Group Work Intervention Study On Burnout Of Social Workers

In recent years,social work in China has experienced rapid development and the construction of a talented social work workforce has received significant attention.However,the turnover rate of social workers has remained at a high level,and research has shown that occupational burnout is a key factor causing the loss of social work talent in China.Therefore,how to alleviate the emotional exhaustion of social workers and reduce the turnover rate of social work talent has become an urgent and important issue to be addressed.In this study,the author used D organization as an example and entered the organization as an intern social worker to establish relationships with social workers and their organizational managers.Through participant observation,questionnaire survey,and interview methods,it was discovered that social workers in D organization experienced varying degrees of occupational burnout.Using the MBI-HSS Occupational Burnout Inventory,it was found that the social workers in the organization mainly exhibited emotional exhaustion and a low sense of personal accomplishment.In terms of demographic characteristics,there were significant differences in gender,age,educational background,professional background,years of work,and monthly income,but no significant differences in marital status.Interviews with 15 social workers experiencing different levels of occupational burnout revealed that the specific manifestations of occupational burnout were:cognitive,with irrational beliefs of absolute demands on oneself,others,and the environment,as well as an overgeneralization of self-deprecation of work abilities;emotional,with empathy fatigue and a sense of helplessness in work;and behavioral,with low efficiency due to high work pressure and interpersonal tension from colleagues,organizational managers,service recipients,and family.The causes of social worker burnout included role pressure,insufficient support from the organization,family,and society,as well as imbalanced investment and return in work.Empirical evidence showed that social workers’ occupational burnout was related to their irrational beliefs about events that occurred in their work.Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy(REBT)techniques such as role-playing and debate were used to refute irrational beliefs and promote cognitive transformation,which led to the establishment of rational beliefs.Therefore,the researcher designed a service plan based on the theoretical framework of REBT and selected six social workers from D organization with different degrees of occupational burnout for group intervention.The intervention included interventions in theoretical comprehension,cognitive transformation,emotional regulation,and behavioral change.After the intervention,the author evaluated the process and effects of the group and found that the occupational burnout level of the six group members was significantly lower than before the intervention,indicating that the group intervention method was effective in alleviating social worker burnout.