The DOI matches its Crossref record; 14 of the 14 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Mental health, burnout and job satisfaction among mental health social workers in England and Wales
Open accessAbstract
Background: Previous research suggests that social workers experience high levels of stress and burnout but most remain committed to their work. Aims: To examine the prevalence of stress and burnout, and job satisfaction among mental health social workers (MHSWs) and the factors responsible for this. Method: A postal survey incorporating the General Health Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Karasek Job Content Questionnaire and a job satisfaction measure was sent to 610 MHSWs in England and Wales. Results: Eligible respondents ( n =237) reported high levels of stress and emotional exhaustion and low levels of job satisfaction; 111 (47%) showed significant symptomatology and distress, which is twice the level reported by similar surveys of psychiatrists. Feeling undervalued at work, excessive job demands, limited latitude in decision-making, and unhappiness about the place of MHSWs in modern services contributed to the poor job satisfaction and most aspects of burnout. Those who had approved social worker status had greater dissatisfaction. Conclusions: Stress may exacerbate recruitment and retention problems. Employers must recognise the demands placed upon MHSWs and value their contribution to mental health services.
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“Evans et al. (2006) (n = 237) found that mental health social workers in England and Wales experience higher rates of emotional exhaustion than consultant psychiatrists, and rates of emotional exhaustion that are three times higher other mental health practitioners.”
From Testing Mindfulness Mechanisms of Action on the Stress and Burnout of Social Workers (2024) · cites this paper as Evans et al., 2006
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“Social work professionals experience high levels of stress and burnout.”
From Examining Potential Psychological Protective and Risk Factors for Stress and Burnout in Social Workers. (2025) · cites this paper as Evans et al., 2006
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“Although social work is a very rewarding profession, from which practitioners often attain very high rates of personal accomplishment (McFadden, 2015), it is also a very challenging profession which can lead to social workers experiencing concerningly high rates of stress and burnout (Evans et al., 2006; Ravalier et al., 2021).”
From Testing Mindfulness Mechanisms of Action on the Stress and Burnout of Social Workers (2024) · cites this paper as Evans et al., 2006
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Citations
Cites
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
O’Connor, K., Muller Neff, D., & Pitman, S. (2018) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2018.06.003 · Cited by 555
“MBI- HSS 22.3 (4.7) 6.0 (5.3) 31.5 (5.4) High EE: 36% High DP: 12% Low PA: 10% 6 [33] Evans et al. 2006 UK CS Mental Health Social Workers in UK 39% N = 237 Male: 39% Female: 61% 58% of sample were < 50 years old Mean length of time since graduation was 11.9 years.”
BackgroundInfluentialBurnout and Physical Health among Social Workers: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study
Kim, H., Ji, J., & Kao, D. (2011) · Social Work · doi:10.1093/sw/56.3.258 · Cited by 229
Travis, D. J., Lizano, E. L., & Barak, M. E. M. (2015) · The British Journal of Social Work · doi:10.1093/bjsw/bct205 · Cited by 306
“Stress and burnout have attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners because of potential hazards posed to social workers’ well-being and effectiveness (e.g. job satisfaction: Evans et al., 2006; organisational commitment: Lambert et al., 2006; turnover: Acker, 2012; Kim and Stoner, 2008).”
BackgroundMethodBrinkborg, H., Michanek, J., Hesser, H., & Berglund, G. (2011) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2011.03.009 · Cited by 235
“Secondary outcome variables in our trial were burnout, performance-based self-esteem, and job demand and control, as these outcomes are of importance from a work-related perspective, in particular the work of social workers (Evans et al., 2006).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialBurnout in the Mental Health Workforce: A Review
Paris, M., & Hoge, M. A. (2009) · The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research · doi:10.1007/s11414-009-9202-2 · Cited by 227
Metadata
- Authors
- Evans, S., Huxley, P., Gately, C., Webber, M., Mears, A., Pajak, S., Medina, J., Kendall, T., & Katona, C.
- Affiliations
- King's College London (GB)
- Royal College of Psychiatrists (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Evans, Sherrill
- Venue
- British Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Published
- 2006-01
- Volume
- 188
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 75-80
- ISSN
- 0007-1250 (ISSN-L)
- 1472-1465
- OpenAlex
- W2140561684
- Cited by
- 319
- References
- 14
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 13.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The British Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Cronfa (Swansea University) (submittedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
- Social Sciences › Public Administration › Social Work Education and Practice
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Occupational Health and Burnout
- Keywords
- mental health social workers, burnout, job satisfaction, occupational stress, emotional exhaustion, job demands, job content, recruitment and retention, mental health services, England and Wales
- MeSH terms
- Burnout, Professional, Community Mental Health Services, England, Female, Health Personnel, Humans, Job Satisfaction, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Work, Stress, Psychological, Wales
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