• Summary: The aim of the study was to examine perceptions of micro- and macro-level role effectiveness and the factors that contribute to those perceptions among social workers in rural communities that are undergoing an economic crisis. We also examined the correlations between these perceptions and various components of social workers’ role behavior, as well as social workers’ sense of empowerment and personal characteristics. This was a quantitative study, which was conducted among a sample of 149 social workers in Israel.

• Findings: The contribution of components of role behavior to enhancing social workers’ levels of perceived role effectiveness was highest, whereas sense of empowerment and personal variables contributed less. Moreover, information gathering contributed to perceptions of effectiveness at both the micro- and macro-levels, whereas guidance and community roles contributed to perceived effectiveness only at the macro-level.

• Applications: The contribution of the study lies in the identification of social workers’ roles at times of economic crisis. Moreover, the findings highlight the importance of investing in empowerment of social workers. We believe the results can be generalized to other communities in crisis.