Examining the Public’s Desire to Punish Socially Stigmatized Service Workers in Crisis: Can Empathy Buffer Anger?

Abstract

Service workers like child protective officers and mental health workers, are perceived overwhelmingly as valuable to society (Le Croy & Stinson, 2004). Yet, perversely, those who undertake these roles are also often socially stigmatized, seen as “dirty” by their communities, because they deal with “tainted” people (Ashforth, Kreiner, Clark, & Fugate, 2007). This dark side of public perception is most evident during crisis events when the media taps into the desire to blame workers for unfortunate occurrences, creating a frenzied environment in which individual accountability is often demanded. The negative portrayal of stigmatized service workers by the media has been linked to increased stress, burnout and employee turnover (see e.g., Gibelman, 2004; Tower, 2000; Zugazaga, Surette, Mendez, & Otto, 2006). For example, a 2008 submission by the Australian Association of Social Workers cites “bad press” as one of a number of key reasons for concern over adequate practitioner staffing in the near future. Further, in 2004 and 2005, after several high profile Child Protective Services (CPS) incidents in Texas triggered sustained negative media coverage, turnover in CPS increased from 29 % in 2004 to 39 % in 2005, continuing its upward trajectory to a high of 45 % in 2007 (Centre for Public Policy Priorities, 2009). This kind of response has profound care quality and economic consequences. Families must re-establish relationships with new workers, and remaining staff are forced temporarily to absorb the cases of those departing. This decreases the attention paid to their own case loads and affects the timeliness of key decisions on safe and stable placements (Social Work Policy Institute, 2010). In addition, staff replacement costs are estimated to be between one third and two thirds of annual salary per worker (Coperthwaite, 2006; Dorch, McCarthy, & Denofrio, 2008). Given the serious implications of media portrayal of stigmatized service workers, it is essential that we gain an understanding of factors that may influence community response to crisis events.