REDUCED SERVICE YEARS FOR RETIREMENT FOR HELPING PROFESSIONALS: MYTH OR POSSIBLE REALITY?

The study titled “Reduced Service Years for Retirement for Helping Professionals: Myth or Possible Reality?” was conducted as part of broader research on professional stress and burnout among helping professionals, integrating both theoretical and empirical approaches. During the theoretical phase, scientific and professional literature was utilized to explore the topics of professional stress and burnout among social workers and other helping professionals in social work. The empirical study sample comprised social workers and other helping professionals (social pedagogues, psychologists, legal professionals, pedagogues-psychologists, a neuropsychiatrist, and a graduate nurse) employed in social welfare centers, other public institutions (mental health centers and the Educational Center), and non-governmental organizations (Safe House). The survey was conducted on a reference sample of 63 respondents (15 male and 48 female participants) from helping professions in the Tuzla Canton area (Banovići, Kalesija, Lukavac, Srebrenik, Tuzla, and Ţivinice).The study aimed to provide insight into the problems and challenges faced daily by social workers and other helping professionals, with a focus on gaining a more comprehensive understanding of professional stress and burnout in the social work field. The onset and development of professional stress result in burnout, which adversely affects the mental and physical health of social workers and other helping professionals, as well as their personal and professional lives during the execution of work activities. Keywords:social work, social workers, social welfare centers, professional stress, professional burnout, helping professionals, institutional/organizational protection, reduced service years for retirement.