Safety Concerns and Occupational Stress in Social Work: Creating a Safety Climate

Social work professionals are in one of the most vulnerable jobs with regard to client and other workplace violence. Several studies have indicated that at least a quarter of social workers have experienced violent situations at some point in their career. The purpose of this work is to understand the sources of stress and burnout among human service workers. Stressor-stress, and

strain theory will be discussed. A discussion of occupational stress in social work practice areas is provided in addition to the sources and consequences of occupational stress. Topics includes;

types of occupational stress (burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress), strategies for managing occupational stress in social work; worker safety concerns while working at high-risk communities, and work-family life balance.

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to recognize the importance of safety

issues in human service agency management; recognize the importance of creating safe and supportive community environments to enhance worker healthy; and articulate the