What factors influence the retention or turnover of social workers?

The severity and prevalence of turnover among social workers can have a detrimental impact on the clients who depend on in its services. It is therefore important to map what factors influence the retention of social workers.

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SBU Enquiry Service

Responds to queries received from Swedish healthcare and social service providers, or governmental organisations. Queries have a limited scope and the process is designed to enable a more rapid response, typically within two to three months. Reports are based on systematic reviews, that are identified through structured searches and critically appraised for risk of bias.

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Published: Report no: ut201825

Question

What does research tell us about how to create a work environment that is sustainable and attractive for social workers?

Identified literature

  1. DePanfilis D, Zlotnik JL. Retention of front-line staff in child welfare: A systematic review of research. Children and Youth Services 2008;30:995-1008.
  2. Kim H, Kao D. A meta-analysis of turnover intention predictors among U.S. child welfare workers 2014;47:214-223.
  3. McFadden P, Campbell A, Taylor B. Resilience and burnout in child protection social work: Individual and organizational themes from a systematic review 2015;45:1546-1563.
  4. Romero A, Lassmann H. Benefits of mentoring programs for child welfare workers: A systematic review 2017;41:301-316.
  5. Webb CM, Carpenter J. What can be done to promote the retention of social workers? A systematic review of interventions 2012;42:1235-1255.

Literature search

Literature search.pdf

Project group

Lina Leander and Agneta Brolund at SBU.

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