Effectiveness of the BLENDWELL Program for Social Workers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This pilot study examined the Blended Workplace Well-being Program (BLENDWELL) and its association with burnout and psychological well-being among social workers. BLENDWELL is a psychosocial intervention that integrates online and onsite sessions. Guided by the Job Demands–Resources Model and Cognitive Behavioral Theory, the study employed a within-subjects pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design involving 23 volunteer social workers. Standardized instruments, namely the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Personal Wellbeing Index–Adult (PWI-A), were administered before and after a three-week blended intervention. The program included sessions on burnout awareness, coping strategies, self-care, peer support, and well-being planning. At baseline, participants reported moderate emotional exhaustion (M = 19.0, SD = 8.91), high depersonalization (M = 15.2, SD = 7.56), and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment (M = 32.3, SD = 7.61), along with slightly below-typical well-being (M = 69.6, SD = 17.1). Following the intervention, emotional exhaustion decreased (M = 17.7, SD = 9.23), while psychological well-being increased (M = 82.6, SD = 7.96). Paired-samples t tests indicated no statistically significant changes in any of the three burnout dimensions. However, psychological well-being significantly improved, t(22) = −4.46, p < .001, 95% CI [−19.05, −6.96], Cohen’s dz = −0.93, indicating a large effect size. These findings suggest that participation in the BLENDWELL Program was associated with improved psychological well-being among social workers, although statistically significant changes in burnout were not observed during the three-week intervention. Given the uncontrolled pilot design, the findings provide preliminary evidence rather than definitive evidence of program effectiveness and warrant further investigation using larger samples, longer follow-up periods, fidelity monitoring, and controlled study designs.