The influence of work engagement in social workers in England

Ravalier, J.M (2018) 'The influence of work engagement in social workers in England.' Occupational Medicine, 68 (6). pp. 399-404.

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Abstract

Background:- Social workers help to maintain and improve the lives of children, their families, and adult service users in the UK. However, while engagement is shown to be an important determinant of both patient and employee outcomes in related healthcare professions, the influence of engagement has not been demonstrated in social workers. Aims:- To investigate the influence of employee engagement on perceived stress, turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and presenteeism. Methods:- A cross-sectional survey of members of one English social work organisation including measures of engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale), the Perceived Stress Scale, and single-item measures of job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and presenteeism. T-tests and Mann-Whitney analyses were conducted to investigate differences in these measures in high and low engagement scores. Results:- A total of 1,049 responses were analysed; social workers with greater engagement had significantly lower stress and turnover intentions, less presenteeism, and greater job satisfaction. Additionally, overall respondents had poor levels of perceived stress, turnover intentions, and presenteeism. Conclusions:- Employee engagement is significantly associated with a number of work-related outcomes in social workers in England. However, social workers seem to have high turnover intentions and presenteeism, and greater than average perceived stress.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	employee engagement; social work; turnover intentions; job satisfaction; presenteeism; stress
Divisions:	School of Sciences
Date Deposited:	03 May 2018 12:48
Last Modified:	15 Aug 2021 09:50
ISSN:	0962-7480
URI / Page ID:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/11060

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