Social Justice, Organizational Commitment and Job Satisfaction for Palliative Care Social Workers

ABSTRACT

Job satisfaction and organizational commitment are critical factors in retention of qualified and experienced social workers. Palliative care organizations may struggle to retain social workers who question if the organization’s practices are in conflict with social work values of social justice and equity. Improving palliative care social workers’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment can be a pathway to keeping palliative care social workers in their jobs. Aims of this study were to explore how social justice influences palliative care social workers’ organizational commitment and intention to stay in their jobs, and if these associations were mediated by job satisfaction. A cross-sectional, survey design, administered online, with a sample of 127 palliative care social workers was used. Findings suggest that job satisfaction mediates the relationship between an organization that establishes a norm of social justice and organizational commitment, this in turn, makes palliative care social workers less likely to want to leave their jobs.

KEYWORDS:

• Social justice
• palliative care
• social work
• job satisfaction
• organizational commitment

Practice points

1. Palliative care social workers who work in environments that establish a culture of social justice, are more committed to their organizations, and therefore less likely to leave, when mediated by job satisfaction.

2. To improve social work retention, and improve care for marginalized populations, palliative care organizations should recognize the expertise of social workers in policy analysis, political social work, research, grant writing, advocacy, and community organizing to improve equity in palliative care.

3. Palliative care managers can direct training and development efforts to help team members engage in micro, mezzo, and macro social work practice aimed at improving palliative care with underserved populations and eliminating systemic racial and socioeconomic disparities in palliative care.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.