Page 97 - GHES-2-3

Global Health Economics and
Sustainability
Fatigue and quality of life in Greek social workers

stress are poor wages and working conditions (Stanley, The social support mentioned above has a significant
2006). impact on the quality of life of social workers, which is a
Fatigue is the outcome of prolonged mental or physical concept that refers to the degree to which a person is in a
energy. It can affect workers’ job performance and harm state of well-being, as well as the meaning that the person
their mental awareness, subsequently causing them to attributes to the important aspects of his life (Moons
commit dangerous mistakes. Phillips (2015) argues that et al., 2006). Misajon et al. (2008) argue that quality of life
fatigue is beyond feeling sleepy and has more dire effects is divided into several categories, including psychological
than falling asleep. well-being, physical health, the interactions of individuals,
and their relationship with the characteristics of the social
In fact, fatigue is synonymous with stress caused by the environment.
excessive workload of social workers’ work duties (Hoffarth,
2017). Workload, low wages, limited resources, time In the present study, we examined the physical and
constraints, conflicts in the work context, ethical dilemmas, mental fatigue, multidimensional social support, and
and the structural organization within which social workers quality of life in Greek social workers as well as the
work are some factors related to the manifestation of association among these three variables.
their burnout (Ben-Porat & Itzhaky, 2015; Iacono, 2017; 2. Methods
McFadden et al., 2015; Willis & Molina, 2019).
2.1. Research design
Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion,
detachment, and a low sense of accomplishment (Maslach The current investigation is a quantitative cross-sectional
et al., 2001). It is also related to personal factors such as study. The dependent variables were fatigue and quality
family income and workplace factors such as insufficient of life, whereas the independent variable was social
supervision, lack of support, low job autonomy, and support.
stress (Kim & Stoner, 2008; Lloyd et al., 2002; Soderfeldt 2.2. Sample
et al., 1995). Burnout negatively affects the health and
well-being of social workers and it is related to a number This research employed a convenience sample consisting
of uncontrolled costs, such as sleep disorders, memory of a total of 400 social workers. The study participants were
impairment, depression, anxiety, neck and back pain recruited from public and private agencies. A Google Form
(Peterson et al., 2008) as well as a growth in gastrointestinal containing both the research instrument and the consent
problems, headaches, and respiratory infections (Kim form was distributed electronically by the association
et al., 2011). of social workers to all registered social workers. The
Social support is an important factor that affects the inclusion criteria for the selection of participants in this
emotional state of social workers and mitigates the negative study are as follows: (i) social workers over the age of 18;
consequences of social worker burnout. It is an important (ii) social workers with more than 1 year of experience;
resource that helps people cope with work stress through (iii) social workers who speak the Greek language; and
(iv) social workers working in public or private institutions.
supportive relationships with others (Thompson et al.,
1994). Social support helps individuals reduce stress levels The subjects in this sample had an age range of 23 –
and find effective coping strategies for the difficulties they 60 years, with an average age of 39.05 years. In terms of
face (Yasin & Dzulkifli, 2011). Social support can be sought gender, 89.4% of the participants are women, while men
for important reasons, including getting practical advice, make up the remaining 10.6% of the sample. Married
help, or information as part of coping with a problem, etc. individuals accounted for 50.4% of the sample, whereas
(Carver et al., 1989). 43.9% were single, 5.3% were divorced, and 0.5% were
McDonnell (2014) argues that social support can widowed. Our demographic analysis also extended to
improve the mental and physical health of social workers as the residence of the respondents: 50.9% stated that they
well as their emotional health and is associated with better reside in a city with a population of more than 100,000
commitment to work (Christian et al., 2011; Hakanen inhabitants; 33.3% live in a city of <100,000 inhabitants;
et al., 2006). Employees who have low social support may 10.3% live in a town; and 5.5% reside in a village.
experience high levels of fatigue and lower levels of job Next, the job category to which the respondents belong
satisfaction (Abualrub et al., 2009). Theofilou (2015) has was investigated: 22.8% working in the health sector, 20.1%
noted that there are four dimensions of social support, that in the local government, 16.8% in the education sector,
is social support provided by family, friends, environment 14% in the community centers, 9.3% in other sectors, 8.8%
(significant others), and a total score of social support. in the non-governmental governments, 7% in the child

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 2 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.3039