(Abstract)
This study compared the work stress and the coping of social workers at the senior care facilities and hospice nurses. The notion of work stress covers work stress and organization stress that employee belonged to an organization is subj...
(Abstract)
This study compared the work stress and the coping of social workers at the senior care facilities and hospice nurses. The notion of work stress covers work stress and organization stress that employee belonged to an organization is subject to be under. This study aims at ensuring welfare for those provided with the service and enhancing the quality of their life, by helping workers attain benefit and happiness from work, and grope for work quality improvement, let alone preventing from being burn out.
This study for thirty-four senior care facilities and nineteen hospice agencies located in Seoul, Kyunggi province, Daegu, and Northern Kyungsang province, by distributing totally 240 questionnaire survey papers to social workers and hospice nurses sharing half and half, and collecting 98 copies from the one, 93 copies from the other. Total rate of return was 77.5%. Totally 184 copies, 92 copies respectively, except for survey papers with insincere answer or mistake stated on the self-report type form, were used for this analysis.
As a scale of work stress, twenty items were selected amid thirty items of stress diagnostic survey written by Ivancevich and Matteson(1980), adapted by Kim Jeong-In(1998), and twenty four items amid the organization and work-related sub-factor items listed in The scale of work stress written by Lee Jong-Mok and Park Han-Ki(1988). As a mean to determine counter measure, data developed Lazarus and Folkman(1984), translated and modified by Han Jeong-Seok and Oh Ga-Sil(1990) was used.
Collected data was through Frequency Analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient by using SPSS WIN 12.0 program.
Regarding the analysis result, first, both of two groups showed highest stress intensity at the subject property of work stress sub-field, followed by excessive role in quantity, excessive role in quality, role conflict, and ambiguity. In the field of organization stress, both jobs showed the most stress at the factor of organizational climate.
Second, the higher scholarship, the more social workers felt stressful, while for the nurses, the younger and the shorter working period, the more stressful. For both groups, single person showed higher stress degree.
Third, in the field of subject property, the more experienced and the younger, the more stressful nurses felt. In the field of excessive role in quantity, the younger, the higher degree of stress nurses showed, while for social workers, the higher scholarship, the more stressful.
Fourth, in the field of conflict inside group and between groups, the older and the higher scholarship, the more stressful social workers felt, while for nurses, the younger, the more stressful. In the field of boundary and range role, the younger and the lower scholarship and the shorter working period, the more stressful nurses felt. In the field of organizational climate, the shorter working period, the more stressful nurses felt, and in the field of career development, the more experienced, the more stressful social workers felt, while for nurses, the less experienced, the more stressful they felt.
Fifth, both of two groups showed no difference in coping in order of positive viewpoint, matter concentration, search for social support, indifference, relaxation, and optimistic viewpoint.
Sixth, in the field of subject property among work stress, both of two groups showed the most frequent use of matter-centered coping. In the field of role conflict, social workers used optimistic viewpoint, in the field of excessive role in quantity, nurses used social support, in the field of excessive role in quality, social workers used social support most to cope with the stress.
Even though the field of stress for two groups are different, the extent of stress and the coping showed similarity.
It is expected that the importance of social workers would be stressed in the social welfare performing field, and more people would become rely on them. Thus policy consideration preparing for personnel increase, proper amount of work and payment, and educational opportunity is urgent, in order to make an environment in which they can work with satisfaction.
The follow-up study have to grasp more accurate factors of work stress and to find out various measures to cope with the stress in the aspect of individual and organization, by selecting similar small groups before studying in high-quality with data obtained by deep interview. It is hoped that it would help to practice integrated social welfare, by sharing information on the qualification improvement of human service workers and the stress management and disposition, and by connecting to the relevant science. This study has a limit to generalize samples surveyed at the restricted district into the whole group.