The Role of Supervision As a Protective Factor Against Stress and Anxiety for Child Welfare Workers

Background: Issues with staffing are considerably higher in child welfare social work than in other people-centred professions (Bennet et al., 1993; Lloyd et al., 2002). Previous research suggests that supervision and peer support networks could be significant factors associated with commitment to work, workers’ intention to stay or leave, and sense of support by their organisation (Conrad and Keller-Guenther, 2006). Factors such as high supervisor to staff ratios, limited workload, and small teams have been associated with reduced stress levels and increased worker engagement (McFadden et al., 2015; Carpenter et al., 2013). In light of major reforms undertaken recently by a number of Local Authorities in the UK, the current study focused on these factors as part of a larger evaluation in four local authorities involved in the national ‘roll out’ of a new social work practice model - the Reclaiming Social Work (RSW) model.

Methods: In this mixed-methods study evaluation, 170 frontline workers from the child and family protection services completed a staff survey. The survey investigated a number of key organisational factors known to support practice as well as examining the health and wellbeing and work satisfaction of staff.  Specifically, we examined workers’ level of stress in relation to their reported work satisfaction and other key questions related to supervision, levels of emotional support, and feedback provided by their manager. Stress levels were measured with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ, Goldberg, 1978). Open-ended questions were also used to explore workers’ views on perceived support from their organisation. 

Results: The majority of respondents reported very high job satisfaction (84%), but levels of reported stress significantly varied, with the clinically elevated scores ranging from 22% to 38% across the different LAs. Mean GHQ scores significantly differed across LAs (F=5.970, p=.016). Further analyses indicated differences for stressed workers between LAs for the following variables: effectiveness of supervision (F=3.613, p=.007), emotional support by manager (F=3.751, p=.006), manager feedback (F=4.214, p=.003), manager’s support for personal development (F=4.902, p=.001), group practice discussions (F=3.292, p=.013), and work satisfaction (F=2.824, p=.027). Qualitative analyses indicated that although respondents felt that supervision was regular, and they were supported to make decisions, however, they suggested that discussions could be more reflective and emotional support and quality of supervision could be improved. Participants also reported concerns about access to appropriate training and development needed to practice well.

 

Implications: Results from the current study point to the pivotal role of supervision in the relationship between workers, supervisors and the organisation, and how the new organisational reforms can address issues about quality of supervision. It also highlights that supervision should aim to ensure the wellbeing and job satisfaction of workers because satisfied workers may be more likely to remain in their jobs and provide better service to families in child welfare social work.