Background: Persons working in caring professions have an increased risk for work related stress. The long-term absence from work due to sickness has increased since the 1990s, mostly caused by stress-related mental problems. One of the professions that has the greatest risk of exposure to psychosocial stress is the group of social workers. Aim: To describe aspects affecting social workers experience of mental health in relation to their work situation. Method: A literature review was conducted based on both qualitative and quantitative articles. Systematic and unsystematic searches were performed, which resulted in thirteen articles with relevance for the aim. Results: Aspects that affect the social workers mental health appeared to be workload, lack of time, staff turnover, coping strategies and collaboration. These aspects affect social workers mental health both positively and negatively in different contexts. Conclusion: The heavy workload affects social workers mental health negatively. Our results can bring attention to the negative consequences of social workers pressed working situation and emphasize the importance of changing it. This study may also lead to further research in the field of health sciences.