An Exploratory Examination of the Effect of Self-Care Practices on Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

ABSTRACT

Purpose

The National Association of Social Workers encourages self-care among practitioners. Self-care may prevent secondary traumatic stress, however, research examining self-care and other employee-related outcomes is dearth. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment are important for client, employee, and agency outcomes, but self-care’s role is unclear.

Methods

The relationship between employee self-care practices, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment was considered among 137 practitioners from a single US state during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Results

Job satisfaction was positively correlated with tenure, caring workplaces, and professional self-care. Organizational commitment was positively associated with hours worked, caring work environments, and professional self-care.

Discussion

Professional self-care was the most important self-care domain for job satisfaction and organizational commitment, but the least utilized form of self-care. Findings suggest the need to nurture organizational cultures emphasizing the importance of professional self-care and climates emphasizing employee safety during pandemics.

Conclusion

Replication among larger samples with representation from gender diverse and BIPOC practitioners is recommended.

KEYWORDS:

• Professional self-care
• work–life balance
• COVID-19
• job satisfaction
• organizational commitment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.