Exploring stress resilience in trainee social workers: the role of emotional and social competencies

The high levels of stress and burnout endemic to social work have been found to contribute to the current retention problems in the UK. It has been argued that resilience is a protective factor that enhances the ability to manage stress, and promotes well-being in the social care context. Little is known, however, about the individual difference factors that promote resilience in this context, or whether this protects the well-being of staff. In order to inform the development of interventions to enhance the work-related well-being of early career social workers, this study examined several emotional and social competencies (i.e. emotional intelligence, reflective ability, empathy and social competence) as predictors of resilience in 240 trainees.