Dnika J. Travis

The Impact of Supervision on Worker Outcomes: A Meta‐analysis

Effective supervision is a vital aspect of service delivery in social service organizations. This article provides a meta‐analysis of 27 qualified research articles published between 1990 and 2007. The analysis thus includes a combined sample of 10,867 workers in child welfare, social work, and mental health settings. The results indicate that supervisory dimensions of task assistance, social and emotional support, and supervisory interpersonal interaction are positively and statistically significantly related to beneficial outcomes for workers. The dimensions of social and emotional supervisory support and supervisory interpersonal interaction are found to be negatively and statistically significantly related to detrimental outcomes for workers. All effect sizes were moderate (r at the 0.30 to 0.40 range). These findings underscore the importance of effective supervision in fostering beneficial outcomes and in limiting detrimental outcomes for workers. They also indicate that social service agencies should devote resources to training supervisors across all supervisory dimensions.

‘I'm So Stressed!’: A Longitudinal Model of Stress, Burnout and Engagement among Social Workers in Child Welfare Settings

The well-documented day-to-day and long-term experiences of job stress and burnout among employees in child welfare organisations increasingly raise concerns among leaders, policy makers and scholars. Testing a theory-driven longitudinal model, this study seeks to advance understanding of the differential impact of job stressors (work–family conflict, role conflict and role ambiguity) and burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation) on employee disengagement (work withdrawal and exit-seeking behaviours). Data were collected at three six-month intervals from an availability sample of 362 front line social workers or social work supervisors who work in a large urban public child welfare organisation in the USA. The studys results yielded a good model fit (RMSEA = 0.06, CFI = 0.96, NFI = 0.94). Work–family conflict, role ambiguity and role conflict were found to impact work withdrawal and exit-seeking behaviours indirectly through burnout. The outcome variable, exit-seeking behaviours, was positively impacted by depersonalisation and work withdrawal at a statistically significant level. Overall, findings, at least in the US context, highlight the importance of further examining the development of job burnout among social workers and social work supervisors working in child welfare settings, as well as the utility of long-term administrative strategies to mitigate risks of burnout development and support engagement.

Childcare providers: Work stress and personal well-being:

Childcare providers face multiple work-related stressors. Small studies of childcare providers have suggested that providers have high levels of depression compared to the general population. However, unlike other caregiving professions, the research examining childcare providers is sparse, and there is little information to inform practices and policies to support childcare providers. This study identifies specific work-related stressors for childcare providers and examines the impact of those work-related stressors on their personal well-being. A total of 26 home-based and centre-based providers participated in seven focus groups in Central Texas. Themes from the focus groups identify parental interaction as the most prominent stressor for providers followed by the public perception of providers as “babysitters.” Providers also discussed the impact of stress on their personal well-being manifesting through exhaustion, sleep disturbances, and physical health problems.

The Faith Community, Substance Abuse, and Readiness for Change: A National Study

ABSTRACT There are many paths to recovery from substance use disorders, and recognition is growing for the vital role that faith communities play. This study examines a theory-driven model of congregational readiness (defined as a faith communitys intention and preparedness to address and support recovery from substance use disorders) using a national cross-sectional study of 45 faith communities (composed of 3,649 members). Findings revealed that addiction and recovery attitudes and perceptions of self-efficacy (rather than ones experiences) were determinants. Directions for future research focus on developing culturally relevant means of working with faith communities and congregational leadership to bolster readiness over time.

Employee Assistance and Counseling

Employee assistance and counseling are employer-sponsored services aimed at helping employees manage job-related stress and personal problems. These services assist employees in managing challenges that affect their well-being and job performance and contribute to the containment of costs associated with employee problems such as reduced job effectiveness, absenteeism, and turnover.