Occupational stress factors affecting direct service providers in Day Activities Centre (DAC) and the coping strategies of the service providers

Abstract

The social welfare sector has always been committed to improving the well-being of the people, but it is less concerned with the mental health of workers in a mental health setting, therefore, this research project would represent the result of a small-scale qualitative study which to examining the source of work stress in their workplace as well as in the DAC setting. A qualitative method was adopted in this research by interviewing eight staff who have working experience in DAC settings in non-governmental organizations. They are from different positions and each informant’s interview was audio recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes. Four analytic themes emerged from analysis of the data: 1) Expectation management; 2) Administrative and Supervisory Styles; 3) Collaboration with colleagues; 4) Characteristics of service users and 5) Coping strategies. It is expected that this research is able to highlight the impact of the source of work stress and the level of work stress in the DAC setting and the coping skills for the direct service providers. Also, this research helps to fulfill the research gap of mental health status in the DAC setting of the social welfare industry.