Social Work Burnout and its Effects on the Social Workers - Research Paper Example

 Social Work Burnout and its Effects on the Social Workers Abstract Over the past few years, work related stress among social workers has increasingly gained significant attention in the literature. Despite their significant contributions to the well being of the contemporary societies, social workers are increasingly facing a number of challenges such as chronic staff shortages, excess workloads and other work related psychological stress. This research proposal will use a literature review of recent publications as well as other qualitative and quantitative research approaches to help identify some of the reasons for the occurrence of burnout among social workers, its effects as well as some of the potential solutions to the issue. Social Work Burnout and its Effects on the Social Worker Introduction Social workers normally provide a wide range of services that are critically important foe the general well being of the society particularly with regard to its most vulnerable members. However, despite their significant contributions, social workers in various parts of the world are increasingly facing a number of challenges such as chronic staff shortages, excess workloads and other work related psychological stress (Cushman, 2005). This is particularly attributed to the increasing demand for their services as well as the diminishing resources in most parts of the world. The heavy demands placed on social workers coupled by the limited resources often result in psychological stress that eventually develops into high levels if burnout. According to many experts, social work burnout is chronic psychological response to persistent workplace stressors such as adverse working conditions, unrealistic timeframes and deadlines, heavy workloads, low pay and lack of appreciation among others. Within the past few decades, a number of researches have been conducted to establish the prevalence of burnout among workers and the potential causes of the problem. However, there is currently little empirical evidence on the effects of social work burnout on the productivity and daily lives of the affected social workers. This research proposal seeks to identify the reasons for the occurrence of burnout among social workers, its effects as well as some of the potential solutions to the problem. Literature Review The interest in burnout among researchers began in the 1970s when the term was first used by theorists such as Freudenberger (1975) to describe the progressive irritability, resignation and lose of morale among practitioners and workers. Recent researches have particularly revealed that the potential effects of burnout among social workers may go beyond the symptoms that were previously highlighted by researchers like Freudenberger. For example, Pottage and Huxley (2006) argues that the progression of a burnout not only contribute to more cases of mental illness among the workers but may also drive practitioners such as social workers to substance abuse as they seek to self medicate their conditions. According to Cushman (2005), burnout among social workers and other related helping professionals is often associated with low work productivity. This is particularly attributed to the fact that individuals suffering from burnout often tend to evaluate both themselves and their works negatively. Social workers are normally grouped as an occupationally stable group of workers. Social workers are therefore at an above-average risk of undergoing burnout. This has not been the case and in the recent past most of the social workers have been undergoing burnout as a result of the heavy workloads in this profession. Various evidence based practices show that even though the social workers suffer burnouts, its intensity is lesser compared to the other job-related groups. The social workers who are of a high level responsiveness for their esteemed clients are at a higher risk of burning out. This has resulted due to poor personality of these individuals in relation to the way they manage their emotions in their social work practices. This research paper explains the effects of the social work burnout to the social workers. The paper in addition elaborates on the necessary measures to curb the higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety to the social workers. The social work burning out to the social workers normally reduces their morale towards the community-based work. The stress, depressions and anxiety experienced by the social workers as a result of the burnout has greatly reduced their ability to manage the emotional experiences in their job descriptions. Various social workers normally fail to understand the expression of emotions as a vital practice in their profession (Powell, 2004). They believe that the emotions experienced in their community based care practices are undesirable and unprofessional. This has reduced their social interaction thus reducing the services provided to the suffering individuals in the society. The empathy as the root of the social work is therefore greatly affected by the social work burnout. Lack of social empathy has resulted to an increase in the disasters which the social workers are able to solve yet due to the social work burnout they are negligent to solve these critical problems. The social workers should undergo counseling to be able to efficiently reflect on the depression effects experienced in their field of profession and help keep their work spirits in check. The social workers should not only develop high self-esteem empathy but the exhibited feelings towards the community care as well matters a lot. The social workers burned-out by the unlimited emotional resources’ in the social work field should understand that in order to make it in this profession, which is more emotionally demanding, they should learn how to reduce the empathy distress that they usually experience in the fields. The emotional fatigue as a result of burnout in the social work have got various negative repercussions on the clients such as the loss of lives in the severe disastrous cases handled by the social workers. In summary, based on the above literature review, the effects of the social work burnout to the social workers include the following: Feeling overburdened by their work, risk of the underestimation of the parental alcohol and lastly, the general depressions. The depressions and stress experienced as a result of the overburden and overtime work by the social workers has greatly undermined the stability of the social workers’ families. This is as a result of the feelings of empathy the social workers have for the general social system thus neglecting their families at the expense of the community care. The parental alcohol among the social workers has emerged due to the social work burnout. This job is quite demanding hence it stresses the social workers who of late have been indulging in severe alcohol consumptions in order to reduce their work overload stress. As a result of the social work burnouts, lastly, the social workers have totally underappreciated their profession thus reducing the community-based care which is the inner core of this profession. Proposed Research Methodologies The planned research will employ both quantitative and qualitative research tools. For example, both secondary and primary data will be collected using a wide range of research tools to help identify some of the reasons for the occurrence of burnout among social workers, its effects as well as some of the potential solutions to the issue. Secondary data will be primarily collected through a comprehensive review of recent publications related to the research topic. The proposed literature review will particularly cover several selected books, social work organizational databases and websites, journals, articles and newspapers that are relevant to the research problem. On the other hand, the research will also collect a wide range of primary data through the use of various qualitative and quantitative research tools such as survey questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focused groups and direct observation. With regard to the survey questionnaires, a survey instrument consisting of an appropriate sample of social workers and employees working in different locations will be randomly selected as the participants in the research. A specific number of participants with relevant background and experience in social work will also be selected to participate in the research through interviews and focused groups. Prior to their participation, the selected participants will be well informed about the overall purpose of the research study and that their participation is voluntary. A written consent form will then be provided to each of the participants. The survey will primarily consist of a set of questionnaires and a sociodemographic form. The questionnaires will particularly seek information on the general work conditions, morale of participants at their social work places, average workload, their self esteem and cases of mental health problems among social workers. Finally, upon the completion of the data collection process, both the secondary and primary data collected from various sources will be subjected to a comprehensive analysis. The analysis will be carried out both manually as well as through the use of statistical packages. Conclusion      In conclusion, based on the findings from the literature review, social workers are increasingly facing a number of challenges such as chronic staff shortages, excess workloads and other work related psychological stress. It is hypothesized that the prevalence of a burnout among health workers has not only contribute to low productivity among the workers but has also resulted in a number of other negative effects such as rising cases of mental health problems as well as substance abuse as some social workers may seek to self medicate their conditions. References Cushman, L. (2005). Occupational stress among aids social service providers. Social Work in Health Care, 21, 115-131. Pottage, D., Huxley, P.(2006). Stress and mental health social work: A developmental perspective. International Journal of Psychiatry, 42, 124-131. Powell, W. (2004). The relationship between feelings of alienation and burnout in social work. Families in Society, 75, 4, 229-235. Read More