**1. Introduction**

The purpose of this study was to find out the position of social workers in Iceland regarding various factors following both the economic collapse about a decade ago and the pandemic, which is still ongoing when this is written. Social work is a stressful job, and these two major episodes are likely to have influenced and increased stress among the inhabitants as well as those who serve them, including social workers. Work-related stress can have devastating effects on physical and mental health, as well as on the performance of the employees [1]. Stress can be defined as triggers that can lead to psychological disorders, such as anxiety disorder, if coping skills are not used to deal with such triggers [2]. Stress can be caused by the following work-related factors: (1) work load [3–7] (such as the number of cases, the complexity of each case, and paperwork) [8], administration [5] such as limited management support [4, 8],

lack of clear information about how to carry out the job [9], lack of understanding of the role as social workers, lack of reflective supervision [4], insensitive remarks [10] or blaming [4] low support from coworkers [8] (possibly because they are under a lot of stress), and (4) difficult working conditions, such as hotdesking [8], difficulties getting a parking space or having to share an office with others. Stress can also be caused by factors in personal life, such as personal trauma or difficulties in relationships with significant others [11]. One study showed that [12] family stress if associated with social stress predicted emotional exhaustion, as well as economic stress.

If the stress gets overwhelming, it can lead to physical symptoms, such as sleep deprivation, fatigue, exhaustion, negative emotions, and memory difficulties [3], absence from work [4], and even burnout [9]. Pessimism that involves negative expectations, denial, emotional distress, and disengagement can be individual characteristics in the face of stress [13]. Increased stress can lead to burnout. Burnout can be defined as a syndrome involving emotional depletion, which reduces the sense of accomplishment [14]. Symptoms of burnout include but may not be limited to anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, memory impairment, back and neck pain [15]. Engendered work-related stress [16] and burnout [17] are strong predictors of turnover intensions and low job satisfaction [18, 19]. Work-related ethical stress diminishes job satisfaction as well [4, 16], increases the likelihood of burnout [10], and increases the likelihood of leaving the job [16]. In addition, improper words or actions by leaders reduce trust and are likely to lead to the intention to leave the job [17]. A finding by Jia and Fu [20] showed on the other hand that support at work promoted job satisfaction and eased burnout, when social workers are faced with conflict with work and family responsibilities.

Social workers experience a lot of stress on their jobs, since their jobs are demanding [10, 21, 22]. Without sufficient resources, they tend to manage difficult situations [10, 12, 23, 24], usually receiving low salaries [12, 23]. This is especially the case in the area of child protection and in psychiatric care [24]. A case load that is not too big, supervision, and autonomy are among factors that are likely to support coping strategies and increase job satisfaction. Other variables predict less stress symptoms, such as a good supervision relationship and low personal anxiety. Supervision has been found to be an inverse predictor of stress-related symptoms [25], as well as supportive administration [26] and the practice of mediation [26, 27]. In addition, empowerment tends to reduce the level of burnout [28].

Studies regarding the protective influence of good salaries have been inconclusive. A study conducted by Alsabti [12] did not show a relation between salaries and burnout. However, studies by Quinn et al. [25] and O'Donnell [16] did show that higher income predicted less stress symptoms. Furthermore, it seems clear that the profession might lose good professionals since the salaries tend to be lower than in most other professions and those who work in the profession might not be putting enough effort into it because of low salaries [29].

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced how social workers were able to do their job. Social work as a profession was already facing a lot of stress before the pandemic, which seemed to have increased in the pandemic with more difficult problems their clients were experiencing [30]. Studies have shown a greater need for emotional support for social workers during the pandemic because of a much higher ratio of burnout and posttraumatic stress disorder compared with time before the pandemic [31], as well as higher ratio of anxiety [32]. Organizational support has been shown to be important in reducing work-related stress symptoms [33]. However, another study showed that social workers rated their well-being and quality of working

#### *Social Workers in Iceland in the Pandemic: Job Satisfaction, Stress, and Burnout DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106515*

better during the pandemic than before the pandemic, since they received more work support during the pandemic [34]. Because of social distancing requirements, social workers have come up with innovative ways of supporting their clients without being able to meet them face to face, such as through the internet and phone [12, 35]. But the situation of the pandemic has also put them in the position of working more at home, along with taking care of other family members, such as their children or older adults, which might increase stress [32].

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding about various different things regarding social workers in Iceland. First, they were asked about what type of job they were doing and in what field, the theories they base their work, and their experience of the availability of interventions for their clients. Second, they were asked about job satisfaction regarding the content of the work itself, management, social environment, work conditions, and salaries. Third, the social workers were asked about stress and burnout symptoms. Fourth, they were asked if they had received supervision and from whom and how likely they are to find another job in the near future. Fifth, how much they had worked at home before the pandemic and while the pandemic was ongoing and how much they would prefer to work at home following the pandemic. Few background variables were collected as well, such as age, gender, marital status, number of children in the household, type of housing, and employment age. In addition to describing the sample according to the above characteristics, the following research questions were asked: (1) What are the characteristics of the typical social worker? (2) How much job satisfaction do social workers experience? (3) What type of stress symptoms do the social workers experience? (4) How many social workers have experienced a burnout and how many have the intention to leave their job? (5) Has the number of days working at home increased during the epidemic, and do social workers want to work partly at home following the epidemic?

In addition, the following hypotheses were suggested: (1) the salaries are better in the capital city area than in the country side, (2) older social workers are more likely to experience burnout than younger social workers, (3) the higher the work ratio, the more likely the social workers are to have experienced burnout, (4) social workers that work in child protection are more likely to have more stress symptoms and to have experienced burnout, (5) social workers who have attended supervision during the last year have fewer stress symptoms than social workers who have not attended supervision during the last year, (6) the more stress symptoms the social workers have, the more likely they are to intend to find another job, (7) more male social workers are working as directors than female social workers, (8) social workers working in the capital city area experience more stress symptoms than social workers working in rural areas. Finally, (9) the following factors were believed to increase stress symptoms; single, with children, renting apartment, working in child protection, low salaries, low employment age, working in the area of child protection, and low job satisfaction regarding working condition, social environment, and administration.
