‘Shocked’ by what I found out about conditions social workers practise in

Published by Professional Social Work magazine, 22 June, 2022

An academic researching the working conditions of social workers said he was “shocked” by his findings.

Dr Jermaine Ravalier was recruited by the Social Workers Union from Bath Spa University to conduct its UK Social Workers: Working Conditions and Wellbeing study.

The research found the work conditions of social workers is worse than that experienced by 90 per cent of other employees. It also found 40 per cent of respondents thinking of leaving the profession.

Speaking at the BASW conference, Ravalier said: “As an academic when I first did this study it shocked me. I thought ‘how can we have a profession of workers that are so integral to everything we do in this country with work conditions this poor?
“I spoke to social workers and they said that is how it is.”

Ravalier said the research highlighted that pay wasn’t the main issue for social workers.

“Nobody said they wanted more money. The number one source of stress was caseloads.”

Ravalier highlighted the Social Worker Wellbeing and Working Conditions: Good Practice toolkit which aims to promote better working conditions in social work.

Jo Fox, director of Strengthening Practice which delivers BASW’s Professional Support Service, described how a “broken system” skewered the intentions of social workers.

“Social work is all about human-to-human interactions. I felt the system was distorting that, because people are fearful, anxious and overwhelmed and overburdened with process that interrupted the humanity of the exchanges and also interrupted their courage.

“I think social workers were being pushed into places where they couldn’t step into those spaces of pain because the system wasn’t there to support them.”

Carol Reid, national organiser of the Social Workers Union, said: “There is a big focus on a need for resilience.

“I Iike to turn it slightly and think more about collectivism rather than the need for individual resourcefulness. Being part of groups like BASW and SWU, that is very important to our resilience and wellbeing.”