Social Workers' Wellness: Initial Findings from a Large-Scale Study

Background and Purpose

Problem description
Literature on the helping professions has long identified the existence of those who are considered “impaired professionals,” i.e., individuals in the workforce who are experiencing problems with physical health, mental health, and/or substance use (PHMHSU).  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently indicated that behavioral health professionals’ wellness-related problems pose significant risks to the contemporary workforce.  While limited, the few studies that have been published indicate that social workers’ problems with wellness were more severe than those reported in the general population. 

Study objectives
This presentation shares data collected from a large-scale survey of licensed social workers.  The study focused on their problems with PHMHSU and self-identified impact on their work.

Research questions

1.  What is the extent and nature of social workers’ current problems with PHMHSU, as reflected in the study’s sample?

2.  In what ways do these problems affect their work? 

Methods

Study design  
The cross-sectional study used non-probability, convenience sampling methods.  Social workers’ email addresses were acquired from licensing boards of the 13 states that provide this information, representing all four regions of the U.S.  Email addresses of 70,000 social workers were obtained; 35,000 of these individuals were randomly selected to participate.  Over 6,000 social workers completed the questionnaire.  Depending upon analytic approach, the estimated response rate ranged between 17%-30%. 

Data collection
An initial invitation and two reminders were emailed to all 35,000 individuals.  A web-link embedded in the email granted access to a Qualtrics-supported site detailing IRB-approved informed consent and hosting the survey.

Measures
The questionnaire included closed- and open-ended items. Questions created for the study measured problems with PHMHSU, identifying specific conditions, their onset, and how they impact work.  Standardized instruments were also used, including the Professional Quality of Life scale. 

Analytic approach
Using SPSS, descriptive statistics enabled interpretation of quantitative data. A phenomenological approach was used to develop themes and code qualitative content in ATLAS.ti.  Inter-rater agreement and triangulation supported reliability and validity.

Results
Twenty-seven percent of respondents report they are currently experiencing serious problems with their PH.  Over half of these individuals indicate these issues affect their work.  Twenty-eight percent of social workers are presently experiencing MH problems, with depression and anxiety the most frequently occurring conditions.  At some point in their lives, problems with alcohol (9%) and/or other drugs (6%) impacted a small portion of the sample.  Problems with PHMHSU affect participants’ work in a variety of ways (e.g., abilities to engage with clients and manage workload).  Differences were found in PHMHSU problems by gender, race/ethnicity, field of practice, and other factors.  This presentation will compare the study’s findings to available data on other professions and the general population.    

Conclusions and Implications
This study assessed the wellness of the contemporary social work workforce.  Although the generalizability is limited by a number of factors, initial findings suggest that social workers’ problems with PHMHSU substantially affect their work.  Ongoing data analyses and dissemination of results will inform professional practice and support future research on workforce development.