Wellbeing and Turnover Intentions among Romanian Social Workers

Social work is a profession that aims to improve the social functioning of people in need, by supporting them to overcome difficult situations, so it is of utmost importance that the social worker himself functions properly and has an increased level of wellbeing. Based on an empirical investigation conducted in 2017 on a national sample of 193 social workers from Romania, the current article answers the following questions: What type of impact do the job, personal, and organizational characteristics have on the well-being and turnover intentions of Romanian social workers? Which of these characteristics are the most significant? Three indicators were used to analyze wellbeing: the three-dimensional construct of burnout, mental health complaints, and physical health complaints. The turnover intention was added as an outcome. The findings of the study suggest that, more than the personal characteristics of the respondents, or the specific requirements of the job, it is the organizational environment which has a definitive impact on the social worker’s wellbeing and turnover intention. The most significant among the organizational characteristics observed were: the job pressure, the supervisor support, and the organizational justice. The final section of the article presents some possible lines of action to reduce burnout among social workers, as well as some future research questions that arose from the study findings

Keywords: social workers, burnout, mental health, physical health, turnover