Job demands, resources and reactions in Spanish social workers: differences by sector organisation and employment status

Abstract

Many states’ social policies have implemented austerity and cuts in the resources dedicated to social services and privatisation in providing these services, all of which have contributed to practitioners’ precariousness in this sector. This study carried out with 448 Spanish social workers assessed job demands, organisational and personal resources, and individual reactions that enhance or impair well-being. The study examined the extent to which demands, resources and reactions differ according to: (i) organisation sector, that is, governmental (GO), private (PO) and third sector (TSO); (ii) employment status, that is, full-timers versus part-timers and (iii) the interaction between organisation sector × employment status. Regarding the organisation sector, the best results were for TSO, followed by GO and PO; according to employment status, full-time employees obtained a better profile than part-time employees; with regard to interactions, part-time employees of PO obtained the worst scores on adaptive variables and the highest scores on maladaptive ones. The article concludes by highlighting some reasons why privatisation, precariousness and bureaucracy benefit employers and the state, whilst harming service users and workers.