Re-Thinking Social Work Stress: Preliminary Findings from Central Ohio

Background and Purpose:

There is an abundance of quantitative studies identifying chronic levels of stress among social workers. Research suggests stress among the allied health professions is an epidemic, and has become normalized as an inevitable aspect of social work. Work-related stress impacts workers’ physical and emotional health, organizational functioning, and service delivery.

Theoretically, the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (TMSC) posits that an individual’s cognitive appraisal of their environment plays an important role in whether a situation will be perceived as stressful. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore social workers’ perceptions of their work environment, and how these result in the experience of stress. Furthermore, this study sought to understand how these cognitive mechanisms relate to emotional and behavioral responses, both in the moment and long-term.

The specific objectives of this study were:

1) To explore what work-related stress looks like through the lens of social workers.

2) To explore social workers’ reactive behaviors and coping styles in relation to work-related stressors.

Methods:

A social constructivist approach was used due to the understanding of stress and coping behaviors being situated within participants, and subsequent knowledge being generated through interaction with participants. Purposive sampling was utilized, as the objective was to understand the experiences of a specific group. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers from three agencies within Central Ohio. Thematic analysis identified codes, categories, and finally themes within the interview transcripts.

Results:

Four preliminary key themes emerged during analysis, including: (1) challenges of the work environment, (2) impact of work-related stress, (3) responses to work-related stress, and (4) perceptions of social work. As posited by the TMSC, cognitive appraisals played a role in how the environment contributed to experiencing stress. For example, this study found social workers’ perceptions of their control of situations (or lack thereof) contributed to feelings of helplessness, and subsequently influenced their coping efforts (e.g. substance use). Furthermore, participants’ perceptions of social norms regarding emotional control and coping appeared to have multiple paths of influence. Additionally, internal and external factors influenced not only how individuals experience stress, but also the behavioral responses that follow. However, while there were many individual differences in the specific environments, commonalities were also found in regards to both experiencing stress and resultant behaviors.

Conclusions and Implications:

This study suggests the important role that qualitative research may play in understanding the public health concern of stress within the social work profession. Findings support the need to shift from the quantification of stress, to understanding the role that individual cognitive, and emotional mechanisms play in experiencing work-related stress and subsequent health outcomes. The prevalence and severity of stress among social workers implies that current prevention and intervention strategies are ineffective, as supported by study participants. Findings indicate the need for tailored interventions that specifically target social workers’ appraisals and behavioral mechanisms. Finally, the onus of stress reduction cannot simply be placed on social workers, but must address wider systemic issues that perpetuate this stress (e.g. lack of resources and poor supervision).