SOCIAL WORK AND MANAGEMENT ›› 2025, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (6): 21-31.

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A Study on the Impact of Challenging and Obstructive Stressors on the Turnover Intention of Social Workers: Workplace Anxiety and the Role of Future Job Self-Clarity

LI Zhengdong, WANG Jin   

  1. School of Humanities, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, 201418, China
  • Received:2025-05-17 Online:2025-11-15 Published:2025-11-15

Abstract: Based on cognitive interaction theory and resource conservation theory, this study explores the impact of work stress on the turnover intention of social workers. The empirical analysis of 1116 valid questionnaires distributed to social workers across the nation indicates that both challenging and obstructive stressors exert a significant positive impact on the turnover intention of social workers. Particularly, workplace anxiety serves as a partial mediator between challenging stressors and turnover intention, while it functions as a full mediator between obstructive stressors and turnover intention. Future work self-clarity moderates the relationship between challenging stressors and workplace anxiety, while its moderating effect on the relationship between obstructive stressors and workplace anxiety is not significant. Given these insights, organizations should implement assessment and management strategies tailored to various stress types, pay attention to the workplace anxiety and mental health of social workers, and establish an institutionalized stress relief intervention system. At the same time, social workers also need to improve their future work-self clarity, in order to alleviate their workplace anxiety and reduce their turnover intention.

Key words: challenging-obstructive stressors, social workers, workplace anxiety, future work self-clarity, turnover intention

CLC Number: 

  • C916
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