Empathy of Social Workers and Constructive Stress Management as a Key Resources Determining the Effectiveness of Their Professional Work. Pilot Study

Abstract

Social worker performs such a profession in which it is required to be emotionally engaged in problems of people not being able to function independently enough at the high psychosocial and/or physical level. It ensues him being empathetic and sensitive to clients’ needs. On the other hand, he must learn how to constructively handle the stress triggered by constantly experienced negative emotions as displayed by supported individuals – the focus should be given to performance of professional tasks and not to experienced emotions. Therefore, it was asserted that both empathy and constructive methods pertaining to stress management constitute key factors determining effectiveness of professional work of social workers. The aim of the author’s own research consisted in setting the level of emotional and cognitive empathy of 80 randomly selected social workers and the stress management techniques as preferred by them. Attempts have been made to answer the following questions: How strongly can social workers empathize with other people? What styles of stress management do social workers prefer? What is the relationship between empathy and social workers’ styles of coping with stress? In connection therewith, the author’s own study has been conducted through the method of a diagnostic survey using the CISS questionnaire and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Slightly more than one fifth of respondents prefer task-focused stress and nearly the same number of people with empathy deficits.