Same job, same working conditions? A cross-sectional study to examine the similarities and differences of the working situation in ambulatory and residential youth welfare workers.

Background: Employees in social work exhibit high rates of sick leave due to mental health issues. Additionally, work-related demands in youth welfare have increased in recent years. Particularly in light of the escalating shortage of skilled professionals in this field, this trend becomes especially critical. The aim of this study is to systematically examine health-relevant working conditions, coping strategies, and health indicators in youth welfare. A special focus is placed on a differentiated analysis of job-related characteristics in the context of outpatient and residential youth welfare.

Methods: Mean values, standard deviations and the reliability of scales are measured. In addition to descriptive statistics, t-tests for analyzing mean differences, as well as correlation analyses and odds ratios as measures of association, are computed.

Results: A total of N = 1044 employees in youth welfare participated in the online survey. Among them, 671 individuals belonged to the field of residential youth welfare, and 373 to outpatient youth welfare. The results indicate that, in youth welfare in general, a variety of emotional, social, qualitative, and quantitative demands exhibit high levels. The comparison between outpatient and residential youth welfare reveals differences in half of the demands. The significant differences are observed for social demands and aggression from clients, which are statistically significant higher in the residential setting. Regarding resources, the most significant difference is observed for autonomy, which is higher in the outpatient setting. Overall, the association patterns reveals more similarities than differences between outpatient and residential settings. In both settings working conditions seem to have deteriorated during the pandemic.

Conclusions: In conclusion, the identified job-related characteristics in outpatient and residential youth welfare exhibit more similarities than differences. Nevertheless, the identified differences provide insights into the specific features of each work context, offering valuable starting points for targeted health promotion in practice.

Trial registration: This trial is recorded at the Hamburg University Ethics Committee (AZ 2022_027).