Social Support, Mindfulness, and Job Burnout of Social Workers in China

Abstract

In the last 20 years, amid extensive social and economic reforms, China’s social structure and community life have changed considerably. A large number of social workers are needed to provide many more social services to community residents. The central government has issued many policies to rapidly develop human service organizations and increase the number of social workers. Thus, by the end of 2019, the number of social workers has reached more than 1.5 million in China. At the same time, local governments have issued many policies to promote an increase in the number of social workers. According to statistics from the Chengdu Civil Affairs Bureau, from 2010 to 2021, the number of social workers in Chengdu City increased, remarkably, from 553 to 17,622. Although the number of social workers has increased rapidly, some problems still exist. According to a survey by the Chengdu Social Workers Association, the turnover rate of social workers has reached approximately 20% in Chengdu City in 2018. Therefore, we aim to determine what influences social workers’ job burnout. Through regression analysis and mediation effect tests, we found the following: First, when controlling for gender, age, education, and workday, social support of social workers had a significant negative impact on job burnout (β = − 0.376). Second, the mindfulness of social workers had a significant negative impact on job burnout (β = − 0.320). Third, the mindfulness of social workers played a mediating role between social support and job burnout. The mediating effect was −0.116 (p < 0.001). Fourth, among the three dimensions of social support, mindfulness played a partially mediating role in family support and other support. The mediating effect between other support, which is the support from leaders and colleagues, and job burnout was the strongest, with a mediating effect of −0.109 (p < 0.001). In other words, the support provided by agency leaders and colleagues can maximize the level of mindfulness of social workers, thereby reducing social workers’ job burnout most effectively. We can thus reduce social workers’ job burnout by improving their level of mindfulness and the social support for them in China.

Burnout, negative emotions, and wellbeing among social workers in China after community lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic: Mediating roles of trait mindfulness

“…The core idea of TM involves having the self-awareness to truly experience the present moment consciously and non-judgmentally. Individuals with higher levels of TM are more focused on the awareness and self-acceptance of their physical and mental feelings, thereby reducing the risks of mental rumination and emotional dysregulation and enhancing their perceptions of social support ( 4 ), which results in an effective increase of WB in their minds ( 76 ). The occurrence of burnout can be prevented through the influence of various mediating effects.…”

“…Rapid developments in the social work sector in China have attracted increasing social attention to the problem of burnout. Consequently, scholars have attempted to examine the factors related to burnout among SWs, and one of the factors is social support ( 4 ). Some studies have suggested that the effective work performance levels among Chinese SWs depend on the support they receive from their family, friends, team members, and especially, leaders.…”

“…Various studies have emphasized on the crucial impact of social support on the levels of burnout among SWs ( 2 , 3 ). However, the increasing lack of social support for SWs remains a major concern in Chinese societies ( 4 ). As a result, research aimed at enhancing stress tolerance among SWs is essential for ensuring sufficient levels of stress tolerance among such individuals for their protection.…”

Psychological contract breach and job performance of new generation of employees: Considering the mediating effect of job burnout and the moderating effect of past breach experience

“…First, according to conservation of resources theory, employees will try to minimize their perceived resource loss by reducing efforts and avoiding work. When employees experience psychological contract breach continuously, their psychological resources become excessively consumed or even exhausted (Xie et al, 2022), which will eventually manifest as job burnout. At the same time, the continuous interruption of psychological resources will increase employees' frustration at work, which will cause job stress and indirectly lead to job burnout (Wu et al, 2021).…”

“…First, according to the theory of emotional events, employees' work attitudes and behavior will be affected by their emotional experiences. As a negative emotional experience, job burnout naturally reduces employee satisfaction (Xie et al, 2022). New generation of employees have unique personalities and psychological characteristics, and rich and diverse job demands (Cafer et al, 2021).…”