administrative support (eating the time of more important work) • Quality of management and supervision • Culture of work RMIT University

26. Policy and External Roles • Austerity measures • Freezing posts; unmanageable workload • Restructuring of health and social care • E.g. losing some experienced social workers from LA to the NHS • Social work education and qualifications’ reforms • Perceived differences between traditional routes and ‘fast track’ SW education • Children Act, policies related to adoption etc. • Speed of change in policy development- can be destabilizing RMIT University

27. Acknowledgment and References This study is funded by the Department of Health, Policy Research Programme. Hussein, S. et al. (2014) Independent Children’s Social Work Practice Pilots: Evaluating Practitioners’ Job Control and Burnout, Research on Social Work Practice. 24(2): 224-234. Hussein, S. (Under review) Work engagement, burnout and personal accomplishments among social workers in England: Does the client group make a difference? https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/policy-institute/scwru/res/roles/burnout.aspx RMIT University

28. Shereen.hussein@kcl.ac.uk @DrShereeHussein 00 44 2078481669 RMIT University