Will material interest make social workers quit their job? A meta-analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-364
Author(s):  
Meng Sha Luo ◽  
Ernest Wing Tak Chui
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Turnover Intentions ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Material Interest ◽  
The Social ◽  
Historical Role ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
The Relationship

Summary The academia and the profession have long overlooked the importance of material interest in the profession of social work. In order to address this research gap, we first reviewed the historical role that material interest has played in differentiating professions from nonprofessions and analyzed its decreasing status along the development of professions due to the two competing discourses of professionalization and de-professionalization. We concluded with the fundamental question, “does material interest still matter for the professions under the current professional environments,” and answered this question by purposively selecting one of the most important organizational outcomes of the social work workplace—turnover intentions—as our dependent variable. We then conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between salary and turnover on 24 studies with a combined sample of 9343 social workers. Findings The results showed that salary was negatively related to social workers’ intentions to leave organizations (r = −.18, ρ = −.21). Specifically, both social workers’ actual salary and their satisfaction with pay and benefits were negatively associated with individual employees’ turnover intentions. Applications This research also supported Barth’s argument that despite social workers’ earnings are “unresponsive” to the labor market, they are not so different from other professions in the workforce market. Research implications both for the third model of the profession—institutionalist professionalism—in contemporary society and for salary raises were discussed.

scholarly journals Social work and social justice: The relationship between fitness to practise and criminal convictions for non-violent activism

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan J. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
Criminal Convictions ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Sense

INTRODUCTION: Social work as a profession is underpinned by ideas of social justice and human rights, and that social workers have an ethical obligation to uphold these ideas. Social workers have a history of engagement in non-violent social justice activism (NVSJA), and a proud record of achieving social change in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, having a criminal conviction for engaging in NVSJA can be a barrier to social work registration in Aotearoa New Zealand.APPROACH: An exploration of current research around NVSJA and social work registration was conducted. Along with an examination of the Social Workers Registration Board’s (SWRB’s) Fit and Proper Person Policy Statement, with a consideration on the reporting of acts of NVSJA and social workers by the media.CONCLUSION: Those who engage in NVSJA are often likely to gain criminal convictions. This creates a potential barrier for social workers who go beyond the rhetoric and fight for social justice, in a macro and practical sense, from gaining registration. This has become additionally important since the Social Workers Registration Legislation Act (2019) passed and with registration becoming mandatory two years after the Act gained royal assent. There is a need for a change to the Fit and Proper Person Policy Statement so that the SWRB is better able to support social workers who are standing for what social work is all about, or at least, what social work is stated to be all about.

scholarly journals Workplace Incivility and Turnover Intention in Organizations: A Meta-Analytic Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Boshra H. Namin ◽  
Torvald Øgaard ◽  
Jo Røislien
Keyword(s):  
Turnover Intention ◽  
Turnover Intentions ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Workplace Incivility ◽  
Analytic Review ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Sources

Incivility has been identified as a prevalent and crucial issue in workplaces and one that may be associated with detrimental effects on employees and organizational outcomes, such as turnover intention. Many studies have been published regarding the effects of incivility, but there is a lack of integrative reviews and meta-analyses. The aim of the present study is to conduct an early meta-analysis of the relationship between employees’ perceptions of workplace incivility and their turnover intentions. Six databases, including ISI Web of Science, PsychInfo, Scopus, Emerald, Hospitality & Tourism Complete, and Soc Index, were searched to identify empirical articles for this meta-analytical paper. The results of statistical meta-analyses and meta-regression suggest that there is a positive relationship between perceived incivility and turnover intentions in employees and that relationship is consistent across different sources of workplace incivility. However, we did observe a possible interaction effect of “supervisor” and “coworker incivility”. The results also suggest that the relationship between workplace incivility and turnover intention is stronger in the academic sector than in other industries and stronger in the United States than in other countries.

Value Profiles and Perceived Job Performance of Social Workers in Israel

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-368
Author(s):  
Lia Levin ◽  
Maya Benish-Weisman ◽  
Riki Savaya
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Job Performance ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Diverse Populations ◽  
Employment Patterns ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Values play a crucial role in the credo of social work. Recent definitions of the profession delineate the values that should guide social work worldwide. At the same time, social workers’ employment patterns and changes in the traditional welfare state have resulted in fragmentations in the profession, highlighting the importance of shared professional values. This study is the first to examine value profiles endorsed by social workers, as well as the association between such profiles and social workers’ perceived job performance. Participants in the study were 519 social workers, working in various organizations and with diverse populations in Israel. Its findings delineate three value profiles identified among our sample—growth-focused, social-focused and growth-self-focused. Differences between social workers endorsing each profile were found in terms of workers’ perceived job performance and perceived job-related abilities. These findings are discussed with relation to their unique contribution to what is known about values supported by social workers, as well as concerning the relationship between these values and social workers’ job-related functioning in the context of the social work profession and social services in Israel.

scholarly journals Social work in the public services in Brazil - disclosing ruling relations in a local context

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-146
Author(s):  
Trond Heitmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Local Context ◽  
The Public ◽  
Professional Careers ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

This article about social workers in the public social services in Brazil explores professional social work practice through the subjective standpoint of the social workers. Inspired by institutional ethnography, this approach explicates how understandings of social work are interpreted and implemented in various contexts. The findings show that the formalization of the relationship with the employer through contracts of employment implicate that the disciplinary normative definitions of social work succumb to institutional regulations, which are not necessarily discipline specific. In addition, the temporary character of the contracts of employment makes the social workers align their practice to institutional frameworks and demands, as they are personally interested in renewal of the contracts and the maintenance of their professional careers. With this approach, disciplinary, political, ideological, legal and moral definitions of social work are not viewed as the essences of social work, but rather as contextual processes that are locally activated in different contexts. At the same time, it underscores social work as a political profession which should naturally include interventions on political, juridical, economic and organizational levels. Consequently, professional social work is not one thing, nor only one profession, but rather professional practices adapted to a variation of contexts. This perspective is significant to help detect areas of intervention for social change.

‘Social work is not just a job’: The qualities of social workers from the perspective of service users

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 775-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Kwong Kam
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
The Social ◽  
Personal Qualities ◽  
Work Education ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practice Skills

Summary The social work profession emphasises the development of the personal qualities of social workers in addition to requiring them to possess the necessary professional values, knowledge, theories and practice skills. Until now, we have tended to rely on the perspective of social work professional bodies, educators and employers to assess the personal qualities of social workers. We have seldom inquired about the views of service users on the qualities of social workers, thus disregarding their perspective. This article focuses on identifying the important qualities of social workers from the perspective of service users. Findings This paper reports on qualitative research on the personal qualities of social workers that service users value in Hong Kong. It draws on a diverse range of service users with direct experiences of the services provided by social workers. A total of 47 service users from 7 core social welfare service settings and 32 service units participated in an in-depth qualitative interview. Six significant personal qualities of social workers from the service users’ perspective are identified and discussed. Applications The findings have several implications for examining directions for development of the social work profession, the relationship between service users and social workers, effective ways to develop the personal qualities of students in social work education and ways to resolve the dilemma between service users’ expectations and the existing mode of social work service delivery. Issues of particular relevance to Hong Kong are highlighted in discussing these implications.

scholarly journals Implementing social policy

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Backer Grønningsæter ◽  
Riina Kiik
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

In this explorative article the relationship between social policy and social work will be in focus. The article discusses similarities and differences between Estonia and Norway.The empirical material consists of eight focus group interviews with social workers in the two countries. The aim of the study was to investigate to what extent the social work profession represents change agents in the social policy framework. The article looks at the differences and communalities in different years in the two countries. The authors conclude that social workers are important actors in implementing changes at the local level. They seem, however, to be more concerned about the daily encounters with the individual users than about the general policy framework.The main findings suggested that social workers in both countries see themselves as spokespersons for respect for and cooperation with the users while simultaneously arguing that social workers only to a very limited extent see the implementation of social policies as a part of their roles.

2. The politics of social work

2015 ◽  
pp. 18-33
Author(s):  
Sally Holland ◽  
Jonathan Scourfield
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
Social Model ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Main Fault ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship

Social work is inherently political because its parameters are set by the government of the day and many social workers are employed by the state and have important legal powers through that employment. ‘The politics of social work’ focuses on some of the main fault-lines of debate about social work’s purpose and methods, including assumptions, principles, and values. The four big debates considered are individual problems vs social conditions; understanding the past vs practical help with present functioning; intervention vs non-intervention; and the medical model vs the social model. It also looks at the relationship between social work and government.

Anthropology and Social Work

1951 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 22-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morton Teicher
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
The Social ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
The Relationship

There is a growing body of literature on the relationship between anthropology and social work. Interestingly enough, the numerous articles that are published are to be found almost exclusively in social work journals and in the published proceedings of social work conferences. If one looks at this piece of data in itself, one is able to draw from it the following inferences. First, it is the social workers who have been reaching out to the anthropologists, not vice-versa. Second, collaboration between the two fields has taken the form of donor-recipient, as contrasted with a sharing form of collaboration. And, finally, social work is evidently receiving something meaningful from the donor, anthropology, since it keeps looking for more.

Positive organizational scholarship in healthcare: The impact of employee training on performance, turnover, and stress

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Şenay Sahil Ertan ◽  
Harun Şeşen
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Turnover Intentions ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Employee Training ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Workplace Stress ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Positive Organizational Scholarship ◽  
Organizational Scholarship ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractBased on positive organizational scholarship in healthcare, this study examined the relationships between four dimensions of employee perception of training: workplace stress, organizational outcomes, job performance, and turnover intentions. We hypothesized that employee training perception would have a negative relationship with workplace stress and that stress would mediate the relationship between employee training perception, job performance, and turnover intentions. We obtained data on 317 elderly-care workers in Northern Cyprus and analyzed it using structural equation modeling. Employee training perception was negatively related to workplace stress, and stress was negatively related to job performance and positively related to turnover intention. In line with Job Demand-Resource theory (JD-R), workplace stress partially mediated the relationship between employee training perception and organizational outcomes. The study contributes to the literature by confirming that elderly-care organizations that provide training opportunities for employees can reduce workplace stress, build organizational strengths, and facilitate positive outcomes.

Satisfaction with the Social Work Profession: A Ten-Year Analysis of Undergraduate Students' Perceptions

1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 835-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
James G. Hanson ◽  
James G. McCullagh
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Career Choice ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Perceived Satisfaction ◽  
High Satisfaction ◽  
The Social

A 10-yr. study of 746 social work undergraduates' perceived satisfaction with seven factors related to their career choice suggested high satisfaction with social work as a career; with the purposes and functions of social work, and the students' initial volunteer experience. There were no significant changes in satisfaction over the 10-yr. period, which findings parallel those of other studies in which similar methods have been used with practicing social workers.

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