Retention and turnover in social work practice: what role do trusting colleagues, overtime, and workload play in job satisfaction?

In a mixed methods research, we explored various professional aspects of the Romanian social work workforce, such as employment, responsibilities, available resources, satisfaction at work, professional quality of life, among others. Through an online survey (n = 1044), we asked respondents to rate how satisfied they are with various resources available at work. We tested three models (using linear regressions) to predict satisfaction at work. The significant predictors are the level of trust in colleagues, the number of unpaid overtime and the perceived caseload. While the three variables explain 20% of variation in satisfaction, trust in colleagues alone explains 16%. We argue that the organisation of social work services is crucial for satisfaction at work. We highlight that focusing on increasing skills and individual wellbeing is not sufficient for creating high-quality social services capable of addressing the multitude and complexity of current social issues.