One Year after MSW Graduation: A Sensitive Window for Burnout and Workforce Retention

Background and Purpose
The first year after MSW graduation is a pivotal developmental period that may shape long-term career satisfaction, burnout, and workforce retention. As the nation faces severe workforce shortages in behavioral health, it is critical for social work educators and employers to address early-career burnout and high turnover. The emotional exhaustion and depersonalization that characterizes burnout can undermine Social Workers’ well-being, effectiveness, and commitment to the field, and yet little research has examined burnout risk during the transitional year into professional practice. This study investigates early career individual and employment-related factors associated with resilience and burnout among recent MSW graduates, with particular attention to modifiable factors that may inform targeted interventions.

Methods
An online survey was distributed to all MSW 2023 graduates from a large public university approximately nine months post-graduation, with a 43% response rate (n = 86). The survey included standardized measures of burnout and compassion satisfaction from the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), Greenhaus’ Career Satisfaction scale, and self-reported salary, satisfaction with salary and with benefits, and educational debt. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to assess the extent to which compassion satisfaction and other employment-related variables were associated with burnout, after controlling for years of work experience prior to the MSW.

Results
Higher compassion satisfaction was significantly associated with lower burnout scores (β = –.533, p < .001) in the final model, which explained a substantial portion of variance (R² = .621, Adjusted R² = .584, F(7, 75) = 17.50, p < .001). Greater educational debt (Median = $50,000) was positively associated with burnout (β = .211, p = .040), suggesting financial strain may contribute to increased burnout risk. Satisfaction with salary, satisfaction with benefits, career satisfaction, and annual salary (Median = $55,000) were not statistically significant predictors in the final model. After accounting for prior work experience, each stepwise model was statistically significant (p < .05), with the addition of compassion satisfaction and career satisfaction producing the largest improvement in explained variance (ΔR² = .555, p < .001). Collinearity statistics did not indicate concerns with multicollinearity; all VIF values were below 2.3, and Tolerance values exceeded .4.

Conclusions and Implications
Findings highlight the first year post-graduation as a sensitive period in which professional satisfaction may mitigate risk for burnout, while financial strain may heighten risk. Compassion satisfaction, finding fulfillment and meaning from one's work, had the strongest association with burnout and may be a protective factor. These findings underscore the importance of enhancing early-career support strategies that promote meaningful work, affirm professional purpose, and mitigate financial burden. Further research is needed to explore longitudinal trajectories of early career burnout and to examine the efficacy of resilience-promoting interventions during this formative transition.