The Effects of Workload, Role Ambiguity, and Social Support on Burnout Among Social Workers in Turkey

The purpose of this study is to examine main effects of workload, role ambiguity, and social support on social workers' burnout in Turkey. Data were obtained from 222 social workers who were members of the Association of Social Workers in Turkey. Results revealed that workload might predict emotional exhaustion, depersonalization sub-dimensions of burnout, but not personal accomplishment. Role ambiguity was positively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and negatively related to personal accomplishment. In other words, when social workers experience greater role ambiguity, they tend to experience higher levels of burnout. Social support from supervisor has decreased emotional exhaustion and increased personal accomplishment as predicted. But supervisor support had no direct effect on depersonalization of social workers. The study is an addition to the social workers' burnout literature, especially in Turkey where few relevant studies exist on this issue.