Social Workers and Distress: Implications for Sustaining a Healthy Workforce

SUMMARY

Social workers are affected by multiple stressors in their personal and professional lives creating a vulnerability to distress. This article examines substance use, depression, caregiving characteristics, and relationship problems among 215 social workers in Kentucky and reports how these factors are related to distress. Regression analysis found that these risk factors accounted for 49% of variance in K10 symptom scale scores. This study's findings have important implications for social service organizations, managers, BSW and MSW programs, and professional organizations. Social workers work with underserved populations, making health and wellness in the workplace of vital concern to ensure good client outcomes. A multilevel systemic approach is needed to address the health of the workforce.

KEYWORDS:

• Distress
• K10
• social service agencies
• social workers
• substance use
• workforce

Notes

The CAGE questionnaire consists of four questions: (1) “Have you ever felt you should Cut down on drinking?” (2) “Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?” (3) “Have you ever felt Guilty about your drinking?” (4) “Have you ever taken a drink in the morning (Eye-opener) to steady your nerves or get rid of a hangover?” Two or more positive answers are correlated with alcohol dependence in 90% of cases.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

David K. Pooler

David K. Pooler, PhD, is Assistant Professor, College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC.