Half of the professionals in public social services have experienced psychological distress

In Spain, the service centers of the Public Social Services System and the System for Autonomy and Care for Dependency serve most people in need or dependency, through primary care and social emergency actions.

The General Council of Psychology of Spain, Psicofundación, and the Workers' Commissions (CCOO) have produced the First National Study on Psychosocial Health Conditions in Local Government Social Services to determine the physical and mental health of public social service workers. The study reveals a decline in the physical and mental health of this group, as well as shortcomings in the implementation of public prevention policies.

The pandemic is causing a surge in cases of depression and anxiety worldwide.

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It is well known that the mental and emotional health of the general population has worsened in recent years, and even more so with the COVID-19 pandemic, and that nearly 40% of workers in the healthcare and social services sectors present symptoms of anxiety and depression. The study revealed that social services teams have a higher prevalence of depressive (52.7%) , anxiety (52.6%), and stress (62.3%) symptoms than other population groups , and that 94.5% of those surveyed, 88% of whom are women , present symptoms consistent with burnout : physical and emotional exhaustion, and demotivation towards work. Furthermore, 60% of staff members were prescribed at least one sick leave in the last three years (mostly for common illnesses, but many possibly stemming from factors such as work-related anxiety or stress).

Psychosocial risks that negatively impact the health of social service professionals:

• High work pace and excessive workload.
• Staff shortage in relation to the demand for care.
• Poor definition of their job role and role conflicts.
• Feeling of not being treated fairly (distribution of tasks, conflict management, etc.).
• Lack of planning in tasks.
• Workplace violence: the group that receives the most violence is that of social work professionals, especially verbal and physical violence; the groups that have suffered the most physical violence are the socio-health and social education groups.
• Job insecurity
• Distrust of superiors and subordinates and the management of human teams

The people surveyed also pointed to conditions that promote good physical and mental health, such as opportunities for development and safety in working conditions , as well as the fit between the work performed and their personal and work values.

The study also observes a positive correlation between implementing psychosocial awareness and prevention tools in the workplace and improved mental health indicators. Despite this, 68.7% of respondents indicated that these types of campaigns have not been carried out, nor have any protective measures been implemented in their workplaces.

On the other hand, those administrations that invest more resources achieve better emotional health indicators. Comparing indicators of depression, stress, and anxiety in relation to regional government investment in public social services reveals an impact on both the prevalence and intensity of symptoms.

The authors of the study conclude that adequate staffing is needed in public social services, along with improved public policies for preventing psychosocial risks, the implementation of awareness and training campaigns, and addressing the mental health problems currently experienced by staff. In this way, improving the mental health of service workers will also improve the health of the general public.