SPIRITUALITY AND WORK RELATED STRESS IN SOCIAL WORKERS

• Main Author: Lusung, Daisy
• Format: Others
• Published: CSUSB ScholarWorks 2018
• Subjects: Spirituality; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/673; https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1777&context=etd

Social workers are subjected to experiencing job related stress due to high case loads, the severity of client cases, and vicarious trauma. In order to cope with these job stresses, it would be conducive for social workers to find alternatives to coping with job related stress. Practicing spirituality can be seen in many forms relating to religion, cultural practices, prayers, meditation, and to be one with nature to say the least. This research will explore the correlation between spirituality and job related stress among social workers. Quantitative data has been gathered amongst 133 social workers who have participated in answering the spirituality inventory and job stress questionnaire. Results from this data finds that spirituality brings forth positive attributes such as reducing stress and burnout. Furthermore, there is a negative correlation between spirituality and job stress. The greater spirituality is linked to lower levels of job stress. Therefore, it is vital to utilize spirituality as it may help with self care and lead to greater longevity in the social work field.