Date of Award

6-2020

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Arkadie, Nicole

Abstract

Burnout is a negative psychological response to workplace stress, and it manifest as emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a decrease in personal accomplishment. Experiencing burnout leads to physical health problems such as headaches, gastrointestinal issues, and respiratory problems. Social workers have been identified at high risk for developing burnout due to a high number of caseloads, limited supervisory support, and because they often work with clients with complex social situations. Burnout among social workers leads to high turnover rates, negatively impacts the quality of services, and adversely affects therapeutic relationships. Previous studies have examined the efficacy of mindfulness interventions on burnout among health care workers, and the results of those studies indicate that mindfulness reduces burnout. However, among that literature, there is a shortage of studies that have examined the relationship between mindfulness and burnout, specifically among social workers. This study explored correlations between levels of mindfulness and levels of burnout among social workers. It was hypothesized that higher scores of mindfulness would negatively correlate with lower burnout scores among social workers. Using a quantitative, non-experimental research design, this study surveyed only social workers (N=90) and found moderate negative relationships between higher mindfulness scores and lower burnout scores, supporting the hypothesis of the study. Implications of the findings for the field of social work are explained.

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