Mental health and job factors in social workers at social welfare offices

Mental Health and Job Factors in Social Workers at Social Welfare Offices: Fumi TAKEDA, et al. Institute of Health and Sports Sciences, University of Tsukuba-Mental health status and its association with job factors was explored in 55 social workers at seven social welfare offices in a prefecture in Japan. We found that 28 social workers (50.9%) scored in the "high burnout" category and 10 (18.2%) had from moderate to severe depression. There was a significant correlation between the burnout score and the SDS score. The burnout score and SDS score of male social workers were both significantly higher than those of male clerical staff. Male social workers had significantly higher burnout scores than females. Multiple regression analysis showed that burnout was significantly related to a large percentage of time spent on home visits per typical working day and low job satisfaction. Depression was significantly associated with low job satisfaction. These results suggest that social workers with lower job satisfaction may be at higher risk of burnout and depression, and that social workers who devote a large percentage of their work time to home visits may be more likely to suffer from burnout.