NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, well-being, social services, public servants, work-life balance

Objective(s): To measure the subjective well being of practicing social workers in Alberta, Northwest Territories, and northwestern Ontario.

Project Description: This research follows a 2006–2009 Social Science and Humainities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Standard Research Grant (SRG) and a 2006-2007 SSHRC Northern Development Grant, in which the researchers piloted a quantitative instrument to measure Subjective Well Being (SWB) of practicing social workers in Alberta, Northwest Territories, and northwestern Ontario. This current research project builds on the initial qualitative findings and incorporates them into a new and better quantitative instrument that will better assess the SWB of social workers (Graham 2008ab; Graham & Shier, 2009; Graham, Rowlinson, & Paul, 2008). One to one interviews will be conducted between research participants (those who participated in the initial quantitative study, and provided their contact information and consent for possible follow-up in a one to one interview at a later date) and a member of the research team. The researchers will utilize a semi-structured interview guide with open ended questions. This study will focus questions precisely on the intersection between work and personal life (e.g., How does a specific factor from your personal life affect your workplace and vice versa?) and the relationship of SWB with multiple factors specific to the social work profession (e.g., How does being a social worker affect the dynamic between work and personal life and subsequent levels of happiness?). The purpose of this study is to explore in detail the intersection between work and personal life (e.g., How does a specific factor from your personal life affect your workplace and vice versa?) and the relationship of Subjective Well-Being (SWB) – the social science concept for happiness - with multiple factors specific to the social work profession (e.g., How does being a social worker affect the dynamic between work and personal life and subsequent levels of happiness?). Identifying the factors that contribute to SWB can provide the basis for optimizing workplace and professional functioning and thereby improve social services throughout the country. Participants will assist in answering a number of vital questions and help to better understand the nature of SWB in social workers’ lives; how to optimize the balance of the workplace/profession and personal/family lives, thereby improving the day-to-day functioning of social workers in the workplace and the quality of the services that they deliver; and it will contribute significantly to advancing social work and social science theory. Respondents participating in the first stage of the research (File No. 12410696) granted permission to be contacted at a later date for possible participation in a follow-up one to one interview. The results from the study will be disseminated in one technical report and a series of peer reviewed journal articles distributed to the research participants. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from August 9, 2010 to December 31, 2010.