Over the span of nearly 10 years, the social work labor force grew from 0.2 million to approximately 1.2 million in China. Despite these increases, studies have shown social workers in China are also experiencing equally high burnout rates. For this analysis, we collected data from 537 social workers based in Guangzhou, China. We used the job demands and resources (JD-R) theory, to examine the relations between JD-R and burnout and whether mindfulness practice (MP) could reduce any such burnout. Our results suggest JD-R affects social workers’ burnout through both health and motivation impairment. High job demands (JD) were linked to high burnout while high job resources (JR) were linked to a reduction in burnout. Formal (Beta = −0.08) and informal (Beta = −0.19) MP were associated with low burnout amongst social workers. The significant interaction between JD and MP also suggests that MP can reduce burnout for social workers with high JD. The findings call for using MP to be used to shield social workers from the effects of increasing JD and to prevent an increase of burnout amongst Chinese social workers.

With rising average life expectancies and continuing early retirement, China has more retirees than ever before. This study builds from previous research to understand how mental and financial resources affect life satisfaction amongst 1,018 Chengdu, China retirees. Specifically, our research examined how the extents of mindfulness and pension influence life satisfaction and whether the relations are mediated by positive and negative affect (PANA). The SEM results indicate mindfulness has a significant direct (β = 0.26) and an indirect (β = 0.18) effect on life satisfaction via PANA, while the amount of pension has small effect on life satisfaction (β = 0.04) and only via negative affect. The estimates, however, varied by gender and age. Mindfulness had a strong influence on reducing NA for female older adults while substantially increasing PA for male older adults. Additionally, the amount of pension significantly reduced NA for older retirees aged 65 and above. These findings call for increased mindfulness interventions and robust pension policies to better support retired older adults in China.

Supervision is an imperative practice within the social work field. It provides social workers with support systems, ensures that social workers are adhering to professional standards, and protects clients. Research has also shown that quality supervision can improve social workers’ professional capacity and reduce work stress. However, most of this research has been confined to social workers’ experiences within Western countries and has been largely qualitative in nature. Thus, this study aims to examine the experience of 489 social workers based in Guangzhou, China to understand how supervision affects their negative affect and psychological distress. The findings indicate that supervision not only reduces negative affect and psychological distress amongst Chinese social workers, but also is especially effective for social workers with high job demands. When job demands are high, social workers who receive both individual and group supervision also appear to have lower negative affect and psychological distress as compared to social workers who only receive individual supervision. These findings emphasize the significance of supervision as a buffer factor to reduce negative affect and psychological distress amongst Chinese social workers who face high job demands.

The delivery workforce in China has grown substantially within the past decade. As this industry has grown, job demands (JD) have also increased to ensure productivity. Accordingly, delivery drivers are increasingly facing volatile and stressful work conditions that could influence their Positive and Negative Affect (PANA), which has been an important predictor of their health and well-being. This study utilizes a sample of modern delivery drivers in Beijing, China (n = 240) to study how the job demands-resources theory (JD-R) was related to PANA. The results indicate delivery drivers experience relatively high JD and moderate JR at their places of employment. As expected, JR were positively associated with PA and negatively associated with NA. Meanwhile, JD were positively related to NA; however, JD were also positively associated with PA within the sample. Further interaction analysis showed that only drivers with high JD and high JR were positively associated with PA and that drivers with high JD and low JR were associated with high NA and had no effect on PA. These findings call for support for Chinese delivery drivers who face high job stress and high job demands.

Social work is a rapidly developing occupation in China. In the early 2000s, there were merely a few hundred thousand social workers, but by 2020 there were over 1.5 million social workers in the field. However, research has indicated these social workers are also experiencing record high burnout and turnover rates. Thus, researchers have started to question the work engagement and task performance factors that could be contributing to these increasing rates. This study uses the Job Demands and Resources (JD-R) Theory to understand how 537 social workers from Guangzhou, China are impacted by burnout and how it influences work engagement and task performance. The results show JD-R directly affect task performance through burnout and work engagement via a dual process. First, job demands were associated with high burnout and low work engagement, which both were found to lead to low task performance. Second, job resources were related to low burnout rates and high work engagement, both of which were associated with high task performance. These findings call for healthcare interventions to reduce burnout and workplace policy changes to promote work engagement to support task performance in social workers in China. These factors can each have a crucial impact on the public health of both the affected social workers and the vulnerable clients these social workers serve.