Negative consequences of practicing the helping profession among social workers

Negative consequences of helping profession by social workers The performance of the social worker profession is often described and seen as an ideal state of essential help for a client in a difficult life situation. Levická and Mrázová (2004) state that a social worker should care about people, should want to help, and should show respect for life. The demanding nature of the helping profession of social work stems from its specific position in relation to the client, where participation in solving his or her problems is part of professional work (Raková, Bednarek, 2015). In this context, Barnett and Cooper (2009) note that workers in helping professions are very often threatened by excessive stress and burnout. They provide help to others even when their internal and external resources may already be overloaded. In terms of the development and emergence of burnout syndrome, social work is among the most risky fields (Ráczová, Köverová, in print).

Mann (2004) adds that due to intensive work with the client’s emotions, helping professionals also suffer compassion fatigue in the form of secondary trauma. Secondary trauma represents a vicarious stressful experience resulting from exposure to someone else’s account of a trauma they experienced directly (Cunningham, 2003). It can also arise from direct help during a stressful event, for example through crisis intervention after a mass traffic accident. Although the social worker is not directly in the role of the victim of a serious event, this event in the client can have the same impact on them. As a consequence, they may feel signs of secondary trauma in the form of terrifying dreams, feelings of helplessness, or frequent thoughts about the client’s situation.

Excessive stress, burnout, and experiencing secondary trauma affect an individual’s health condition, leading to increased emotional exhaustion and anxiety (Redeke, Mahoney, 2000). Overall quality of life, as well as job satisfaction, performance, and work efficiency of social workers can be affected.

The aim of our research study was to map the possible occurrence of negative consequences of performing helping work in the population of social workers. We focused on factors such as perceived stress, burnout syndrome, and secondary trauma. We also focused on the question of whether years of practice are related to an increase in negative consequences of practising the helping profession.

Research sample

The study sample consisted of 193 social workers employed in social service institutions and facilities established for the social and legal protection of children and probation. The individual institutions were selected randomly, using electronic generation, so that social institutions in each region of Slovakia were proportionally represented. The average age of respondents was 41,7 (SD = 9,89). The study involved 22 men and 171 women. The average number of years of work experience was 12,37 (SD = 9,50).

Research methods

To assess the possibility of burnout among social workers, we used the Maslach Burnout Inventory = MBI (Maslach, Jackson, Leiter, 1996). The questionnaire consists of 22 items divided into three factors: emotional exhaustion MBI-EV (state of physical and psychological fatigue), depersonalization MBI-D (insensitivity toward clients), and personal accomplishment MBI-OU (an indirect indicator of burnout in the form of perceived personal satisfaction with job competence and performance). Social workers were asked to mark on a 6-point scale (0 = never, 6 = daily) the option that described them best, e.g., “Working all day with people is really exhausting for me”. Internal consistency for the exhaustion factor was 0,83, for the depersonalization factor 0,85, and for the personal accomplishment items 0,75.

To assess perceived stress we used the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale = PSS (Cohen, Kamarck, Mermelstein, 1983), which focuses on global subjective evaluation of the impact of stress and unexpected events on an individual during the last month on a 5-point scale. E.g.: “How often in the last month have you felt stressed?” Internal consistency of the items, Cronbach’s alpha, was 0,73.

For the assessment of experiencing secondary trauma we used the Professional Quality of Life questionnaire = PROQoL (Stamm, 2010), specifically one of its factors: secondary traumatic stress PROQoL-STS. The respondent’s task was to evaluate on a 5-point scale (0 = never, 5 = very often), in 10 items, how often in the past month they experienced signs of secondary trauma, e.g., “I think too often about people I help”. Internal consistency of the items in the secondary traumatic stress factor was 0,85.

Research results

The values of the average occurrence of negative phenomena of helping among the contacted social workers are described in Table 1. The average level of emotional exhaustion assessed by the MBI was MBI-EV 19,98 (SD = 11,27), the average depersonalization value MBI-D was 4,94 (SD = 4,7), and the average personal accomplishment value was MBI-OU 34,36 (SD=7,6). The total mean burnout value was 38,56 (SD=17,8). The average level of perceived stress in the whole research sample was 25,9 (SD = 5,25). The average secondary trauma value was 21,57 (SD = 5).

Table 1 Average values of negative phenomena among social workers

We examined the relationship between length of practice and the occurrence of negative phenomena connected with performing the social work profession (Table 2). We found this relationship only for secondary traumatic stress and the burnout factor MBI personal accomplishment. Specifically, a positive, weak and significant correlation was found between length of practice and secondary trauma (rs = 0,15, p = 0,04). It was also shown that with increasing number of years worked, the level of personal accomplishment also rises (rs = 0,16, p = 0,03).

The relationship between years of practice and personal accomplishment caught our attention, so we examined more deeply the possible relationship between the age of the social worker and the level of MBI personal accomplishment (Table 2). We found that the correlation between age and MBI personal accomplishment is also significant and stronger than for years of practice (rs = 0,22, p = 0,002).

Table 2 Spearman correlation of years of practice with occurrence of negative phenomena

*p < 0,05 **p < 0,01

In the graphical presentation of the data on the occurrence of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and secondary trauma over years of work, we can see that their average values fluctuate depending on length of practice (Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3). In Figure 1, we see that emotional exhaustion is fairly critical up to three years of practice and may rise again after 20 years of practice. The same is true for secondary trauma, which is elevated in the first five years of practice on the graph and rises again after 20-25 years of helping (Figure 3). The period from 5 to 20 years of practice may be relatively milder in the occurrence of negative helping-related phenomena.

Figure 1 Average values of emotional exhaustion across increasing years of practice

Figure 2 Average values of depersonalization across increasing years of practice

Figure 3 Average values of secondary trauma across increasing years of practice

Discussion and conclusion

The results show that the contacted social workers report increased levels of perceived stress and burden. Social workers also experience an average level of secondary traumatic stress, and with increasing years of work, the risk from secondary trauma increases. Based on the results, we can also say that the level of secondary stress across years worked probably fluctuates; there are certain critical periods when a worker may be more vulnerable to developing secondary trauma. Such periods may be precisely the first 3-5 years of work in a helping profession.

Of particular interest is the increasing level of personal accomplishment (MBI-OU) with years of practice, and especially with the age of the social worker. Personal accomplishment (MBI – OU) refers to perceived competence in solving clients’ problems and positively influencing their lives. The overall level of personal accomplishment is above average, which is a very good indicator in the case of burnout risk. This is also confirmed by the reduced level of indifference toward clients in the form of depersonalization. In addition, it was found that social workers experience a reduced level of emotional exhaustion and, conversely, assess that they have enough energy to perform their profession.

In terms of risk of burnout syndrome, however, the most vulnerable are young social workers with up to five years of practice, who show high values of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion. On the other hand, the period from 5 to 20 years of practice appears to be relatively calm in the occurrence of negative phenomena resulting from helping.

It can be concluded that the level of negative phenomena during the working life fluctuates, and certain critical periods emerge. Social workers are particularly threatened by increased stress and burden, while increasing practice is also associated with increased vulnerability to secondary trauma in the form of intensive re-living of the client’s traumatic event as their own. On the other hand, with age and increasing practice, the level of personal accomplishment, sense of competence, and meaningfulness of social workers’ work also increases. Malach, Jackson (1981) developed norms for evaluating burnout levels. Based on them, our results generally confirmed a low level of burnout risk among social workers. It is possible that increasing practice, age, and social workers’ belief in their expertise and work competence to help clients successfully create a strong protective factor against burnout. Surprisingly, younger social workers with up to five years of practice appear to be more vulnerable to the negative consequences of helping. This may be related to their unmet expectations, or to unexpected stress-inducing situations arising from the profession. A young social worker is likely either to learn new coping strategies for overload, or to leave this work. It is probable that those who remain in this profession are precisely those who find personal fulfillment in helping work.

Authors: Mgr. Monika Hricová, PhD. , Mgr. Jana NEZKUSILOVÁ, Doc. PhDr. Margita MESÁROŠOVÁ, CSc. List of bibliographic references

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