A Preliminary Study of Burnout in Residential Social Workers Experiencing Workplace Aggression: Might It Be Cyclical?

The problem of workplace aggression and increasing levels of burnout in social workers have both been explored independently in prior research but until now have not been examined in relation to each other. This investigation focused upon levels of burnout in staff victims of assault and threatening behaviour working in residential children's homes. Data showed that, of eighty-seven staff , seventy of them (81 per cent) had been either threatened or assaulted in the preceding year, fifty of them (58 per cent) ten or more times. Maslach's Burnout Inventory demonstrated significantly elevated levels of both emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation (although not in personal accomplishment) in staff reporting aggression in the previous year than those reporting no aggression. This remained true even with moderate levels of aggression. Models of burnout suggest that high levels of emotional exhaustion lead to increased depersonalisation, which might be manifest, albeit unknowingly, in subsequent behaviour, such as a lack of empathy or concern. Consideration is given to how staff behaviour might thus be interpreted by assailants in these situations, leaving staff victims more vulnerable to further victimisation. Implications for staff and managers in dealing with aggressive incidents are discussed.