Addressing Social Workers’ Stress, Burnout, and Resiliency: A Qualitative Study with Supervisors

Abstract Social work can be a purpose-driven, fulfilling profession of helping others, creating change, and fighting against injustice. It can also include regular exposure to the pain and suffering of others, extensive documentation requirements, and crisis management. Often when social workers are feeling overly stressed, supervisors play a critical role in addressing their health and wellness. Supervisors use a variety of approaches to raise supervisees’ awareness about the signs and symptoms of stress and burnout. They can make a positive difference in the lives of their supervisees by creating opportunities to discuss work-related challenges. There are both proactive and responsive options for supervisors to consider when cultivating resiliency with social workers. This exploratory study included 24 supervisors who described their approaches to addressing supervisees’ stress, burnout, and resiliency. Findings highlight the importance of relationships, communication, self-care, work–life balance, and resources for well-being. Implications emphasize the supervisory process, intrapersonal and interpersonal capacity building, and the National Association of Social Workers’ call to action in addressing self-care for those in the profession. The resiliency-focused strategies and suggestions offered are meant to support supervisors in their role of building and maintaining a healthy workforce.