Hardiness and Grit as Drivers of South African Child Protection Social Workers’ Occupational Resilience

Abstract

Abstract Child protection social workers (CPSWs) perform statutory duties and often work in hostile work contexts. Nevertheless, some CPSWs are reportedly resilient, thus adjusting well despite exposure to occupational adversities. We followed a qualitative descriptive design in which twenty CPSWs from the Western Cape and the Free State provinces described their sources of occupational resilience during semi-structured interviews. Their self-reported sources of resilience were informed by (1) a high degree of personal agency; (2) navigating a responsive and supportive ecology; (3) commitment to a meaningful purpose; (4) prioritising self-care and (5) religious practices. These sources of resilience confirm what we already know, but our findings go beyond earlier reports and contribute towards a more nuanced understanding of how hardiness and grit fundamentally drive the occupational resilience of CPSWs.