Nearly 80 percent of social workers experience moderate burnout, with nearly half reporting severe burnout, a survey conducted by the Taipei Social Workers’ Union showed.
In terms of mental health indicators, 72.1 percent of social workers experience moderate to high workplace stress, 67.27 percent show signs of moderate to severe vicarious trauma and 46.41 percent have moderate to severe workplace-related depression, the survey showed.
More than one-quarter of social workers have sought mental health support from doctors or therapists due to their job, with many canceling those doctors’ appointments due to work demands, it showed.
Photo: Lo Pei-te, Taipei Times
The respondents rated institutional support at just 28.62 out of 100, the lowest among all indices, it showed.
The survey, which assessed social workers’ occupational safety, and mental health and welfare, was conducted from Jan. 20 to Feb. 10 and collected 724 responses.
Taipei and Kaohsiung social workers’ unions on Wednesday released the survey results to mark Taiwan Social Workers’ Day yesterday.
Social workers not only face immense work-related pressure, but often encounter vicarious trauma and take on psychological burdens, posing a significant risk to their mental health, the survey said.
The findings showed that social workers generally believe the current system, policies and social expectations cannot effectively support frontline work, the unions said.
They urged the government to review evaluation systems, implement reforms and listen to the needs of frontline workers, raising five demands.
First, the government should review the evaluation and administration system, and establish a mechanism that incorporates feedback from frontline workers, they said.
Second, the government should reassess responsibility and risk allocation mechanisms to reduce the burden of responsibility placed on frontline social workers, the unions said.
Third, the government should establish occupational safety and mental well-being support systems for social workers, they said.
Fourth, the government should improve staffing and workload distribution, and fifth, it should work to ensure that societal expectations of social workers are more reasonable, the unions said.
While social workers dedicate themselves to society, they are often overwhelmed and forced to sacrifice their physical and mental well-being due to excessive expectations, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) said.
Huang said she would continue to push for better rights for social workers in the Legislative Yuan and across government agencies, including proposing that the Ministry of Labor recognize vicarious trauma as an occupational injury.
The public should recognize that “social workers are not volunteers,” DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) said.
They serve on the front lines of the social safety net, handling cases that involve domestic violence, child protection, mental illness, suicide prevention, poverty, disability, solitary living and major trauma, she said.
The survey results indicate that the government should ensure it is not an additional source of pressure for social workers, she added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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