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Organisational Factors, Job Satisfactionand Intention to Leave Among NewlyQualified Social Workers in EnglandShereen Hussein, Jo Moriartya, Martin Stevensa, Endellion Sharpeb

& Jill Manthorpea

a Shereen Hussein, Jo Moriarty, Martin Stevens & Jill Manthorpe,King's College, London, UKb Endellion Sharpe, Sharpe Research, UKPublished online: 19 Jun 2013.

To cite this article: Shereen Hussein, Jo Moriarty, Martin Stevens, Endellion Sharpe & JillManthorpe (2014) Organisational Factors, Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave Among NewlyQualified Social Workers in England, Social Work Education: The International Journal, 33:3,381-396, DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2013.806467

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2013.806467

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Organisational Factors, JobSatisfaction and Intention to LeaveAmong Newly Qualified SocialWorkers in EnglandShereen Hussein, Jo Moriarty, Martin Stevens,Endellion Sharpe & Jill Manthorpe

Satisfaction with different organisational elements and aspects of work contributes

markedly to overall levels of job satisfaction and intention to leave. For newly qualifiedsocial workers (NQSWs), especially immediately after graduation, self-perceived

competence and their confidence in their educational preparation are also important.This article reports on a longitudinal study following 280 social work students intosocial work employment in England using data collected as students and six months

after graduation. We focus on their experiences as NQSWs, thus only including thoseworking in social work jobs, reporting the relative importance of their satisfaction with

different work elements, such as supervision and job engagement. These are used toconstruct a model of NQSWs’ overall satisfaction and intentions of leaving their social

work jobs. The model incorporates NQSWs’ perceptions of how well their degree coursesprepared them for their current social work jobs in addition to personal, organisational

and specific role characteristics. Using statistical techniques of factor analysis andregression modelling we highlight the complexities of how job satisfaction is constructedand we argue that the data reveal the importance of team support and self-efficacy in

relation to whether social workers are thinking about leaving their currentsocial work jobs.

Keywords: Competency; Fitness to Practise; Relationships; Profession; Quantitative

Methods; Higher Education

q 2013 Taylor & Francis

Correspondence to: Dr Shereen Hussein, Senior Research Fellow, Social Care Workforce Research Unit, 22 Kingsway,

King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS, UK. Email: shereen.hussein@kcl.ac.uk

Shereen Hussein, Jo Moriarty, Martin Stevens & Jill Manthorpe, King’s College London, UK; Endellion Sharpe, Sharpe

Research, UK

Social Work Education, 2014Vol. 33, No. 3, 381–396, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2013.806467

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Background

This article reports on in-depth analysis of a longitudinal study of NQSWs

(see Sharpe et al., 2011) and provides a contribution to debates about the relationship

between qualifying education and organisational factors within the workplace and

decisions to leave.We examine a conceptual framework that links NQSWs’ evaluation of

howwell their qualifying education has prepared them for the job and different aspects of

the work environment with their job satisfaction and future plans to stay in or leave their

jobs. Uniquely, the dataset on which it is based includes information collected

longitudinally while participants were social work students and so we were able to

consider respondents’ current perceptions with those they held while students.The challenge of resolving long-standing recruitment and retention problems

among social workers commands policy interest in England. The Social Work Task

Force (2009) and the Social Work Reform Board (2010) (which were government

appointed stakeholders, including employers, social work educators, people using

services and carers) have identified a need to improve social work practice, voicing

concern about the performance of someNQSWs in particular (Moriarty &Manthorpe,

2012; Manthorpe et al., 2013). While most of these problems have been attributed to

variations in the quality of social work education, some authors (Balen&Masson, 2008;

Mann, 2010; Moriarty et al., 2010) have commented that when difficulties arise with

social workers’ performance the emphasis is largely placed on the quality of their

qualifying education and not on how their experiences in the workplace have enabled,

or hampered, the quality of their practice.

There is a growing literature looking at the experiences of NQSWs. Carpenter et al.

(2012) followed up NQSWs working in children’s services who had completed a

programme designed to provide themwith additional support during their first year in

practice. They detected an increase in NQSWs’ confidence as they completed the

programme with the majority of respondents being satisfied with the opportunities

they had been given. They found that the likelihood of actively looking for a new job

increased two-fold for those stating that they were not satisfied with the overall package

of work, training and support they were receiving from their employers. In other

words, NQSWs who were receiving support through the programme were more likely

to stay. Intention to leave was also associated with scores above the threshold for stress,

as measured by the standardised self-report General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)

(Goldberg & Williams, 1988). In short, Carpenter et al. concluded (2012, p. 120):

the more stressed you are, the less satisfied you are with your relationship with fellowworkers, having challenges to meet and the variety of tasks you carry out, and pay,conditions, hours and flexibility of work and the support of management, the morelikely you are to be thinking of leaving.

Two other small-scale studies also highlighted the importance of employer support

and other organisational factors in terms of NQSWs’ satisfaction (Bates et al., 2010;

Jack & Donnellan, 2010). However, social work is not unique in this respect and

similar findings connecting job stress, intention to leave and actual experience on the

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job have been reported in other related human services fields (for example, in nursing,

see Rafferty & Griffin, 2004).While there are significant relationships between job satisfaction and intention to

leave (see, for example, the meta-analysis of Hellman, 1997), both these elements areindependently and collectively affected by a range of other influences including

economic factors (e.g. pay and training), structural factors (e.g. work environmentand work context) and psychological factors, including individual and demographic

profiles, such as age, gender and ethnicity (Coomber & Barriball, 2007; Ejaz, Noelker,Menne, & Bagaka’s, 2008; Tham, 2007). Job satisfaction and intention to leave are thuscomplex phenomena with multiple components and the relationships between the two

elements are not directly causally linked. Levels of job satisfaction are a function of aninteracting array of factors, most predominantly workplace dynamics, environment

and structure (Castle & Engberg, 2006). However, they can also be influenced byindividuals’ own personal abilities, such as how they respond to stress and rewards.

This means that there can easily be a spillover between, and across, personal and workcharacteristics (Ejaz et al., 2008). Karasek (1979; further developed in Karasek et al.,

1998) developed a theory that linked job satisfaction with the interaction betweenlevels of job demand and workers’ degree of authority to make decisions.

Ourmain aimhere is to understand someof the complex interactions betweenhowwellsocial workers feel they are prepared, their personal characteristics (such as age) andorganisational structure on both job satisfaction and intention to leave their jobs. We

examine the relationships between these different variables building a theoretical modelthat tests the relationships between different job-related elements, personal characteristics

and job satisfaction and intention to leave social work jobs. The theoretical model alsotakes into account howwellNQSWs feel theirqualifications prepared them to takeupa job

in social work and the interactions of this with both job satisfaction and intention to leave.

Methods

Study Design

The study used a panel design, which enabled us to follow up the same sample of socialwork students as they graduated and then again after they moved into employment.The longitudinal sample had been originally recruited in an earlier study (the evaluation

of the new social work qualification in England, see Evaluation of Social Work Degree inEngland Team, 2008) which was a major multi-method longitudinal evaluation

investigating whether degree level qualifying programmes in social work had equippedstudents with the skills and competencies required by employers and service users.

Participants and Procedures

The original sample was representative of the social work student population at the time

of the study. It was based on a panel design in which all higher education institutionsoffering social work qualifying programmes in England were invited to distribute an

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invitation to students to respond to an online survey between 2004 and 2007 as part

of the evaluation of the new socialwork qualification in England.While the original studydrew on responses from students in their first and final years, with some responses from

second-year undergraduates, the present study focused on 280 NQSWs who hadgraduated between 2008 and 2010 and who were surveyed shortly after graduation and

once againwhen they had beenworking as a socialworker for around 18months. In orderto ensure consistency across the different waves of data collection, information collected

while the participants were first-year students was used to understand their financialcircumstances, their previous education and the level of award they were enrolled upon,while the second survey (NQSW survey) after graduation and starting working in social

work jobs was primarily used to examine their experiences in employment. The separatesurveys were all piloted using focus groups and individual interviews with students and

newly qualified social workers (for further details see Sharpe et al., 2011).

Response Rate

Overall response rates to the request to complete the NQSW survey by differentgraduate cohorts ranged from 29 to 44%, calculated from those participating in the

original study. These rates lie within the acceptable range of response rates to suchsurveys. According to Nulty (2008) the average response rates for online surveys are

about 33%.

Ethical Issues

Ethical and research governance permissions were received from the National ResearchEthics Service and participating local authorities (names of which were anonymised by

agreement). No ethical issues arose: participation was voluntary, data wereanonymised and participants could withdraw if they wished.

Variables’ Definitions

Job satisfactionThe NQSW survey collected information on job satisfaction using a four-point scale,

which we reduced to two points during initial analysis to allow further statisticalanalysis. ‘Taking everything into consideration, how are you enjoying this job so far?’ took

the value ‘0’ if NQSWs responded with either ‘Not enjoying it very much’ or ‘Notenjoying it at all’—which we classified as ‘not satisfied’. Alternatively it took the value

of ‘1’ if NQSWs responded by either saying they were ‘Quite enjoying it/enjoying it verymuch’—which we classified as being ‘satisfied’.

Intention to leave

The NQSW survey collected information on career plans, asking specifically ‘Howlong do you expect to remain with your current employer?’. We used the answers to

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this question to identify those who intended to leave their social work job within the

next two years or were already looking for another job in social work; thus ‘intentionto leave’ was a binary variable taking the following values:

0 ‘Does not intend to leave in the foreseen future’: those who expect to remain

with current employer for the next two–four, or five years AND thosewho expect to start looking for another social work job within the next twoyears.

1 ‘Intend to leave’: those already looking for another social work job in Britain or

abroad and those who expect to leave social work within the next two years.

Job-related factorsNQSWs who were working in social work jobs (n ¼ 280) were asked two overlappingsets of questions covering organisational and work relationships, and structure. We

asked 23 individual questions in two separate sets (listed in Table 1; for full details ofthe survey see Sharpe et al., 2011). The first set of questions sought indications of

whether each of nine different job-related elements was true for them or not true, andthe second asked about satisfaction with 14 different aspects of their jobs.

Factor analysis was conducted on these 23 variables to construct more concisescales, covering different elements of the work environment. This indicated seven

latent factors (F1–F7 in Table 1), or underlying factors that influence several variablesin the same direction, covering all the 23 variables included in the model. Thecorrelation matrix, mean and standard variables for each scale were calculated, and

then the inter-correlation and inter-consistency of each scale were tested using level ofcorrelation and Cronbach Alpha tests. Levels of correlation were acceptable for six of

the seven scales (a value above 0.30 is usually acceptable), with internal correlationsranging from 0.68 to 1. For these six scales all Cronbach Alpha were more than 0.6

(ranging from 0.62 to 0.85), indicating acceptable levels of inter-item consistency. Theseventh scale had an internal correlation of only 0.2 and very low internal consistency

(Cronbach Alpha of 0.30) and was therefore not used further in the analysis (seeTable 1 for question items and latent factors).

Analysis

Weemployed exploratory analysis and logistic regressionmodels to investigate differentrelationships within our model. All analyses were conducted using R Statistical

Environment on UNIX (version 2.1). As a first step towards understanding therelationships between different elements in the conceptual framework, we undertook

exploratory bivariate analysis. The initial analysis aimed to identify separateassociations between different ‘dependent’ outcomes and a set of ‘independent’

variables. Following this initial analysis, we employed a set of step-wise logisticregression models, to investigate how job satisfaction and propensity to look foranother jobwere influenced by ‘independent’ variables (such as gender), controlling for

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Table 1 Single Item Questions and their Prevalence and Latent Factors with RelevantStatistics (n ¼ 280)

Factors and itemsMaxvalue

Mean(SD)

% Correlation.0.30

CronbachAlpha

Percent(singleitems)

F1: Manageable workload 4 1.76 (1.35) 75% 0.66‘Not true’: There are a lot of unfilled staffvacancies

33.6%

‘Not true’: The working environment is verypressured

14.1%

‘Satisfied with’: The amount of contact timewith service users or carers

34.3%

Coping with your workload 44.5%F2: Supportive line-manager 2 1.65 (0.71) 100% 0.85‘Satisfied with’: Accessibility of your linemanager when necessary

64.7%

‘Satisfied with’: Professional support andguidance from line manager

55.2%

F3: Supportive team 3 2.61 (0.78) 100% 0.69Professional support and guidance fromcolleagues

59.1%

Teamwork 62.8%Friendliness of other staff in the workplace 71.8%F4: Values into practice 2 1.39 (0.80) 100% 0.69Opportunity to put your own social workvalues into practice

50.9%

Ability to transmit your social work values toworkers from other professions

43.8%

F4: Pay and prosperity 2 1.26 (0.82) 100% 0.62Your conditions of employment 52.8%Your prospects for advancement and pro-motion

45.3%

F6: Job engagement 5 3.38 (1.42) 68% 0.71Staff are encouraged to take part in learningand development activities

60.3%

Service users’ views and perspectives aretaken seriously

53.3%

Widening your knowledge of areas of socialwork practice

45.5%

Being able to fulfil your Protected Time forLearning (PRTL) commitments for theGeneral Social Care Council (GSCC)

50.4%

Working in partnership with service users totake their wishes into practice

51.3%

F7: Stable Job Structure a 5 3.21 (1.06) 20% 0.31The values of the service are clear to everyone 50.1%There had NOT recently been a lot oforganisational restructure

11.7%

The IT system generally works well 34.8%Good day-to-day working relationships withprofessionals from other agencies

56.7%

Line manager is a qualified social worker 59.4%

Note: a Not included in the analysis due to unacceptable level of inter-correlation and internalconsistency.

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differences made by other ‘independent’ variables (such as age and job-related factors).

Our aim was to identify the ‘best’ set of available factors in predicting NQSWs’ jobsatisfaction and their propensity to report that they were considering leaving their

current jobs. Thus, variables that did not add to the overall significance of the modeland were not significantly associated with the outcome were dropped in the next step of

the model. The final model included those variables which produced the ‘best fit’ usingAkaike’s InformationCriterion (AIC) andAreaUnder theCurve (AUC) (Akaike, 1974).

Table 2 provides the distribution of variables used in all the steps of the step-wiseregression models in addition to the six developed job factor scales; interactionsbetween different variables were also included. Both final logistic regression models

examining job satisfaction and intention to leave had ‘very high discriminatory power’using AIC and AUC indicators (Hosmer & Lemeshow, 2004).

Table 2 Participants’ Profile (n ¼ 280)

Characteristics Statistic

Demographic characteristicsMedian age (as graduates) 29 yearsGender: % male 13%Ethnicity: % Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) 15%

Characteristics as first year studentsLevel of satisfaction with the course:‘Quite enjoying/enjoying it very much’ 92%

Received ‘any’ financial support from employer 10%Received student loan 47%Received a bursary 68%Attended access course in preparation for the degree 18%Type of degreeUndergraduate (UG) 73%Postgraduate (PG) 27%

Characteristics as graduates working in social work jobsMain motivations as NQSW for a career in social worka

Worthwhile job 76%Suitable job conditions 8%Good career 3%Interaction with people 4%

How well do you feel the degree prepared you?‘Fairly/very well’ 74%Current social work job characteristicsType of employerLocal authority (LA) adults 31%LA child 49%Voluntary or private 9%Other 10%

Type of settingFieldwork 43%Community 28%Hospital 9%Other 20%

Received any induction in current job 72%

Note: a Developed using rotated factor analysis of 13 options for motivations.

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Findings

This Findings section starts with descriptive statistics from variables used in the

analysis, starting with the outcome variables, job satisfaction and intention to leave

and then moving on to bivariate analysis of job-related factors.

Overall Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave

Most NQSWs were either ‘quite enjoying the job’ (40%) or ‘enjoying the job very

much’ (47.8%). Only 13% were not enjoying their job much or not at all (scoring ‘0’ in

the constructed variable of job satisfaction). Overall, 16.2% reported that they were

already looking for another social work job in Britain or abroad or expected to leave

social work altogether within the next couple of years. This is the group that we

classified as ‘intending to leave’. Clearly, some of the other NQSWs might be thinking

of leaving their current job in the next couple of years but they were not actively

looking for another job at the time of the study.

Job-Related Factors

Factor analysis of the NQSW survey items produced six ‘job-related scales’: ‘F1—

Manageable Workload’; ‘F2—Supportive line manager’; ‘F3—Supportive colleagues’;

‘F4—Values’; F5—Pay and Prospects’; and ‘F6—Job engagement’. Mean scores and

standard errors for the distributions of each of these job-related scales, presented in

Table 1, were calculated for each sector of social work employment (such as local

authority children’s or adults services, the private/commercial or the voluntary sector).

NQSWs working in local authority (LA) children’s departments gave the lowest score for

Manageable Workload (X ¼ 1.39; n ¼ 87) compared with other sectors, and lowest also

for Values (X ¼ 1.26; n ¼ 87). Those working in ‘fieldwork’ settings (broadly meaning

those employed in generic teams covering a specific geographical area, as opposed to

those working in specialist teams, such as a Community Mental Health Team), also

scored relatively low for Manageable Workload (X ¼ 1.45; n ¼ 121).

Induction

Clear differences emerged between respondents who received or did not receive (or

were receiving at the time of survey) induction (preparation for their work and

employment setting) by different job-related factors. These differences were

particularly evident in relation to how supportive line managers (F2) and colleagues

(F3) were perceived to be, as well as respondents’ levels of engagement with the job

(F6). For example, 85% who had received induction scored the maximum value of 2 in

the supportive line manager scale in comparison to 64.3% among those who did not

receive any induction (x 2 ¼ 21.6; p , 0.001).

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Supervision

The NQSW survey also collected information on the frequency of supervision; 29%

of respondents reported that they received supervision at least once every twoweeks; 70% received monthly or less frequent supervision, while 1% (n ¼ 4) didnot say how often they were receiving it. There was no difference between scores on

the job-related scales and frequency of supervision. However, the perceived qualityof supervision appeared to have stronger relationships with job-related factors

among those who were receiving supervision at the time they completed the survey.Just 5% did not rate the feedback they received from their supervisors very highly,

and they scored significantly less positively in most job-related factors. Thesefindings, of course, should be viewed as indicative only due to the small number of

this group. We have discussed supervision in more detail elsewhere (see Manthorpeet al., 2013).

Levels of Readiness to Practise

Overall, three-quarters of NQSWs felt they had been ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ well-prepared bytheir degree programme for their current job, which we considered an indication of

readiness to practise. Some significant differences emerged in the scores of job-relatedscales and how participants felt their social work degree had prepared them for theircurrent jobs. Overall, those who felt more prepared scored more positively in relation

to different job-related scales. The main differences related to the following factors(ordered in descending order of strength of association): their ability to translate their

values into practice (F4); whether they felt involved in their current jobs (F6); whetherthey considered their workload to be manageable (F1); how supportive were their

line managers (F2); and how good were their working conditions (F4). Some smallerdifferences, which were less significant statistically, were observed in relation to

perceptions of team support (F3).

Job Satisfaction Analytical Model

As indicated earlier, NQSWs reported very positive attitudes towards their current job,with many agreeing with the statement that they were ‘Making a real difference to the

wellbeing of service users’, and the majority, 87.8%, either ‘enjoying’ or ‘very muchenjoying’ their current job. Respondents scoring low on the Job Engagement variable

were least likely to be enjoying their job. Initial analysis indicated that those who feltless able to put values into practice (F4) and did not regard themselves as having

supportive colleagues (F3) and a supportive line manager (F2) had lower levels of jobsatisfaction.

The analysis indicated a number of factors that appeared to be associated with level

of NQSWs’ job satisfaction. NQSWs who had received financial support from anemployer while students (the minority of students who are seconded or sponsored by

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an employer; see Hussein, Manthorpe, & Harris, 2011) were more likely to be enjoying

their job. Black and minority ethnic (BME) NQSWs were also a little more likely to beenjoying their job than white NQSWs. Postgraduate NQSWs (those who undertook a

social work qualifying programme at postgraduate level), were much less likely to beenjoying their job, though the sample of this group is relatively small (n ¼ 76).

Similarly those who reported as students that they were ‘not much’ or ‘not at all’enjoying their degree programmes were less satisfied with their social work jobs after

graduation.Taking into account demographics and other characteristics (listed in Table 2), such

as age, gender and ethnicity, participants’ motivations to join the occupation and their

scores in different job factors, Table 3 shows that only three main variables weresignificant in predicting whether NQSWs were enjoying their job. These are high

ability to put values into practice (F4: OR ¼ 2.90, p ¼ 0.005); high levels of jobengagement (F6: OR ¼ 1.58, p ¼ 0.015); and feeling well-prepared by their degree

programme (OR ¼ 4.54, p ¼ 0.005).

Intention to Leave Analytical Model

The initial models showed a statistically significant (and large in magnitude) inverserelationship between job satisfaction and intention to leave. However, when theinteraction terms, between job-related factors and job satisfaction, were introduced

into the model these associations lost their statistical significance. The final model (seeTable 4) shows that only two factors were significant, in a statistical way, with intention

to leave. These were how supportive the team is (F3) and working in the private/voluntary sector. NQSWs rating their team as supportive were significantly less likely

to report their intention to leave their social work posts (OR ¼ 0.56, p ¼ 0.036). Onthe other hand, NQSWs working in the private or voluntary sectors (a very small

number overall) were significantly ‘much’ more likely to declare their intention toleave their jobs or social work altogether (OR ¼ 7, p ¼ 0.003). Other indicative, butnot significant, directions of association were related to how engaged NQSWs were

with their jobs (F6; OR ¼ 0.75, p ¼ 0.182), the more engaged they felt, the less likelythey were to say that they intended to leave.

Table 3 Results of the final regression model identifying the most significant factors inpredicting job satisfaction

Significant factors inthe final model

Oddsratio

Confidence intervalStandarderror p-value2.5% 97.5%

Values into practice scale 2.90 1.40 6.39 0.38 0.005**Engagement with job scale 1.58 1.10 2.31 0.19 0.015*Degree well prepared respondent 4.54 1.59 12.5 0.53 0.005**

Notes: * p # 0.05; ** p # 0.005.

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Discussion

This study provided a unique opportunity to follow a sizable sample of respondents

from the time they were students until after they had started worked in the social work

domain. The study is limited, however, by the fact that respondents elected to

complete the survey with potential selection bias, where those who did not participate

may systematically have different views. The sample, however, was representative (up

to ^5%) to the overall sample of the main panel. The analyses confirmed the

complexities of the relationships between NQSWs’ perceptions and satisfaction with

level of preparedness, job and work environment, overall job satisfaction and intention

to leave. The analysis also highlights the potential importance of sector [private

companies, not-for-profit agencies (voluntary sector) or local authorities] in relation

to job satisfaction and intention to leave. Figure 1 summarises the findings and

indicates the directions of significant relationships (identified with solid arrows) and

tentative relationships (identified with dotted arrows). In addition to the strong

associations identified in the model, a number of tentative relationships were found,

particularly between financial support received as students and initial motivations to

study social work and job satisfaction.

While results on perceived preparedness appear on the face of it to be slightly lower

than reported in earlier research (Marsh & Triseliotis, 1996), they are higher than those

found in another study of NQSWs (CWDC Research Team, 2009). However, neither

the question wordings nor the sample compositions were the same in these surveys as

for this present study. Whether NQSWs felt their qualifications prepared themwell for

their current posts affected, positively and significantly, a range of other job-related

elements and consequently their overall level of job satisfaction. Munro commented:

‘Not all newly-qualified social workers are emerging from degree courses with the

necessary knowledge, skills and expertise; and they are especially unprepared to deal

Table 4 Results of the Final Regression Model Identifying the Most Significant Factorsin Predicting Intention to Leave

Significant factors in thefinal model

Oddsratio

Confidence intervalStandarderror p-value2.5% 97.5%

Supportive team scale 0.56 0.33 0.97 0.274 0.036*Theory to practice scale 1.92 0.83 5.19 0.459 0.157Engagement with job scale 0.75 0.48 1.16 0.220 0.182Type of organisation (ref. LA—adult)Local authority—children 0.70 0.23 2.16 0.564 0.523Private/voluntary 7.00 1.98 25.95 0.648 0.003**Other 0.76 0.10 3.74 0.882 0.751Not satisfied with current job 6.43 0.65 79.68 1.207 0.123Interaction between engagement withjob scale and ‘no’ job satisfaction

0.70 0.19 1.99 0.604 0.548

Interaction between theory to practicescale with job and ‘no’ job satisfaction

5.23 0.58 99.74 1.290 0.200

Notes: * p # 0.05; ** p # 0.005.

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with the challenges posed by child protection work’ (Munro, 2011, para 8.18). She

recommended extra input into qualifying programmes, but what needs to be

determined is how much, at what level, and what will have to be sacrificed if this area

of study is prioritised.

While graduates working in the private and voluntary sectors were significantly

more likely to report an intention to leave their current jobs, the analysis showed that

they were enjoying their jobs just as much as those in LAs. The explanation for their

greater likelihood of seeking another job therefore may relate to an ambition to work

Work related factors

Jobsatisfaction

Sector ofwork

Jobengagement

Values topractice

Supportiveteam

Manageableworkload

Supportiveline manager

Pay andprospects

Intention toleave socialwork jobs

Self-evaluation of

how wellqualifications

preparedgraduates tosocial work

Figure 1 Model of Relationships between Level of Preparedness, Job-Related Factors,Job Satisfaction and Intention to Leave (Solid Arrows Indicate Highly Significant Effect;Dotted Arrows Indicate Tentatively Significant Effect).

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in the LA sector, in statutory front-line social work—possibly for better pay, or for

career reasons, or because of worries about job security in the private and voluntarysectors. Further work would be necessary to establish whether this is a reasonable

hypothesis.Job satisfaction is generally considered to be important in all employment sectors

because it is thought to lead to better service delivery and better staff retention rates.Notably, the analysis shows that having a manageable workload (F1) was not

significantly associated with either job satisfaction or intention to leave, unlike beingwell-prepared, ability to express their values in practice (F4) and high job engagement

(F6). While much of the existing research examining social workers’ job satisfactionhas focused on issues such as workload size and levels of stress, there is a comparative

shortage of research examining the positive factors that contribute to job satisfaction

(Collins, 2008)—including those factors related to high job engagement as identifiedin our model, which links to earlier research on the importance of having a job that is

‘exciting, challenging and fulfilling’ (Otkay, 1992, cited in Collins, 2008). Our findingsthus highlight the positive aspects of respondents’ job satisfaction, such as feeling well-

prepared and being able to put social work values into practice. Moreover, jobsatisfaction appeared to be influenced by employment structure and environments.

The interaction between perceptions of the quality of qualifying education and thequality of the work environment was a constant theme throughout this study and

suggests that the two cannot be seen in isolation.Within the social work and social care literature, a large body of research uses

intention to leave as a proxy for problems with job retention adding to the moreobvious statistics on leaving which, of course, only account those who have left (for

example, Huxley et al., 2005; Rubery et al., 2011; Tham, 2007) and this study providesfurther supporting evidence for the validity of this approach. In their first year of

employment, a quarter of our NQSW respondents working in social work reportedthat they expected to remain with their current employer for the next five years while a

further third expected to remain with their employer for the next two–four years. Thefinal models of our analysis (Table 4) show that the factor that made respondents least

likely to intend to leave their jobs was having a supportive team (F3). In contrast,working in the private and voluntary sector increased the likelihood of intention to

leave. However, the latter may be related to the strong perception held by NQSWs ofthe importance of having employment experience in the statutory sector for career

progression purposes rather than other factors.In policy terms, the importance of the findings on job satisfaction, intention to leave

and having a supportive team varies. There is a considerable literature linking jobsatisfaction to intention to stay (for example, Tham, 2007), thus our finding that,

among those planning to leave in the short to medium term, their job satisfaction wasno longer statistically significant may reflect the comparatively small size of the sample

or the complexity of interactions between job-related factors with job satisfaction andintention to leave. It may also reflect the importance of smaller elements of satisfaction

with specific aspects of self-efficacy and job structure as part of the overall jobsatisfaction (Judge & Bono, 2001).

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The finding that having a supportive team decreased intention to leave is probably

the most important of these three findings because it feeds into the literature on so-called ‘high performance’ work organisations (Lloyd & Payne, 2005; Rubery et al.,

2011), which aim to achieve benefits for the employer and employee in terms of theorganisation’s performance and to deliver greater autonomy and job security for the

employee.

Conclusion

The current study highlights the complexities of the interaction between satisfactions

with different work-related elements and intention to leave the job. There were alsoclear associations between the perception of NQSWs of how well their qualifications

prepared them and level of satisfaction with and engagement in the job. However, suchassociations are likely to be bi-directional, in the sense that satisfaction with current

work experience may improve NQSWs’ perceptions of being well-prepared by theirdegree and vice versa. The finding that job engagement was a more important

predictor than workload and remuneration in determining job satisfaction is animportant message. It suggests that external constraints, such as demand for socialwork services or limitations on pay awards, may be counteracted by creating a

workplace in which employees feel involved and which reflects their values, whilepromoting autonomy. Having a supportive team was a key influence on respondents’

intention to remain in their jobs. This highlights that actions to create a moreempowering workplace by encouraging morale may have benefits in improving staff

effectiveness and increasing retention.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer

This research was funded by the Department of Health’s Policy Research ProgrammeSocial Care Workforce Research Initiative. We are most grateful to the participants in

this study and to members of the unit’s User and Carer Advisory Group. We offerparticular thanks to Marie McNay for the help and expertise she provided as the

Programme’s Scientific Advisor. The views expressed in this article are those of theauthors alone and not necessarily those of the Department of Health.

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