Rural Social Work: Recruitment, Job Satisfaction, Burnout, and Turnover

Authors

Aaron R. Brown, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Jayme E. Walters, Utah State UniversityFollow
Aubrey E. Jones, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Omotola Akinsola, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

Contemporary Rural Social Work

Publication Date

7-9-2017

Publisher

University of North Dakota * Center for Rural Education and Communities

Volume

9

Issue

1

First Page

1

Last Page

23

Abstract

Rural agencies have unique challenges related to recruitment and retention of social workers. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine job satisfaction, burnout and turnover among rural social workers. Based on 28 included articles, results indicate: (a) rural social workers tend to be from rural areas or have completed training in rural settings; (b) poor job satisfaction predicts turnover among rural social workers; (c) rural vs. urban differences for satisfaction, burnout, intention to leave, and turnover are mixed; and (d) greater work-life balance and supervisory support increase retention among rural social workers. This study provides recommendations for informing education, policy and future research in social work practice in rural locations in the United States.

Recommended Citation

Brown, A. R., Walters, J.E., Jones, A.E., & Akinsola, O. (2017). Rural social work: Recruitment, job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover.Contemporary Rural Social Work,9(1), 1-23.