Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of social workers
Autor:innen
Schell-Kiehl, Ines
Laurens, Melissa
Ketelaar, Nicole
Meyer, Nikolaus
Franz, Sebastian
Autor:in (Körperschaft)
Publikationsdatum
15.08.2022
Typ der Arbeit
Studiengang
Typ
01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
Herausgeber:innen
Herausgeber:in (Körperschaft)
Betreuer:in
Übergeordnetes Werk
Journal of Comparative Social Work
Themenheft
DOI der Originalpublikation
Link
Reihe / Serie
Reihennummer
Jahrgang / Band
17
Ausgabe / Nummer
1
Seiten / Dauer
123-152
Patentnummer
Verlag / Herausgebende Institution
University of Stavanger
Verlagsort / Veranstaltungsort
Stavanger
Auflage
Version
Programmiersprache
Abtretungsempfänger:in
Praxispartner:in/Auftraggeber:in
Zusammenfassung
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on everyone’s life. Like many other professionals, social workers have been forced to adapt to these new working conditions and new challenges in order to support clients during the pandemic, as new needs have arisen. Together with professional associations from three nations (Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands), we used a coordinated approach to explore the consequences of the pandemic for social work professionals. This study was conducted during the most severe contact and hygiene restrictions of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the winter of 2020/2021. The data addresses the changes perceived by social work professionals in relation to their contact and communication with clients, the use of digital technology in the context of work, the professional response in terms of innovation, the working conditions and the psychosocial risks they face. Methods: Cross-sectional data was collected from 7,241 social workers in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands through online surveys. Results: The results show an increase in the workload of professional social workers and compounding problems of clients, together with a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communication and contact with clients. All of this takes place within the framework of changing working conditions and contexts. Our data shows that the use of digital technologies does not cause bigger problems for most of the participating social workers. It should in fact be noted that professionals have many positive associations with the use of digital technology in general. Conclusions: There are both remarkable and alarming results concerning the mental health of social workers and their working conditions, as well as the position of the social work profession in general.
Schlagwörter
social work profession, international comparison, COVID-19 pandemic, use of technology, contact professional and client, working conditions for professionals
Fachgebiet (DDC)
300 - Sozialwissenschaften
Veranstaltung
Startdatum der Ausstellung
Enddatum der Ausstellung
Startdatum der Konferenz
Enddatum der Konferenz
Datum der letzten Prüfung
ISBN
ISSN
0809-9936
Sprache
Englisch
Während FHNW Zugehörigkeit erstellt
Ja
Zukunftsfelder FHNW
Publikationsstatus
Veröffentlicht
Begutachtung
Peer-Review der ganzen Publikation
Open Access-Status
Gold
Lizenz
Zitation
SCHELL-KIEHL, Ines, Melissa LAURENS, Nicole KETELAAR, Peter SOMMERFELD, Nadja HESS, Sarah BÜHLER, Nikolaus MEYER und Sebastian FRANZ, 2022. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of social workers. Journal of Comparative Social Work. 15 August 2022. Bd. 17, Nr. 1, S. 123–152. DOI 10.31265/jcsw.v17i1.390. Verfügbar unter: https://doi.org/10.26041/fhnw-4594