Self-Care Practice and Retention: Narratives of Social Workers in China

Yangyong Zhang

SAGE Open, 2023, vol. 13, issue 3, 21582440231197318

Abstract: Despite the growing importance of self-care in the retention of social workers, its practice has been rarely studied. This study investigated the self-care strategies utilized by social workers to enhance retention in China. This study comprised individual in-depth interviews with 49 experienced social workers and three focus group discussions. Findings showed that five categories of personal self-care strategies and six categories of professional self-care strategies were identified. Emphases on self-care practice differed at three distinct career stages, frontline social workers, project officers or managers, and organizational managers. Self-care practice was revealed as indispensable for social workers’ retention in China, identifying distinct Chinese characteristics and highlighting the global nature of the ecological perspective of self-care. The study discusses the implications for social workers, educators, social services organizations, government, and the public.

Keywords: self-care; retention; China; social worker; professional challenge (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:21582440231197318

DOI: 10.1177/21582440231197318

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