Who exits? A mixed methods analysis of determinants of turnover intention among Hungarian social workers: Ki hagyja el a szociális szférát? A munkahely elhagyásához vezető tényezők vegyes módszertanon alapuló elemzése a magyar szociális munkások körében
High turnover rates in the social sector pose a significant problem across Europe, including in Hungary. Therefore, understanding the determinants of turnover intention in this sector is pivotal. This mixed-methods study aims to identify predictors of turnover intention among social workers in Hunga...
| Published in: | European Journal of Social Work Vol. 28; no. 6; pp. 1331 - 1346 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Nov2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=188763017&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 188763017 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 13691457 BHX jtl: European Journal of Social Work issn: 13691457 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Nov2025 vid: 28 iid: 6 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 188763017 10.1080/13691457.2025.2461619 ppf: 1331 ppct: 15 formats: tig: atl: Who exits? A mixed methods analysis of determinants of turnover intention among Hungarian social workers: Ki hagyja el a szociális szférát? A munkahely elhagyásához vezető tényezők vegyes módszertanon alapuló elemzése a magyar szociális munkások körében aug: au: Győri, Ágnes Perpék, Éva affil: Institute for Sociology, HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences, Budapest, Hungary Child Opportunities Research Group Budapest, HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences, Budapest, Hungary su: Europe Hungary Social media Cross-sectional method Social workers Labor turnover Work environment Content analysis Social worker attitudes Communities Social case work Reward (Psychology) Attention Social support Commitment (Psychology) Pearson correlation (Statistics) Research funding Multivariate analysis Descriptive statistics Thematic analysis Intention Research methodology Medical coding Research Data analysis software Confidence intervals Hungarians Regression analysis sug: subj: Social media Cross-sectional method Social workers Labor turnover Work environment Content analysis Social worker attitudes Communities Social case work Reward (Psychology) Attention Social support Commitment (Psychology) Europe Hungary Other Individual and Family Services Pearson correlation (Statistics) Research funding Multivariate analysis Descriptive statistics Thematic analysis Intention Research methodology Medical coding Research Data analysis software Confidence intervals Hungarians Regression analysis keyword: mix-methods social workers Turnover intention mix-methods social workers Turnover intention ab: High turnover rates in the social sector pose a significant problem across Europe, including in Hungary. Therefore, understanding the determinants of turnover intention in this sector is pivotal. This mixed-methods study aims to identify predictors of turnover intention among social workers in Hungary. A multistage sampling process was used to collect quantitative data through computer-assisted personal interviews, which were analysed using linear regression models. Qualitative data were gathered from social workers' comments in online professional communities on social media platforms. Thematic coding was applied to analyse the qualitative data. Descriptive results indicated that 30% of the 664 respondents had the intention to leave their job. Regression analysis revealed that the variables of greatest importance for mobility intention were the inadequate supervisory support, insufficient workplace infrastructure and atmosphere, and inadequate material rewards. The qualitative analysis of online social media discourses uncovered various issues and tensions, both within and outside the sector, driving turnover and career change decisions, such as inadequate representation and recruitment challenges, retention and professional commitment. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses draw attention to the crisis in the Hungarian social sector and highlight the need to improve working conditions for social workers and enhance their recognition to prevent turnover and ensure the effective recruitment of new professionals. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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