The Effects of Verbal Abuse Experiences on Social Workers’ Burnout : An Exploratory Application of Spillover Theory

This study aims to examine the effect of client verbal abuse experienced by social workers in practice on burnout from the perspective of spillover theory. Specifically, it aims to systematically verify the mediating roles of job stress and work–family conflict in this relationship. A survey was conducted using quota sampling among social workers employed at community, senior, and disability welfare centers in the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon). Out of a total of 400 collected responses, 315 valid cases were used for the final analysis. Using SPSS 29.0, descriptive statistics, frequency analyses, and serial mediation models were performed. The results indicated that experiences of client verbal violence had a significant effect on burnout through the sequential mediation of job stress and work–family conflict. This finding suggests that the negative emotions and tension triggered by verbal violence are not confined to the work domain but spill over into the family domain, intensifying conflict and ultimately exacerbating burnout. Based on these findings, the study emphasizes the need to understand verbal abuse against social workers not as an individual endurance issue but as an organizational and structural risk factor. Furthermore, it proposes policy and practice measures such as revising preventive operational regulations, implementing stepwise response manuals, establishing reporting and record-keeping systems, providing psychological and legal support in collaboration with external professional agencies, and developing multilayered approaches to prevent the spillover of negative experiences into the family domain.