The Effects of Emotional Support on Burnout, Work Stress and Mental Health Among Norwegian and American Social Workers

The Effects of Emotional Support on Burnout, Work Stress

and Mental Health Among Norwegian and American

Social Workers David P. H i m l e

Srinika Jayara tne Paul Thyness

ABSTRACT. This article examines the effects of emotional support on work stress and bumout'among human service workers in the U.S.A. and Norway. Since work stress has been identified as an important predictor of job dissatisfaction and burnout, it is the purpose of this study to examine the ability of emotional support to moderate or "buffer" the impact of job stress. Previous research on this subject has shown some support for the buffering hypotheses, but the effect has not been adequately explored within the mental health professions, nor has the concept been extensively assessed by comparative studies of such professionals in two different countries. The results of this study, based upon moderated regression analyses, indicate that emotional support is inversely correlated with burnout and stress. However, buffering effects were not observed to any significant degree in either national sample.

Dr. David P. Himle and Dr. Srinika Javaratne are Associate Professors at the School of Social Work, University of ~ i c k ~ a n , Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Mr. Paul Thyness is Lektor at the Norwegian State College of Public Administration and Social Work, Oslo 9, Norway. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Himle.

This research was supported by grants from the Norwegian State College of Public Administration and Social Work, and the School of Social Work, Univer- sity of Michigan.

Journal of Social Service Research, Vol. 13(1) 1989 O 1989 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. 27

28 JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SERVICE RESEARCH

In response to a growing concern over the effects of burnout and job dissatisfaction among various types of workers, interest has de- veloped in the possibility of various types of social support as potential modifiers of such effects. The central issue is whether or not such support can buffer or moderate the levels of burnout, job dissatisfaction, and mental health problems related to the stress of work.

This issue has been the subject of a number of research studies in the United States among a variety of occupations in various settings. A review of this research by LaRocco, House, and French (1980) reported that there is some evidence for a buffering effect of social support on problems created by occupational stress. The studies reviewed examined the effects of such support on the problems of both blue and white collar workers in a variety of occupational settings. The social support of supervisors and co-workers reduced the psychological strains related to occupational stress and the effects of work-related stressors. However, other studies conducted by LaRocco and Jones (1978), Lin, Simeone, Ensel, and Kuo (1979), and Pinneau (1976) reported no buffering effects of social support on work-related stress or psychological strains among blue collar workers in various occupations. These contradic- tory findings support the contention of Cohen and Wills (1985) that the buffering effect of social support may be limited by differences in occupational tasks, working environments, and by the individual responses of workers to the stress of work.

since human service professionals have been described as partic- ularly vulnerable to burnout (Freudenberger, 1977), it is important that the characteristics of this occupation and the worker's response to the stress of the job be examined. Unfortunately, there has been only a limited amount of investigation of the effects of social support on work stress among human service workers, and the results are not yet conclusive.

Utilizing the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981) a number of studies have reported inverse correlations between supervisor support, co-worker support and the emotional exhaustion subscale of the MBI (Barad, 1979; Jayaratne, Tripodi, & Chess, 1983). A number of studies have also reported inverse correlations between supervisor support, co-worker support and the de-

Himle, Jayarame, and Thyness 29

personalization subscale of the MBI (Barad, 1979; Maslach & Jack- son, 1981; Jayaratne, Tripodi & Chess, 1983). Positive correlations have been reported between the supervisor support, co-worker support and the personal accomplishment subscale of the MBI (Barad, 1979; Maslach & Jackson, 1981). All these findings have been based upon reports from human service workers. Similarly, the Berkeley Planning Associates (1977) reported that staff support and supervisor support were inversely related to the Burnout-Alienation Scale. Pines, Aronson and Kafry (1981) also reported that supervisor support was inversely related to the Burnout-Tedium scale.

However, when the buffering effect of social or emotional support was examined in a number of studies the evidence was not conclusive. Utilizing a modified Maslach Burnout Inventory, Jay- aratne and Chess (1984) found no evidence of the buffering effect of emotional support upon burnout and various work stressors among human service workers. Shinn, Rosana, March and Chest- nut (1984) also found no buffering effect of social support from human service co-workers upon job satisfaction and psychological strains. In both of these studies the buffering effect was examined by a moderated regression procedure (LaRocco, House, & French, 1980). On the other hand, Etzion (1984) found evidence of the buffering of burnout by social support in the work place utilizing the Burnout Measure (Pines, Aronson & Kafry, 1981) among male Is- raeli managers and human service professionals but not among fe- males. In this study the buffering effect was examined by a stepwise multiple regression analysis. Pines (1983) also reported that social support did buffer the effects of burnout among Israeli and Ameri- can workers, some of whom were human service workers. How- ever, the correlational procedures employed by Pines represent main effects rather than buffering effects (LaRocco, House, & French, 1980). She emphasized the importance of cross-cultural analysis by reporting that Israeli workers had more social support available to them than American workers, and cited previous studies which indicated that social relations among Israeli workers ap- pear to be stronger than among American workers.

While social support has been found to be negatively associated with burnout, work stressors, and psychological strains among human service workers, the issue of the buffering of these factors by

30 JOURNAL OF SOCOIL SERVICE RESEARCH

social support has not yet been conclusively demonstrated. There- fore, to extend the knowledge of the effect of social support upon work stress among human service workers, the present study is an examination of the buffering effect of emotional support on burnout, work stress, and psychological strains not only in various settings but also in two cbuktries.in the examination of social support in two countries any difference or commonalities discovered may be relevant to the ongoing examination of social support research among human service workers.

In the Scandinavian setting interest in job dissatisfaction, work stress and burnout among human service workers, especially social workers, has been increasing in recent years (Christiansen, 1982: Petterson, 1983). In Norway Steiner Stjerno (1982, 1983) has reported the findings in his study of human service workers in 22 welfare offices in Oslo and the surrounding area. He identified a number of issues related to occupational stresses and strains, and levels of social support experienced by human service workers.

According to Stjerno (1983) workers reported significant levels of stress related to role conflict between the desire to meet the needs of clients and the administrative demands to work within the rules and regulations of the welfare bureaucracy. In addition, workers complained of a lack of support from co-workers, excessive client work loads, a lack of autonomy in their work, and feelings of burnout. All of these complaints were associated with evidence of psychosomatic stress. These complaints have been accompanied by a growing desire of many workers to leave their positions. According to Stjerno (1983) 65% of the trained social workers interviewed planned to seek a different job in the near future. This percentage was even higher among workers in their first year of employment. Even though Stjerno (1983) stated social support from supervisors and co-workers was evident in some welfare offices, it was unclear as to its effect in reducing work stress and burnout.

The problems of work stress and burnout are not unique to welfare offices in Norway. Holtan (1985) reported similar concerns related to work stress, role conflict and role ambiguity among hospital social workers in Norway. Thus, the problem of job dissatisfaction among human service workers is not limited to the welfare office setting, but affects workers in other settings as well.

Himle, Jayaratne, and Thyness 31

Therefore, to extend the knowledge of the effect of social support on work stress among social workers in various settings, the present study is an examination of the buffering effect of emotional support among two national samples of social workers, one a Norwegian sample and the other a sample of American workers. It is to be noted that this study examines one aspect of social support, namely emotional support. While we recognize that the larger concept of social support includes such factors as appraisal support, informa- tional support, instrumental support and emotional support (House, 1981), the concept of emotional support is close to the actual type of support examined in the literature on social support cited above, and therefore, utilized in this study.

METHOD

Study Samples and Design

In order to compare a representative sample of social workers from both countries the following procedures were utilized. A ran- dom sample of 800 social workers were selected from the Norwe- gian Social Workers Union membership list (N = 2664). All respondents were mailed a twelve page questionnaire. The response rate was 54 percent. In the American study a national sample of 1,173 social workers were randomly drawn from the membership list of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). A ten page questionnaire was mailed to the selected respondents. The response rate was 72.7 percent (Jayaratne & Chess, 1984). The Nor- wegian and American questionnaires contained the same scales. The Norwegian questionnaire also contained a few questions on continuing education needs as requested by the funding source.

In the Norwegian sample the present study was limited to social workers who had completed their social work training and received a social work diploma from one of the professional social work schools, and to those social workers whose work involved direct contact with clients. These criteria resulted in a sample size of 399 workers. In the American sample we selected those workers who possessed a MSW degree, and whose work also involved direct contact with clients. These criteria resulted in a sample size of 639

32 JOURWAL OF SOCIAL SERMCE RESEARCH

workers. The majority of workers in both samples were female (Norwegian - 67.6 percent; American - 69.9 percent). The average year of the completion of social work training was 1975 for Norwe- gian workers, and 1968 for American workers. The average age of Norwegian workers was 37.3 years, and 41.2 years for American workers. In the Norwegian sample the majority of workers were employed in public welfare offices, the remainder in a variety of health, psychiatric, educational, and correctional settings. In the American sample the workers were employed in a wide variety of health, psychiatric, educational, and correctional settings. In spite of the differences in setting, and training, we believe that meaningful information concerning worker perceptions of job stress and social support can be gathered from this study for comparison.

However, it is not our intent in this report to examine differences in the objective work situation or training programs in these two countries, but rather to examine worker's perceptions of their work, even though the setting and training for such work may be diverse. This approach is what Kurt Lewin (1951) called the examination of the "psychological environment" in which a worker functions, and is therefore, a report of the individual worker's perception of the work situation. Thus, for example, the survey instruments in this study measured whether or not a worker perceived his or her workload level as too high or too low, rather than an assessment of the absolute number of assigned clients.

Study Variables

The indices of work-related strains, job satisfaction, and burnout utilized in both studies were identical to those used in a previous American study (Jayaratne & Chess, 1984). These indices were translated into Norwegian by bilingual social work educators. The internal reliability of these scales within each sample was calculated using Cronbach's alpha (Cronbach, 1951) in order to establish reliability among these scales. The Cronbach alpha coefficient for each sample, related to each index, is given in parenthesis below where appropriate.

The indices measuring burnout were based on the Maslach Burn- out Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1981). This inventory has three


subscales, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion was measured by a single item, "Are you burned out?," with a score range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The depersonalization subscale (Norwegian .87, American .81) has a score range from 5 (strongly disagree) to 35 (strongly agree). The personal accomplishment subscale (Norwegian .90; American -90) has a score range from 8 (strongly disagree) to 56 (strongly agree).

The index measuring job satisfaction is a single item: "All in all, how satisfied would you say you are with your job?" This single- item measure has been widely used in national surveys of job satisfaction (Quinn & Shepard, 1974; Quinn & Staines, 1978), and has a score range from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 4 (very satisfied).

Three indices of work-related stress were utilized. Role Ambigu- ity (Norwegian .79; American .85) is a four item scale with a score range from 4 (rarely) to 20 (very often), which measures the clarity of the worker's role. Role Conflict (Norwegian -69; American .74) is a four item scale with a score range from 4 (not at all true) to 16 (very true), which measures the conflicting demands of performance that the worker perceives as present on the job. Workload (Norwegian 3 4 ; American .85) is a four item scale with a score range from 4 (rarely) to 16 (very often), which measures the worker's perception of the amount of work on the job. These indices of work-related stress have been used in national studies of the quality of work in the United States and are described by Caplan, Cobb, French, Van Harrison, and Pinneau (1975) and Quinn and Staines (1978).

Four indices of job-related mental health problems were also utilized in this study. The anxiety measure (Norwegian .78; American 34 ) is a four item scale with a score range from 4 (never) to 16 (most of the time). The depression measure (Norwegian .92; Amer- ican .92) is a six item scale with a score range from 6 (never) to 24 (most of the time). The irritation measure is a two item scale with a score range from 2 (never) to 8 (most of the time). The somatic complaints measure is a twelve item check list with a score range from 12 (never) to 48 (most of the time). These scales are described by Caplan, Cobb, and French (1976).

Supervisor support (Norwegian .87; American .94) and co-

34 JOURNAL OF SOClAL SERMCE RESEARCH

worker support (Norwegian .87; American .92) were measured by a set of four questions asking about each source of support. The following is one of these questions: "How true is it that your supervi- sorlco-workers islare warm and friendly when you are troubled about something?" The response scale for each question ranged from 1 (not at all true) to 4 (very true). Higher scores indicate that the sources provide support when problems arise. These scales are described by Caplan et al. (1976).

Analytic Procedure

To examine the relationship between social support, work stress and mental health problems we performed correlational analyses between the support measures and measures of work stress and mental health problems. The results as seen in Table 2 display the main effects between these variables. For the buffering effects analyses, we performed the moderated regression procedures conducted in prior research and replicated here (LaRocco, House, & French, 1980; and Jayaratne & Chess, 1984; Saunders, 1956; Zedeck, 1971). This procedure has been recommended whenever one views the moderating variable (e.g., social support) as continuous and when the purpose is to assess the interaction between the moderating variable and another variable such as work stress. For theoreti- cal reasons we have included age and gender as control variables in the regression equations. Maslach and Jackson (1981) have reported gender differences and age differences on the Maslach Burn- out Inventory among American workers. Therefore age and gender could act as intervening variables at least on the burnout dimension of the study. This would produce the following regression equation: Y = a + b,C, + b,C, + b,X + b,S + b,SX.HereYrefersto work-related and health-related strain, C, to age, C, to sex (gender), X to stress, and S to support. The term SX refers to the multiplica- tive function of support and stress. If buffering occurs we expect the coefficient b, to differ significantly from zero, and the regression coefficient to add significantly to the amount of explained variance (R2). The extent of buffering is evidenced in the number of significant findings in column b, in Tables 3-6.

Himle, Jayaratne, and Thyness

Results

In both samples the workers reported high levels of emotional support from supervisors and co-workers. In the Norwegian sample 53.8% of the workers indicated that supervisors were very supportive, 53.5% in the American sample. In the Norwegian sample 39.3% of workers reported that co-workers were very supportive, 63.2% of the workers in the American sample.

Table 1 presents the mean and standard deviation scores for both samples on the major variables. In general the Norwegian workers reported higher levels of depersonalization and role ambiguity and role conflict than American workers, while American workers reported higher levels of personal accomplishment, co-worker support, workload, depression and somatic complaints.

Table 2 presents the data from the correlation analysis which il- lustrates the relationship between the sources of emotional support and the burnout, work stress and mental health measures. In general the data supports the existence of the main effects of emotional support. Emotional support is positively associated with job satisfaction and personal accomplishment, while inversely related to all other variables in both samples. The inverse relationship between work load and sources of emotional support from either co-workers or supervisors is not statistically significant in either sample however. The inverse relationship between depersonalization is greater for emotional support from co-workers than supervisors in both samples. The inverse relationship between anxiety and depression and supervisor support is significant in the Norwegian sample but not in the American sample. This latter finding was also reported by House (1981) who noted the weak relationship between support and mental health problems among American workers. Among Norwe- gian workers Stjerno (1983) reported that psychosomatic complaints were less among workers who were satisfied with supervision than among those who were not satisfied. In general the data in this present study show that emotional support by both supervisors and co-workers is associated with lower levels of burnout, work stress and mental health problems in both samples with minor varia- tions between the samples, and that emotional support is positively associated with job satisfaction and personal accomplishment. Thus

36 JOURNAL OF SOCUL SERVICE RESEARCH

Table 1

Wean and Standard Deviation Scores of Major

Variables for loweklan end American Social workers

tlorwey U.S.A.

Factors Ween S.D. Wean S.D.

Burnout Variables

Job Satisfaction

emotional Exhaustion

Personal Accomplishment

Depersonelizetion

Support variables

' Co-worker Support

SUPBN~SOP SUPPOCt

Work-Belated Stress

Bole Ambiguity

Bole Conflict

Workload

nentel Health Problems

Anxiety

Depression

Irritation

Sornatlc Complaints

emotional support from supervisors and co-workers is crucial for worker satisfaction on the job on the basis of this study and also the findings of Maslach (1982). However the question of whether or not emotional support moderates or buffers the factors of job satisfaction, burnout and mental health problems is of greater importance.


Table 2

Correlation between Sources of Support and Job-Related Stress

SOUrCe Of Support

~ypBmisot. CO-worker

Study Variables Noway U.S.A. Uotway U.S.A.

Burnout neasures

Job Satisfection

Emationel exhaustion

Personal Accomplishment

Depersonalization

Uock Streasors

Bole Anbiguity

Bole conflict

Workload

Mental Health Problem

Anxiety

Depression

Irritation

Smntic Complaints

Tables 3, 4, 5 and 6 present the moderated regression analyses designed to test the buffering effect of emotional support upon job satisfaction, burnout and mental health problems for both samples. In these tables the regression coefficients and the variance explained (R2) for all of the factors are given in the models for both samples.

~ a b l e s 3 and 4 present the data for both samples regarding the buffering effects (b,) of emotional support on job satisfaction and burnout for both samples. The evidence for buffering is slight in both samples.

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Table 3

Regression coefficients and R2 for Major Variables

Among Social Workers in the U.S.A.

Stress sup- X sup-

Dependent Support Stress Age Sex Stress port port variable Variable Variable bl b2 b3 b4 b5 ~2

~ o b satis- Co-worker RA .01** - 0 -.03 .10** -.01 .23 faction Supervisor RA .01** -.03 -.05 .01** .OO .26

Co-worker RC .01** -.02 .04 .16* -.Dl .20 supervisor RC .01** .O1 -.02 .lo** .00 .25 Co-worker UL .01** .O1 -.01* .23* -.01* .19 Supervisor UL .01** .04 .09** .22** -.01** .25

motional Co-worker RA -.02** .02 -.01 -.24* .O1 .09 exhaustion Supervisor RA -.OW* .04 .01 -.I1 .O1 .01

Co-worker RC -.03** -.a5 .16 -.I3 .OO .14 Supervisor RC -.03** -.01 .18* -.05 .OO .14 Co-worker UL -.03** -.I1 -.06 - .37* -.01 .ll Supervisor WL -.03** -.I2 $01 -.22* .O1 .Q9

eeraonal co-worker RA accom- Supervisor RA plishment Co-worker RC

Supervisor RC Co-worker UL supervisor UL

Depereon- Co-worker RA alizatlon supervisor RA

Co-worker BC Supervisor RC Co-worker UL Supervisor UL

* p <.05; ** p <.01 N o t e : RA (A Role Ambisuity; RC m Role Conflict; UL . Workload

Tables 5 and 6 present the data for both samples regarding the buffering effects of emotional support on mental health strains for both samples. Again there is only slight evidence of buffering in either sample. In general the data indicate that there is little evidence of the buffering effect of emotional support upon work stress and mental health strains in either sample.

Discussion

The data from this study support the previous findings in the literature that supervisor and co-worker emotional support is associ-


Table 4

Regression CoeCfic ients and f o r n a j o r Var iables

Among Norwegian Soc i a l Workers

s t r e s s sup- X sup-

Dependent Support S t r e s s Age Sex S t r e s s p o r t po r t Var iable Var iable Var iable b l b) b3 bq bg R'

Job s a t i s - f a c t i o n

Emot l ona l exhaus t ion

Personal accomplishment

Deperson- a l i z e t l o n

Co-worker RA Supervisor RA CO-worker RC Supervisor RC Co-worker WL Supervieor wL

Co-worker RA Supervisor RA Co-worker ac Supervisor RC Co-worker WL Supervisor WL

CO-workar RA Supervisor RA Co-worker RC Supervisor RC Co-worker WL Supervisor WL

Co-worker RA Supervisor RA Co-worker RC supe rv i so r RC Co-workar WL supe rv i so r UL

* p c . 0 5 ; ** p < . 0 1 m. RA = Role Ambiguity; RC = Role C o n f l i c t : YL = Uorkload

ated with lower levels of burnout, job dissatisfaction, and mental health strains. However, little evidence of buffering was observed. This latter finding is in contrast to the comments of Cherniss (1980) who pointed out that collegial support can lessen emotional tension on the job among social workers and help workers gain a more realistic perspective of client problems and provide technical information and practical instruction for client work. He also stated that such support can also provide the worker with co-worker support in conflicts with administrators. Similarly, Pines, Aronson, and Kafry

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Table 5

Re%ression Coef Eicients and R2 for Hador Variables

Among Social workers in the U.S.A.

Strees sup- X sup-

Dependent Support Stress Age Sex Streas port port Variable Variable Variable bl b2 b3 b4 b5 R2

Anxiety Co-worker RA -.01** -.03 -.07 -.08 .01 .05 Supe~visor RA -.02** -.I2 -.02 -.06 .01 .06 Co-worker RC -.OZ** -.I4 .14 .07 -.01 .05 Supervisor RC -.02** -.I6 .05 0 .OO .05 Co-worker UL -.02** -.I1 .05 .03 -.00 .02 Supervisor WL -.02** -.I9 .02 -.03 .OO .03

Depresaion Co-worker RA .OO -.I2 .I6 .08 -.01 .O1 Supervisor RA -.01 -.la .ll -.04 -.01 .O1 Co-worker RC .OO -.I5 , -.02 0 .OO .O1 Supervisor RC -.01 -.I7 .07 -.OO -.OO .01 Co-worker UL .OO -.I2 -.I5 -.21* .O1 .O1 SupervIaor WL -.01 -.20 .Ol ' -.04 .OO .Ol

Irritation Co-worker RA -.02** .05 .03 -.13** .OO .18 Supervisor RA -.02** .OO -.05 -.11** .OO .22 Co-worker RC -.02** -.02 -.02 -.21** .01 .23 Supervisor RC -.02** - 0 .04 -.IS** .OO .25 Co-workec WL -.02** -.03 -.IS** -.36** .02** .19 supervisor WL -.02** -.08 0 -.24** .01* .21

Somatics Co-worker RA -.04 1.22* -.07 -.52* .03 .O1 Supervisor RA -.05** l.ll* . 3 4 -.I3 .OO .01 Co-worker RC -.05* .93 .8Sr .O1 -.04 .10 Supervisor RC -.01** 1.01 .45 -.01 -.01 .08 Co-worker WL -.05* .98 .21 -.21 -.OO .05 Supervisor UL -.07** .83 .OO -.31 .O1 .05

* p <.05; ** p <.01 Note: RA = Role Ambiguity: RC - Role Conflict; UL - Workload

(1981) stated that there is less worker burnout when there is an effective worker network or support system in the work setting.

On the other hand Maslach (1982) suggested that supervisory support may not be effective in reducing work stress and burnout since there may be a mismatch of expectations regarding work performance between supervisors and workers. Supervisory support may be given only for the quantitative aspects of the job, such as the number of clients interviewed or the number of completed cases,


Teble 6

aeeression coefficients and ~2 for Wajor Variables

Among Norwegian Social Workers

Stress sup- X sup-

Dependent Support Stress Age Sex Stress port port Variable Varlable variable bl b2 b3 b4 bg 82

Anxiety Co-worker RA . supsrvlsar XA CO-work-r Bc Supervisor RC Co-worker WL supervisor WL

Depression Co-worker RA Supervisor RA Co-worker RC Supervisor RC Co-worker WL Supervisor UL

Irritation Co-worker RA Supervisor RA Co-worker RC Supervisor RC Co-worker WL supervisor WL

Somatics Co-worker BA Supervisor RA Co-worker RC Supervisor RC Co-worker UL Supervisor UL

* p c . 0 5 ; ** p <.01 w: BA - Role Ambisuity; RC = Role Conflict; UL = Workload

while the worker may be seeking emotional support for the quality or difficulty of their work with clients. Supervisors may also mix emotional support with criticism of performance which may dilute the effectiveness of such support. Therefore the important factor is not the mere presence of emotional support, but rather how, when, and why it is given.

Maslach also stated that co-worker support may be at low levels in a work setting because of conflict and competition between

42 JOURNAL OF SOClAL SERVICE RESEARCH

workers and that the mutual sharing of problems may be viewed as weakness or incompetence. Thus the withdrawal of co-worker support may be an attempt to reduce competitive relations and have the unintended result of reducing the potential for help and support from other workers.

It is also possible that the effect of co-worker support may be either discounted or accepted by the worker's ability to perceive the offered support as meaningful, and by the worker's socialization skills necessary for the development of meaningful contact with co- workers (Cohen & Wills, 1985; Wethington & Kessler, 1986).

While House (1981) has urged that the buffering hypothesis be tested among specific occupational groups, such as the target of this study, he also warns that the effect of emotional support may vary from occupation to occupation, and not a panacea for all problems of work stress in every setting.

Stjerno (1983) presented a number of findings concerning the effect of emotional support among Norwegian workers. He stated that while Norwegian workers attended agency conferences with co-workers and formed friendships in the work place, he found little evidence that collegial relationships were effective as a support system to minimize the stress and pressures of work. He also stated that the quantity of work hindered the development of relationships, s im~lv due to a lack of time. . d

The issue of job turnover may also hinder the development of stable and personal relationships between co-workers. Stjerno (1983) reported that four-fifths of workers in this sample who had worked a year or less on their present jobs had plans to qu i t the job before the next four years had passed. He also reported that 10% to 20% of Norwegian workers were part time. Therefore, they were unable to attend a number of conferences between co-workers and in general had minimal contact with co-workers.

Stjerno (1983) also noted that about half of the workers interviewed were dissatisfied with their supervision and of these 75% reported many psychosomatic symptoms related to stress. He reported that those who actively pursued better relations with supervisors reported less psychosomatic symptoms than those who were more passive in relations with their supervisors. In general, however, he reported that there was little evidence that either supervisor

Himle, Jayarame, and Thyness 43

or co-worker support moderated the effects of work stress or mental health strains.

CONCLUSION

Since this study provides little evidence of the buffering effect of emotional support by supervisors or co-workers in either national sample of workers, the few studies which do give such evidence as reviewed by LaRocco, House and French (1980) may have to be cautiously accepted as instances of the effect, primarily among blue collar workers, rather than as a mandate for the promotion of cmo- tional support in diverse settings and among different types of workers. It is noteworthy, that in the exhaustive review on social support and buffering conducted by Cohen and Wills (1985), only three studies dealing with occupational stress were reported.

Further research needs to be done which examines a wider range of potential stressors such as mentioned above, and a wide range of methods of alleviating such stress, in conjunction with the examination of personal perceptual styles which assign meaning and allow recognition of such support when offered.

Because of the stress inherent in the social work occupation and the feelings of burnout which have been reported, the discovery of methods for relieving such stress related to oarticular settines should continue to be an important issue among boih Norwegian anud Ameri- can social service administrators, supervisors and workers.

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Documents

The Effects of Emotional Support on Burnout, Work Stress and Mental Health Among Norwegian and American Social Workers