BASW Annual Survey of Social Workers and Social Work 2023
The survey of more than 1,200 social workers from across the four nations of the UK provides important insight into the challenges of the profession as well as the positives
In this summary report, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) presents the findings of its 2023 annual survey. The survey covered a range of issues including: workload, challenges facing the profession, experiences of bullying, harassment and/or discrimination, sustainability and supporting people to vote.
Key findings
- 45.43% of respondents say peer support has a positive impact on their workplace; 44.2% say appropriate level of management/ supervision has a positive impact – an increase from 32.27% in 2022;
- 46.91% identified adequacy of staffing levels as one of the biggest challenges in their workplace;
- 67.49% identified cuts to local services as one of the biggest challenges facing the profession in the immediate future, the first time this has been selected more often than the funding of social care (62.22% in 2023)
- 65.19% reported that the people with whom they work are negatively impacted by issues related to the climate crisis and/or environmental degradation
- 76.63% say access to local green spaces has a positive impact on the people with whom they work;
- 64.61% of respondents report not being able to complete all their work during their contracted hours;
- 50.21% reported not feeling able to manage their current workload;
- 41.15% reported having experienced bullying, harassment and/or discrimination in the past 12 months, or were aware of someone that had;
- Respondents’ views on how the public perceive social work and social workers, already negative in 2021 and 2022, worsened further in 2023
BASW Action
BASW will continue to use these results to push for better conditions for the workforce, both in the workplace and at the broader level of policy.
