CIRIC was involved in conducting research on occupational well-being and professional development of social workers and child protection workers.

The aim of the study was to provide an overview of the occupational well-being of social and child protection workers in local governments, the factors affecting it, and opportunities for professional development. The research was conducted by a research group from Tallinn University. Data was collected through a survey among social and child protection workers in Estonian local governments (N=229) between December 2023 and January 2024.

The participating workers highlighted several issues related to occupational well-being. One of the biggest challenges is coping with work-related stress and the risk of burnout. Satisfaction is reduced by high workload, insufficient self-care opportunities, lack of flexibility, and inefficient work organization. Additionally, workers perceive a lack of autonomy and trust at the national level, manifested in excessive requirements and restrictions. The inefficiency of interagency networking further complicates access to information and client assistance.

Social and child protection workers rated their ability to influence the work environment particularly low, while field leaders felt they had more control. This suggests a need to involve employees more in the development of the field and work environment to enhance their job satisfaction and well-being. Notably, social workers provided lower ratings on various occupational well-being indicators compared to child protection workers and field leaders. This finding calls for reflection by local governments and social field developers. A thorough analysis of the reasons behind social workers’ lower ratings is necessary, along with targeted measures to support and improve their occupational well-being.

The study results indicate that employees feel a high level of workload and lack of support, which negatively affects both the quality of their work and their overall well-being. The report offers several recommendations to alleviate the situation, including measures to reduce bureaucracy and create better working conditions, allowing employees to focus more on substantive client work. Given the varying capacity and practices of local governments in supporting employees, it is important to aim for a more consistent level across all municipalities to ensure more equitable support for employees.

The full report in Estonian, with an English summary, is available HERE: Tööheaolu uuring

November 06, 2024