ABSTRACT

Child protection workers remain understudied in research on ‘frontline’ workers, even though they are often exposed to the traumatic circumstances of their clients’ lives on top of their intense workload, tight deadlines and day-to-day crisis management. Extensive evidence has shown that both clients’ needs and work demands combine to diminish child protection workers’ well-being, leading them to experience immense stress, burnout and decreased morale, ultimately compelling them to leave their jobs. Our qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews of child protection workers (N = 15) in Australia examines how child protection workers navigate their daily work and non-work lives. Analysis of the interviews revealed unique contextual characteristics about child protection workers’ professional and personal boundaries and the strategies they adopt to navigate their work and non-work roles and responsibilities. Our study’s findings call for more assistance and resources for child protection workers with implications for their managers and organisations.

摘要

尽管儿童保护工作者除了工作量大，期限紧迫和日常危机管理外，经常在客户生活中遭受创伤，但对“一线”工作者的研究仍未得到充分研究。大量证据表明，服务对象的需求和工作需求共同降低了儿童保护工作者的福祉，导致他们承受着巨大的压力，倦怠和士气下降，最终迫使他们离职。我们的定性研究基于对儿童保护工作者（N = 15）在澳大利亚研究了儿童保护工作者如何驾驭他们的日常工作和非工作生活。通过对访谈的分析，我们发现了有关儿童保护工作者的专业和个人界限的独特背景特征，以及他们在工作，非工作角色和职责中所采用的策略。我们的研究结果要求为儿童保护工作者提供更多的援助和资源，这对他们的管理者和组织具有影响。