Stress, sense of meaningful work, and well-Being among social workers during Covid-19

ABSTRACT

The psychological and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are increasingly apparent. Using the job demands-resources model, the study investigated the health and psychological well-being of social workers who continued to work during the pandemic. More specifically, it examined the role of a sense of meaning in work and professional self-esteem in associations between job demands, resources, and well-being among social workers active during the Covid-19 pandemic. A sample of 478 Israeli social workers from a variety of social work fields completed an online questionnaire. The multiple regression model found 45.8% of the variance in well-being was accounted for by perceived stress, social support, professional self-esteem, and a sense of meaningful work. Lower levels of perceived stress and higher levels of social support, professional self-esteem, and a sense of meaningful work significantly predicted increased well-being. A sense of meaningful work significantly moderated the association between perceived stress and well-being. Findings are discussed with respect to future research and social work practice.

תקציר

ההשלכות הפסיכולוגיות והחברתיות של מגפת הקורונה ניכרות יותר ויותר. בהסתמך על מודל המשאבים והדרישות של משרה תעסוקתית, המחקר עסק בבריאות וברווחה הנפשית של העובדים הסוציאליים שהמשיכו לעבוד במהלך המגפה. ליתר דיוק, הוא בחן את תפקידה של תחושת משמעות בעבודה וערך עצמי מקצועי בקשרים שבין דרישות ומשאבים בעבודה לרווחה נפשית בקרב עובדים סוציאליים במהלך מגפת הקורונה. 478 עובדים סוציאליים ישראלים ממגוון תחומי עבודה סוציאלית מילאו שאלון מקוון. מודל הרגרסיה המרובה מצא כי 45.8% מהשונות ברווחה הנפשית מוסברת על ידי הדחק הנפשי, תמיכה חברתית, ערך עצמי מקצועי ותחושת משמעות בעבודה. רמות נמוכות יותר של דחק נפשי ורמות גבוהות יותר של תמיכה חברתית, ערך עצמי מקצועי ותחושת משמעות בעבודה ניבאו באופן מובהק רווחה נפשית מוגברת. תחושת משמעות בעבודה נמצאה כממתנת את הקשר בין דחק נפשי לרווחה נפשית. הממצאים נידונים ביחס למחקר עתידי ולפרקטיקה של עבודה סוציאלית.‏

KEYWORDS:

• Covid-19
• Israel
• sense of meaningful work
• social work
• stress
• well-being

מילות מפתח:

• דחק נפש
• ישראל
• עבודה סוציאלית
• קורונה
• רווחה נפשית
• תחושת משמעות

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ayelet Gur

Ayelet Gur is a senior lecturer at the Social Work Department, Tel Hai College. Her interest lies at the intersection of social policy and disability, and especially issues related to the social inclusion and human rights of persons with disabilities in light of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Dr. Gur leads a national longitudinal study examining personal budgeting for individuals with intellectual and mental disabilities. She also is engaged in an evaluation study of an integrative bio-psychosocial intervention in early intervention centres for children with developmental disabilities.

Vered Shenaar-Golan

Vered Shennar-Golan (PhD) is a senior lecturer at the Department of Social Work at Tel-Hai College and the head of Research Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A joint initiative of Tel-Hai College & the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Center of Ziv Medical Center. Dr. Shennar-Golan studies emotion regulation processes of parents and children from both clinical and normative populations. Her research focuses on examining the effects of parental feelings, difficulties in emotion regulation, and self-compassion on children's maladjustment and parental well-being. Her contribution to the current research relates to her work on the relationship between the variables studied and well-being.

Ayala Cohen

Ayala Cohen is a Senior lecturer in the Social Work Department at Tel Hai College and the founder of a unique track in Israel and around the world for undergraduate students in Policy Practice. She interested in the following research areas: Social Work education, Macro Social Work Practice (Policy Practice and Community Work), Program Evaluation (Learning from the successes Model) and Shared Dicision Making (SDM) with Service Users. Involved in activities and initiatives in civil society (Especially reducing health disparities in Periphery). In recent years, Ayala has been promoting research and action in the field of public participation, especially among diverse populations.