Relationship between social workers’ work-related values and work motivation

Abstract

Social workers are an important professional group that provides support to people with social and psychological difficulties. In their professional activities, they face constant challenges, which often cause fatigue and tension, felt both in their professional activities and in their personal lives. Social work is a complex profession that is more than a job for most (Kam, 2020), demanding a lot of energy and effort, but social workers still experience high satisfaction from their role and remain motivated to work (Rose & Palattiyil, 2020). It is important for social workers to maintain work motivation, because their work efficiency has a significant impact on the well-being of clients, their social solidarity and integration into society (Lethborg & Christ, 2017).

Work efficiency is also influenced by work-related values, which are one of the most work-related factors studied in the scientific literature. They are especially important for employees because they help to understand the meaning of work and reflect the individual’s priorities and behaviour at work (Garcia-Garzon & Martinez-Alvarez, 2018; Zupan et al., 2015), and therefore the well-being of customers depends heavily on them. Social workers whose work-related values ​​align with their work activities feel more motivated, which can impact their clients’ lives and work outcomes. However, despite the difficulties experienced and the low salary, it is noticeable that social workers themselves say that they work not for the salary, but for more important reasons (Smith & Shields, 2013), so it is interesting to find out the reasons that encourage them to do this work.

 A study by Petersén (2022) in Sweden revealed that people choose social work for several reasons: altruistic goals (wanting to help), profession strategies (education in this profession comes with many different career options), personal experience (having been caring for a family member for a long time), personal qualities (characteristics that are perceived as suitable for social workers), but usually there is no one specific reason that determines the choice of this job. Research on the work-related values ​​of social workers conducted in Lithuania and abroad indicates such values ​​as responsibility, cooperation, empathy, respect, which motivate employees (Kam, 2020; Kurnickaite, 2020). Also, research on work motivation of social workers indicates that external factors promoting external motivation are not the main source of motivation. The essential factors promoting the professional activity of social workers are usually internal, affecting internal motivation, for example, self-regulation, development opportunities, client welfare, supervision, training and professional development (Bubnys & Milašiūtė, 2020; Singh, 2016). Thus, it can be observed that the research conducted both abroad and in Lithuania is quite similar.

Research problem. Although the relationships between work motivation and various characteristics are studied, the relationship between work motivation and work values ​​has been studied relatively little, especially among social workers. Various connections between these phenomena and other phenomena are often found in research. It is observed that at Vytautas the Great University, the connections of work motivation with other phenomena are analysed the most, for example, Rimkutė (2024) in her research examined the connections of employees’ work motivation with psychological detachment from work, Radvilaitė (2022) with creativity, Šleivienė (2021) with job satisfaction. On the other hand, connections between work-related values ​​and other phenomena are found much less, for example, Uzdzilo (2022) analysed the connections between students’ work-related values ​​and career adaptability in his research. Kurnickaitė (2020) described the values ​​of social workers and the expression of ethical competences in practical activities. It is noticeable that not enough research has been carried out that reveals the connections between social workers’ work-related values ​​and work motivation, increased knowledge and research of these phenomena in society. In the future, such knowledge and research could be applied in the practical sphere – workplaces, in order to achieve the work efficiency of social workers and greater well-being of the employee and the client.

The purpose of the study. To reveal the connections between work-related values ​​and work motivation of social workers.

Research hypotheses. (1) Prestigious work-related values ​​are the least characteristic of social workers compared to other work-related values. (2) The more expressed the social values ​​related to work, the greater the external (social) motivation. (3) The more expressed cognitive work-related values, the greater the intrinsic motivation. (4) The more expressed the instrumental work-related values, the greater the external (material) motivation.

Keywords: social workers, work motivation, work-related values