Comprehensive Assessment of Workplace Psychological, Mental Health, and Wellness in DSWD

The Comprehensive Assessment of Workplace Psychological, Mental Health, and Wellness in the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was undertaken to generate evidence that will guide the development of a stronger, more responsive, and context-sensitive institutional wellness framework. Recognizing that the nature of social welfare and humanitarian work exposes personnel to heightened risks such as burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress, the assessment sought to move beyond compliance and toward a proactive, systems-level approach to employee wellness.

Using a mixed-methods design, the study examined psychosocial well-being, mental health status, workplace experiences, and organizational conditions across the Central Office and all 17 Field Offices. Quantitative data from the DSWD-adapted ProQOL-5 and the Well-being and Work Experience Survey were integrated with qualitative insights from focus group discussions and narrative responses. Although the final sample of 314 employees limits regional-level inference, the combined evidence offers a strong and meaningful picture of workforce realities and institutional support gaps.