The impact of COVID-19 on social work: stress and engagement among portuguese social workers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0218e.40929Keywords:
stress; engagement; social workers; COVID-19Abstract
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic presented profound challenges for social workers, who continued to deliver essential services under uncertain and high-risk conditions. Although there is widespread recognition of the pandemic’s negative impact on the profession, detailed empirical studies examining its effects remain scarce.
Objective: This study explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stress levels and work engagement among social workers in Portugal, comparing data from the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods.
Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, analytical survey study in which a representative sample of social workers completed a questionnaire before (n=2110) and during the COVID-19 period (n=1576), specifically between September 13 and October 29, 2019, and from January 6 to February 22, 2022. The socio-professional questionnaire was constructed by the authors, using two scales: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-17).
Results: Findings revealed a marked increase in stress levels and a decline in work engagement during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period. A statistically significant moderate negative correlation was identified between stress and engagement, indicating that higher stress levels were associated with lower engagement. Additionally, dissatisfaction with salary emerged as a key factor negatively influencing well-being, further exacerbating stress and diminishing engagement.
Conclusion: The study provides results that contribute to understanding the dynamics of stress and engagement in crisis contexts and proposes individual and organisational support measures to improve the working conditions of social workers, especially in crisis contexts.
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