Date of Award

1-1-2016

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

School of Social Welfare

Content Description

1 online resource (iii, 119 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Lynn Warner

Committee Members

Barry Loneck, John Carroll-Barbuto

Keywords

Health Care, Social Workers, Veterans, Social workers, Veterans' hospitals, Attachment behavior, Military social work, Quality of work life, Health care teams

Subject Categories

Social Work

Abstract

This study expanded the application of attachment theory, referred to as workplace attachment theory in this study, to investigate worker behavior, principally in relation to retention and turnover among social workers in a Veteran health care sector agency. Interdisciplinary collaboration, including whether it was related to workplace attachment, was also a significant feature. Three main aims were to identify (i) workplace attachment experiences; (ii) relational, social and physical contingencies that affected workplace attachment security; and (iii) the extent to which workplace attachment is influenced by interdisciplinary collaboration. Using a sample of social workers, a mixed methods research design involving a survey (N = 21) and worker interviews (N = 13) was implemented. Regression was used to analyze survey responses and themes were inducted from worker interviews. Mixed methods analyses involved investigation of the utility of the study’s conceptual framework to achieve its aims using both forms of data. Three types of workplace attachment were identified: secure, anxious and ambivalent. Several relational, social and physical contingencies influenced workplace attachment security. Workers who perceived that interdisciplinary collaboration was going well tended to report being securely attached. Interdisciplinary collaboration was associated with intention to leave, but not intention to stay. Implications for practice include improving supervisor attachment security when workers feel insecure, as supervisors are key attachment figures for direct practitioners. Administrators, managers, and supervisors should intervene to improve interdisciplinary collaboration for insecure workers as a way to foster a positive organizational culture. Implications for policy include addressing workplace attachment security to meet health care worker supply shortages.

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