A longitudinal study of job resources, burnout, and turnover among social workers: implications for evidence-based organizational practices

UnrestrictedThe purpose of present study is to understand which job conditions is critical for social workers not only to prevent burnout, but also to cope with burnout experience. My central thesis is that different job resources can have distinctive functions such as 1) edifying roles and objectives of social workers, 2) empowering social workers to cope with job demands, and 3) embedding social workers in their organizations, depending on worker characteristics. In order to provide empirical evidence for these proposed functions of job resources, the current study tests longitudinal relationships among job demands, burnout, and turnover intention; 2) to test moderating effects of job resources in the framework of job demands-burnout-turnover intention; and 3) to explore how the moderating effects of job resources are influenced by social workers professional development. Study hypotheses and research questions are formulated and examined using a cross-lagged panel design and structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. This study includes a sample of 365 social workers identified from a longitudinal survey of California registered social workers.; Results showed that effective supervision was negatively associated with job demands, burnout, and turnover intention among social workers. Regarding the longitudinal relationships, job demands had positive causal effects on turnover intention only if job autonomy was low. Significant group differences were found across subgroups of Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) and Associated Social Workers (ASWs). Supervisory support buffered the effects of job demands and burnout on turnover intention among Associate Social Workers; however, in the case of LCSWs, job resources did not have significant moderating effects in the framework of job demands-burnout-turnover intention.; The current findings suggest that organizational practices should focus on developing effective supervision and enhancing job autonomy in frontline workers. Especially, organizational practices should focus on supporting social workers at the beginning of their professional careers. A supervisor plays a vital role helping inexperienced social workers cope with job demands and emotional distress at work. Implications for organizational practices, social work educations, and future research on social worker burnout are discussed