Working in human services: How do experiences and working conditions in child welfare social work compare?

British Journal of Social Work

Volumn 39, Issue 5, 2009, Pages 807-827

  Tham, Pia ^a   Meagher, Gabrielle ^b  

^a STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY   (Sweden)

^b UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Child welfare social workers; Comparison, working conditions; Human resource orientation; Human service occupations

Indexed keywords

EID: 68349128452     PISSN: 00453102     EISSN: 1468263X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/bjsw/bcm170     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. Audit Commission (2002) Recruitment and Retention: A Public Service Workforce for the Twenty-First Century, London, Audit Commission.
2. Ayre, P. (2001) 'Child protection and the media: Lessons from the last decades', British Journal of Social Work, 31(6), pp. 887-901.
3. Balloch, S., Pahl, J. and McLean, J. (1998) 'Working in the social services: Job satisfaction, stress and violence', British Journal of Social Work, 28(3), pp. 329-50.
4. Beehr, T. A. and McGrath, J. E. (1992) 'Social support, occupational stress, and anxiety', Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 5(1), pp. 7-19.
5. Bennet, P., Evans, R. and Tattersall, A. (1993) 'Stress and coping in social workers: A preliminary investigation', British Journal of Social Work, 23(1), pp. 31-44.
6. Bradley, J. and Sutherland, V. (1995) 'Occupational stress in social services: A comparison of social workers and home help staff', British Journal of Social Work, 25(3), pp. 313-31.
7. Burke, R. J. and Greenglass, E. R. (1995) 'A longitudinal study of psychological burnout in teachers', Human Relations, 48(2), pp. 187-98.
8. Carpenter, J., Schneider, J., Brandon, T. and Wooff, D. (2003) 'Working in multidisci-plinary community mental health teams: The impact on social workers and health professionals of integrated mental health care', British Journal of Social Work, 33(8), pp. 1081-103.
9. Collings, J. and Murray, P. (1996) 'Predictors of stress amongst social workers: An empirical study', British Journal of Social Work, 26(3), pp. 375-87.
10. Dallner, M., Elo, A.-L., Gamberale, F., Hottinen, V., Knardahl, S., Lindström, K., Skogstad, A. and Orhede, E. (2000), Validation of the General Nordic Questionnaire (QPS Nordic) for Psychological and Social Factors at Work, Nord 2000:12, Copenhagen, Nordic Council of Ministers.
11. de Jonge, J., Mulder, M. and Nijhuis, F. (1999) 'The incorporation of different demand concepts in the demand-control model: Effects on health care professionals', Social Science and Medicine, 48(9), pp. 1149-60.
12. de Rijk, A. E., Le Blanc, P. M. and Schaufeli, W. B. (1998) 'Active coping and need for control as moderators of the job demand-control model: Effects on burnout', Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 71(1), pp. 1-18.
13. Dellgran, P. and Hö jer, S. (2005) 'Rö relser i tiden: Professionalisering och privatisering i socialt arbete', Socialvetenskaplig Tidskrift, 2-3, pp. 246-67.
14. Dominelli, L. and Hoogvelt, A. (1996) 'Globalisation and the technocratisation of social work', Critical Social Policy, 16(2), pp. 45-62.
15. Drake, B. and Yadama, G. (1996) 'A structural equation model of burnout and job exit among child protective workers', Social Work Research, 20(3), pp. 179-87.
16. Employers Organisation (2004) 'Recruitment and Retention Survey', September 2004, available online at www.lg-employers.gov.uk/documents/ publications/full-recruit-rentention-survey04.pdf.
17. Franklin, B.(1998) Hard Pressed, London, The Manson Group, Reed Business Information.
18. Franklin, B. and Parton, N. (1991) Social Work, the Media and Public Relations, London, Routledge.
19. Frese, M. (1999) 'Social support as moderator of the relationship between work stressors and psychological dysfunctioning: A longtitudinal study with objective measures', Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 4(3), pp. 179-92.
20. Ganster, D. C., Fusilier, M. R. and Mayes, B. T. (1986) 'Role of support in the experience of stress at work', Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(1), pp. 102-10.
21. Gibbs, J. (2001) 'Maintaining front-line workers in child protection: A case for refocusing supervision', Child Abuse Review, 10(5), pp. 323-35.
22. Gibelman, M. and Schervish, P. H. (1996) 'Social work and public social services practice: A status report', Families in Society, 77(2), pp. 117-24.
23. Gibson, F., Mc Grath, A. and Reid, N. (1989) 'Occupational stress in social work', British Journal of Social Work, 19(1), pp. 1-16.
24. Glisson, C. and Durick, M. (1988) 'Predictors of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in human service organizations', Adminstrative Quarterly, 33(1), pp. 61-81.
25. Glisson, C. and Hemmelgarn, A. (1998) 'The effects of organizational climate and inter-organizational coordination on the quality and outcomes of children's service systems', Child Abuse & Neglect, 22(5), pp. 401-21.
26. Goldberg Levin, A. (2003) 'Profession at risk: Why are so many workers leaving the field of child welfare? Exploring the relationship between diversity, inclusion, supervisory support, stress, job satisfaction and intention to leave among public child welfare workers', University of Southern California (dissertation).
27. Harlow, E. (2004) 'Why don't women want to be social workers anymore? New manage-rialism, postfeminism and the shortage of social workers in social services departments in England and Wales', European Journal of Social Work, 7(2), pp. 167-79.
28. Harrison, W. (1980) 'Role-strain and burnout in in child-protective service workers', Social Service Review, 54(1), pp. 31-44.
29. Hasenfeld, Y. (1992) Human Services as Complex Organisations, Newbury Park, Sage.
30. Healy, K. and Meagher, G. (2004) 'The reprofessionalization of social work? Collaborative approaches for achieving professional recognition', British Journal of Social Work, 34(2), pp. 243-60.
31. Healy, K., Meagher, G. and Cullin, J. 'Retaining novices to become expert child protection practitioners: Creating career pathways in direct practice', British Journal of Social Work Advance Access published November 13, 2007, 10.1093/bjsw/bcm125.
32. Heinish, D. A. and Jex, S. J. (1997) 'Negative affectivity and gender moderators of the relationship between work-related stressors and depressed mode at work', Work & Stress, 11(1), pp. 46-57.
33. Holmes, C. A. (2006) 'The slow death of psychiatric nursing: What next?', Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 13(4), pp. 401-15.
34. Huxley, P., Evans, S., Gately, C., Webber, M., Mears, A., Pajak, S., Kendall, T., Medina, J. and Katona, C. (2005) 'Stress and pressures in mental health social work: The worker speaks', British Journal of Social Work, 35(7), pp. 1063-79.
35. Ito, H., Eisen, S. V., Sederer, L. I., Yamada, O. and Tachimori, H. (2001) 'Factors affecting psychiatric nurses' intention to leave their current job', Psychiatric Services, 52(2), pp. 232-4.
36. Jayaratne, S. and Chess, W. (1984) 'Job satisfaction, burnout and turnover: A national study', Social Work, 29(5), pp. 448-53.
37. Jimmieson, N. and Griffin, M. A. (1998) 'Linking client and employment perceptions of the organization: A study of client satisfaction with health care services', Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 71(1), pp. 81-96.
38. Jinnett, K. and Alexander, J. A. (1999) 'The influence of organizational context on quitting intention: An examination of treatment staff in long-term mental health care settings', Research on Aging, 21(2), pp. 176-204.
39. Johnson, J. V. and Hall, E. M. (1994) 'Social support in the work environment and car-diosvascular disease', in Shumaker, S. A. and Czajkowski, S. M.(eds), Social Support and Cardiosvascular Disease, New York, Plenum Press.
40. Johnson, J. V., Hall, E. M. and Theorell, T. (1989) 'Combined effects on job strain and social isolation on cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality in a random sample of the Swedish male working population', Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 15(4), pp. 271-9.
41. Jones, C. (2001) 'Voices from the front line: State social workers and New Labour', British Journal of Social Work, 31(4), pp. 547-62.
42. Jones, F., Fletcher, B. C. and Ibbetson, K. (1991) 'Stressors and strains amongst social workers: Demands, supports, constraints and psychological health', British Journal of Social Work, 21(5), pp. 443-69.
43. Karasek, R. A. and Theorell, T. (1990) Healthy Work. Stress, Productivity and the Reconstruction of Working Life, New York, Basic Books.
44. Karolinska Institute (2001) Hållbar Arbetshälsa i Kommuner och Landsting. En Lägesrapport i Mars 2001, Stockholm, Karolinska Institutet, Institutionen fö r klinisk neurovetenskap, Sektionen för personskadeprevention.
45. Kirmeyer, S. L. and Dougherty, T. W. (1988) 'Work load, tension and coping: Moderating effects of supervisor support', Personnel Psychology, 41(1), pp. 125-39.
46. La Rocco, J. M., House, J. S. and French, J. R. P. (1980) 'Social support, occupational stress and health', Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21(4), pp. 202-18.
47. Länsisalmi, H. K. and Kivimäki, M. (1999) 'Factors associated with innovative climate: What is the role of stress', Stress Medicine, 151(4) pp. 203-13.
48. Le Croy, C. W. and Rank, M. R. (1987) 'Factors associated with burnout in the social services: An exploratory study', Journal of Social Service Research, 10(1), pp. 22-39.
49. Lee, R. T. and Ashforth, B. E. (1996) 'A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout', Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(2), pp. 123-33.
50. Lipsky, M. (1980) Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services, New York, Russell Sage Foundation.
51. Lundström, T. and Vinnerljung, B. (2001) 'Omhändertagande av barn under 1990-talet'. In Välfärdstjänster i omvandling, SOU 2001: 52.
52. Marsh, P. and Triseliotis, J. (1996) Ready to Practise? Social Workers and Probation Officers: Their Training and First Year in Work, Aldershot, Avebury.
53. McLean, J. (1999) 'Satisfaction, stress and control over work', in Balloch, S., McLean, J. and Fisher, M.(eds), Social Services: Working Under Pressure, Bristol, Policy Press.
54. Meyer, J. W. and Rowan, B. (1977) 'Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony', in Powell, W. and Di Maggio, P. J.(eds) (1991), The New Insti-tutionalism in Organisational Analysis, Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
55. Mor Barak, M. E., Levin, A., Nissly, J. A. and Lane, C. J. (2006) 'Why do they leave? Modeling child welfare workers' turnover intentions', Children & Youth Services Review, 28(5), pp. 548-77.
56. Mor Barak, M. E., Nissly, J. A. and Levin, A. (2001) 'Antecedents to retention and turnover among child welfare, social work and other human service employees: What can we learn from past research? A review and meta-analysis', Social Service Review, 75(4), pp. 626-61.
57. Moriarty, J. and Murray, J. (2007) 'Who wants to be a social worker? Using routine published data to identify trends in the numbers of people applying for and completing social work programmes in England', British Journal of Social Work, 37(4), pp. 715-33.
58. National Board of Health and Welfare (2001) Nationellt Stöd för Kunskapsutveckling inom Socialtjänsten, Stockholm, The National Board of Health and Welfare.
59. National Board of Health and Welfare (2004) För en kunskapsbaserad socialtjänst. Redo-visning av ett regeringsuppdrag åren 2001-2003, Slutrapport.
60. National Board of Health and Welfare (2006) Socialstyrelsens allmänna råd om persona-lens kompetens vid handläggning och uppföljning av barn och unga, Socialstyrelsens fö rfattningssamling SOSFS 2006:14.
61. National Board of Health and Welfare (2007) Ung Novis eller Gammal och Vis? En Kartläggning av Kompetens hos Personal som Arbetar med Myndighetsutövning för Barn och Unga, Stockholm, The National Board of Health and Welfare.
62. National Work Environment Authority and Statistics Sweden (2003) Arbetsorsakade Besvär 2003, Stockholm, National Work Environment Authority.
63. National Work Environment Authority and Statistics Sweden (2005) Arbetsorsakade Besvär 2005, Stockholm, National Work Environment Authority.
64. Olsson, T. (2003) Socialtjänstens Personal och Kompetens: En Akut Framtidsfråga, Dalarnas forskningsråd.
65. Oxenstierna, G. (1997) Socialtjänstens Förutsättningar för Barnavårdsarbete: En Studie om Villkor, Påfrestningar och Resultat, Stockholm University, Department of Social Work.
66. Parton, N. (1998) 'Risk, advanced liberalism and child welfare: The need to rediscover uncertainty and ambiguity', British Journal of Social Work, 28(1), pp. 5-27.
67. Parton, N. and O'Byrne, P. (2000) Constructive Social Work: Towards a New Practice, Basingstoke, Macmillan.
68. Pelfrene, E., Vlerick, P., Mak, R. P., de Smets, P., Kornitzers, M. and de Backer, G. (2001) 'Scale reliability and validity of the Karasek "Job -Demand-Control-Support" model in the Belstress study', Work & Stress, 15(4), pp. 297-313.
69. Pousette, A., Jacobsson, C., Thylefors, I. and Hwang, P. (2001) 'The role of feedback in Swedish human service organizations', in Pousette, A.(ed.), Feedback and Stress in Human Service Organizations, Gothenburg University, Department of Psychology.
70. Powell, W. and DiMaggio, P. J. (eds) (1991) The New Institutionalism in Organizational Analysis, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
71. Reid, W.J. and Misener, E. (2001) 'Social work in the press: A cross-national study', International Journal of Social Welfare, 10(3), pp. 194-201.
72. Rycraft, J.R. (1994) 'The party isn't over: The agency's role in the retention of public child welfare caseworkers', Social Work, 39(1), pp. 75-80.
73. Samantrai, K. (1992) 'Factors in decision to leave: Retaining social workers with MSW in public welfare', Social Work, 37(5), pp. 454-8.
74. Schaufeli, W. B. and Buunk, B. P. (2003) 'Burnout: An overview of 25 years of research and theorizing', in Schabracq, M. J., Winnubst, J. A. M. and Cooper, C. L.(eds), The Handbook of Work & Health Psychology, West Sussex, Wiley & Sons Ltd.
75. Silver, P., Poulin, J. and Manning, R. (1997) 'Surviving the bureaucracy: The predictors of job satisfaction for the public agency supervisor', The Clinical Supervisor, 15(1), pp. 1-20.
76. Sö derfeldt, B., Sö derfeldt, M., Jones, K., O'Campo, M., Muntaner, C., Ohlson, C. G. and Warg, L.-E. (1997) 'Does organization matter? A multilevel analysis of the demand-control model applied to human services', Social Science and Medicine, 44(4), pp. 527-34.
77. Stanley, N., Manthorpe, J. and White, M. (2007) 'Depression in the profession: Social workers' experiences and perceptions', British Journal of Social Work, 37(2), pp. 281-98.
78. Teuchmann, K., Totterdell, P. and Parker, S. K. (1999) 'Rushed, unhappy, and drained: An experience sampling study of relations between time pressure, perceived control, mood, and emotional exhaustion in a group of accountants', Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 4(1), pp. 37-54.
79. Tham, P. (2007) 'Why are they leaving? Factors affecting intention to leave among social workers in child welfare', British Journal of Social Work, 37(7), pp. 1225-46.
80. Uggerhöj, L. (1996) Hjaelp eller Afhaengighed: En Kvalitativ Undersögelse af Samarbejde og Kommunikation mellem Truede Familier og Socialforvaltningen, Aalborg, Aalborg Universitets-forlag.
81. Um, M. Y. and Harrison, D. F. (1998) 'Role stressors, burnout, mediators and job satisfaction: A stress-strain outcome model and empirical test', Social Work Research, 22(2), pp. 100-15.
82. Vahtera, J., Pentti, J. and Uutela, A. (1996) 'The effect of objective job demands on registered sickness absence spells: Do personal, social and job-related resources act as moderators?', Work & Stress, 10(4), pp. 286-308.
83. van Vegchel, N., de Jonge, J., Söderfeldt, M., Dormann, C. and Scahufeli, W. (2004) 'Quantitative versus emotional demands among Swedish human service employees: Moderating effects of job control and social support', International Journal of Stress Management, 11(1), pp. 21-40.
84. Viswesvaran, C., Sanchez, J. I. and Fisher, J. (1999) 'The role of social support in the process of work stress: A meta-analysis', Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54(2), pp. 314-34.
85. Wilson, L. (2004) Socialsekreterare i Sundsvalls Kommun: En Undersökning om Persona-lomsättning och Arbetsmiljö, Rapport 2004:4, Västernorrland, FOU.