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The image of job burnout - A qualitative study of how social caseworkers in Taiwan perceive job burnout

Wang, Wei-Ying LU (2015) SOAM21 20151
School of Social Work
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate how social caseworkers perceive job burnout (or work exhaustion). Three questions were addressed in this study:

- How do social caseworkers’ perceptions of work exhaustion relate to all the efforts they invest in helping clients and the perceived response/lack of response these investments generate?
- How do social caseworkers perceive work exhaustion in relation to the organisational culture?
- How do social caseworkers construct “desirable” work situations contrasting work exhaustion?

Results indicated that due to differences of cultures and societies, social caseworkers in Taiwan may not have precisely the same interpretation of job burnout as Western countries. In Taiwan, job burnout... (More)
The purpose of this study was to investigate how social caseworkers perceive job burnout (or work exhaustion). Three questions were addressed in this study:

- How do social caseworkers’ perceptions of work exhaustion relate to all the efforts they invest in helping clients and the perceived response/lack of response these investments generate?
- How do social caseworkers perceive work exhaustion in relation to the organisational culture?
- How do social caseworkers construct “desirable” work situations contrasting work exhaustion?

Results indicated that due to differences of cultures and societies, social caseworkers in Taiwan may not have precisely the same interpretation of job burnout as Western countries. In Taiwan, job burnout is more commonly understood as work exhaustion. From the perspective of the modified social exchange model in this study, reciprocity/lack of reciprocity plays a primary role in social caseworkers’ perception to work exhaustion. How social caseworkers perceive work exhaustion relates to the imbalance between their investment and the perceived rewards that their investment generate both on the interpersonal and organisational levels. Factors such as a lack of perceived control, value conflicts, and perceived work overload may hazard the reciprocity that social caseworkers strive for. This study also found that social caseworkers may construct their desirable work situations in two diverse approaches, as the results showed two categories of work satisfaction – a coping strategy to work exhaustion or the original work aspiration. (Less)
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author
Wang, Wei-Ying LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOAM21 20151
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Job burnout, Work exhaustion, Social casework, Social exchange, Reciprocity
language
English
id
8084510
date added to LUP
2015-10-28 10:28:46
date last changed
2015-10-28 10:28:46
@misc{8084510,
  abstract     = {{The purpose of this study was to investigate how social caseworkers perceive job burnout (or work exhaustion). Three questions were addressed in this study:

- How do social caseworkers’ perceptions of work exhaustion relate to all the efforts they invest in helping clients and the perceived response/lack of response these investments generate?
- How do social caseworkers perceive work exhaustion in relation to the organisational culture?
- How do social caseworkers construct “desirable” work situations contrasting work exhaustion?

Results indicated that due to differences of cultures and societies, social caseworkers in Taiwan may not have precisely the same interpretation of job burnout as Western countries. In Taiwan, job burnout is more commonly understood as work exhaustion. From the perspective of the modified social exchange model in this study, reciprocity/lack of reciprocity plays a primary role in social caseworkers’ perception to work exhaustion. How social caseworkers perceive work exhaustion relates to the imbalance between their investment and the perceived rewards that their investment generate both on the interpersonal and organisational levels. Factors such as a lack of perceived control, value conflicts, and perceived work overload may hazard the reciprocity that social caseworkers strive for. This study also found that social caseworkers may construct their desirable work situations in two diverse approaches, as the results showed two categories of work satisfaction – a coping strategy to work exhaustion or the original work aspiration.}},
  author       = {{Wang, Wei-Ying}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The image of job burnout - A qualitative study of how social caseworkers in Taiwan perceive job burnout}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}