Research On The Burnout Of Frontline Social Workers And The Advice

Since the Ministry of Civil Affaris promoting social work pilot cities and social worker professional program throughout the country in 2007, the number of pilot social work organization soars. Shenzhen, as the first batch of social work demonstration cities, is thought to rank first place in the mainland with the help of local government. Despite of soaring development, it is admitted that there are many defects in mainland social work industry now, for example low level of specialization, localization, monotonous sponsors and so on. All these reflected in defective industry system are low popularity and low public awareness and poor welfare treatment for frontline social workers. Considering the background and the status of this industry, the working situation of frontline social workers needs to be focused. As an important driver of harmonious society, social work industry plays a vital role in residents’ well-being improvement and all-round social progress. However, the industry loss rate in current years keeps rising and even has broken through 20% the warning line. In addition, various dissatisfaction, complaints of frontline social workers and researches about social worker burnout demonstrate that burnout of social workers is urgently needed to be focused and addressed.After all, it is the frontline social workers who do promote the industry forward. The good quality of service and professionalism determines the public acceptance and respect for social workers and social work industry. Only with wide pulic acceptance and support, can the whole industry develop more smoothly and will social workers have a higher platform and work in a better industry ecology system, enjoy much more equitable and fairer salary system and have availability to more professional training and then also have great career prospects as others in bright industries. It is suggested by many researchers that the burnout has obvious negative effects on the health of social workers, both psychologically and physically. Not only individual development but also organizations’ development will be influenced by burnout, which may cause exit-propensity and low acceptance to social work organizations among employees. As mentioned before, social worker is the core of the social service system, so the burnout of frontline social worker should be paid more attention or the social work industry development will be affected deeply. All researches about social worker burnout are not only good for problem solving but also for introspection of the whole system and industry. The factors that leads to burnout will not disappear automatically until we change the situation from all aspects. According to the social-eco system theory, the causes leading to burnout are complicated and in mutual influence.In western countries, the research about burnout of social workers begins in 1970s, and then great achievements have been made, which include all kinds of theory modes about burnout, researches about different industry fields and sorts of measurement methods of burnout and so on. While domestic education on social work rebegins in 1980s, domestic study about social worker burnout appears in 2000s. What the domestic researchers make are the study for foreign academic achievements and update of latest trendst. Compared with teachers, doctors or nurses’ burnout study, there is less attention or work on social workers’burnout, which does not mean there is no need to pay attention on burnout of social workers whereas there is urgent need indeed. So research about social worker burnout is not only useful for problem solving but also beneficial to the localization of social work and definitely will facilitate the advancement of social work discipline.In order to elaborate the burnout of frontline social workers, I selected 20 interviewees by means of the combination of purposive sampling and snowball sampling strategies, who work or used to work in social work organizations as frontiline workers in Shenzhen, there three interviewees have left social work industry for other new jobs. Based on the interview materials and other relevant reference, the burnout expressions of frontline social workers are sorted and induced. According to the 20 interviewees’ talking and literature review, the burnout expressions of social workers are induced from four aspects that include emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, low sense of personal achievement and low sense of belonging, and then the environment is analysed from social ecological perspective which leads to burnout. Considering the complicated situation, the possible factors to burnout are analysed in social ecosystem aspects. And based on social support theory, the current corresponding strategies of solving burnout are discussed, involving advantages and disadvantages. Besides, some new suggestions about burnout solving will be mentioned in the last.In a conclusion, through the analysis in the thesis, the government is the key to leading to and solving burnout of the frontline social workers, other factors depend on government decisions. Social work in the mainland is still in the premary phase, in which government’s influence is quite siganificant. Policy and policy implement details need to be polished so that other factors such as educational factor, organizaitonal factor and individual factor will become beneficial to overcome burnout problem.The paper is composed of 7 chapters.The first chapter is Introduction,which mainly expound the origin and the purpose of the research.Chapter 2 includes literature review and theory framework of and the design for the research. Chapter 3 concludes the expression of frontline social workers in burnout and in Chapter 4 factors are explored for burnout of social workers in Shenzhen. Chapter 5 deals with the intervation for burnout from four aspects:the government, the organizaitons, the industry association and the individual. Chapter 6 is a summary and disscusion part in the paper, in which the main views are concluded systematically and new suggetions are put forward based on the existing intervention measures in order to deal with the burnout of frontline social workers more appropriately. The last chapter is about the introspection and outlook of the burnout research.