Impact of job burnout on mental health among social workers in public and private sector in Greece

Purpose: This study examines the impact of job burnout on the social workers’ mental health in public and private sector. Material and Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in which 103 social workers who were working in public (n=56) and private (n=47) sector of the Thessaly region in Greece. Data were collected with a questionnaire including socio-demographic and work-related characteristics, the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Independent t-test, anova and Pearson coefficient were used in statistical analysis. Results: Emotional exhaustion was positively related to somatic symptoms (r=0.470, p<0.001), anxiety/insomnia (r=0.429, p<0.001), social dysfunction (r=0.365, p<0.001), depression (r=0.252, p=0.010) and overall mental burden (r=0.518, p<0.001) of social workers. Personal achievements were negatively related to somatic symptoms (r=-0.326, p=0.001), anxiety/insomnia (r=-0.266, p=0.007), social dysfunction (r=-0.321, p=0.001), depression (r=-0.444, p<0.001) and overall mental burden (r=-0.444, p<0.001). Also, depersonalization was positively associated with somatic symptoms (r=0.218, p=0.027), anxiety/insomnia (r=0.317, p=0.001) and overall mental burden (r=0.258, p=0.009). Conclusion: All dimensions of burnout had a significant effect on mental health disorders of social workers in labor