Social work is a calling?

[wynee]

I'm on my first placement of my postgrad social work. I am absolutely loving it but if I had a pound for every person that slagged social work off or warned me off it, I wouldn't have to study it in the first place.

Very few people in my life have good things to say about it. However, I've led an...interesting life...I have had my fair share of struggles, homelessness, domestic violence, addiction etc. I always knew I wanted a job helping people, and always knew I wanted to work with the really vulnerable in society.

I am 9 weeks into my placement, I had a wobble at the 2 week mark thinking I wasn't cut out for it, was going home crying about the service users I was meeting. However, I now absolutely adore it. It is a stress I have never experienced before, it's a different kind of stress, but I enjoy the stress. I've never felt so fulfilled in a position, and I know I'm still just learning so I may have a rude awakening.

I am learning boundaries, I worry about my service users after hours but am able to switch off. Prioritise me and my daughter and self care. I am learning about boundaries and how to say no. And am learning that I can't solve anyone's problems or make them do anything, only advise them.

Still, even when I explain this people say, you won't last more than a couple of years, too much paperwork, too high stress etc. and I think...is there just a calling to be a social worker? As in Some people can manage it and others simply can.

I hate to admit this, but I've never been someone overly empathetic and I wonder if this helps me forget when I get home and keep a sort of barrier up.

Any opinions? Am I just naive?

I did it for 10+ years from 21, working in frontline Children's Services in frontline child protection. Like to think I've had a positive impact on many a child/ family.

I can't do it anymore, it's thankless, regularly working hours and hours over my contracted hours but never getting them back, poor senior management, massive recruitment issues literally can't even cover the gaps with agency. Not enough students going into SW to cover the gaps.

Basically you'll have seen the misery that's been the teaching strikes... The only profession coming up worse than teaching over the last 10 years in terms of pay increase is Social Work and that's without including our many many unpaid hours.

I don't regret my career path, I'm in a great job now that I love that I wouldn't have been in without my experience and I'm thankful for all of the families who let me in even under the shittest of circumstances.

Go in to it with enthusiasm, but don't be surprised at the numbers who don't feel like that anymore be proud of the lives you positively impact, no amount of bureaucracy can take that away from you but be mindful of getting out before you burn out.

And just to clarify, the burnout rate is naff all to do with any calling, I've watched fantastic workers full of potential have to leave because of the relentless demands and pressures. Try not being on duty but there being noone else in the office when a Section 47 comes in at 4.55pm and you know you have to pick your own child up before crèche closes, or being out in a horrendous situation and management not picking up the phone to advise/ arrange placements, or senior management refusing to authorise foster placements for children who can't return home, my personal favourite memory was being sent to do an urgent visit with the police at 37 weeks pregnant, the Police Officers were horrified that I wasn't on desk duty but if I hadn't gone the poor woman who was due to go to a concert with her sons who had been out late every day that week would have had to again.

This isn't isolated to one LA, this is countless authorities. You're chewed up and spat out, often after being run over by the bus senior management throw you under. Nothing to do with any calling you may have.

I sincerely hope you have a great experience and things improve, but in the post I'm in now looking in and being directly involved in considering recruitment and retention in Social Work there's a long road ahead.

@TwirlyGalaxy thank you for the advice. What is your current job role if you don't mind me asking? Did you ever feel like you were in an never ending cycle with some families? Where you would identify the problem, come up with a solution, sort it but then be right back at square one as family wasn't able to maintain it?

My placement Is working with women going through the criminal justice service, many leading chaotic lives so I'm sure you will have very different experiences from me. However, I often feel I am in an arcade playing that pop up game. As soon as I smash one problem in the head, another appears.

For instance, say I arrange a clearance for a women's house. We speak daily about the impact this will have on them, how they will feel safer, how they won't let anybody know their address etc. but two weeks later they are back in the same spot. I find that very frustrating. Did you experience this?

@TwirlyGalaxy just read your update. God I think you've put me off now 😂

Yes you'll feel like it and more especially in Children's Services, cases that don't meet threshold for removal but just keep pinging in. It's disheartening and difficult. I preferred intake for that reason, the work was short and time limited and on to the next case. You get a lightbulb moment with the minority not the majority unfortunately but those in the minority stick with you and you'll remember the successes. Ultimately you can just encourage and promote change and opportunity you can't do it for people.

I'm working in a role basically trying to tackle the nationwide issue around social care recruitment. It's tough and exhausting people just don't want to do it.

What I will say to you is stick at your placement, my last placement was some of the most miserable time of my life. Don't believe people when they say being a student is a breeze, it isn't. You have a caseload and you also have uni work to balance and little flexibility it's really hard. Good luck for the rest of your course x

@TwirlyGalaxy exactly the same experience for me. I left after 12 years. Nothing to do with the families, everything to do with never ending paperwork, relentless expectations from those above to do more and more, regularly doing many, many hours over what I was paid and them impact it was having on being able to be there for my own children. As a job, I loved it, minus all of the other shit.

I am a manager in this field. I have been on three case conferences this week- same stuff different day. It isn’t a calling. But what you realise with time, is that lots of people just have really crappy lives and you aren’t going to be able to substantially change that for the vast majority. You literally are just holding them up so they don’t get worse. And it drains you.

I'm a social worker in my 10th year but work in adults, now in management. There are good days and crap days! There are so many different teams in social work, if one doesn't suit, try another. We have children's social workers join our team who say they are so happy to be in adults now, but that's not to say it isn't also incredibly stressful.

The pressure of being held responsible for other people's decisions by the service managers and heads of service is what screws you up imo.

And boundaries don't mean shit at 4.55 when that phone call comes in.

I also think working for local authorities de-skills you. The power inbalance in building relationships is completely squewed. It's not something I've ever become comfortable with.

I enjoy front line work and work best under pressure but it has definitely taken something from me empathy wise.

I’m a senior social worker in a child protection team.

I agree it’s a calling. It’s relentless, so stressful, you do so many unpaid hours and take flack from every other agency plus parents but it’s my passion and I know I am helping children be safer every day.

I have had some of the most strange discussions and been in the most bizarre and uncomfortable often horribly sad situations. If you feel that motivation to do it, take that and run with it. I’ve seen a lot of newly qualified workers really struggle, often (but not always) those in their 20s with limited life experience.

It isn’t a job you can do forever but while you do it and have that passion the families will have someone there with them that truly cares.

My daughter is absolutely thriving…she is going to qualify in June.Bloody hard work but she takes the view that she will make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children .

I’ve been a social worker for thirteen years but for years was 0.5 week as my own kids were small.
I love the job (long term children’s team) and the relationships I can build with [some] children, parents & foster carers, but recently it’s become very stressful & busy. Not enough foster carers. Schools overloaded with SEN. Complex children with trauma & attachment issues, and poor mental health. I will do it and enjoy it because I believe we do make a different for some, but have no crazy ideas we are saving people! I am working on an exit plan for the future when I’ve done enough.

Set your boundaries.
Keep your boundaries.
Find a supportive manager & colleagues.
Accept you are only making small differences but maybe they make things better than if you hadn’t bothered.
Have a life out of work- anything at all that brings you joy.
Remember you are expendable and will not be thanked.
Accept you may transition out of social work as nobody needs to be an exhausted, bitter person hanging on to the bitter end.

Wow

I’ve been a social worker for ten years. I’m like you - able to box things up and I’m not at heart a “people person”, which may sound odd, but somehow it works. I think it makes it easier to set boundaries.

That said, while these traits have always worked for me, things are certainly getting tougher and more recently I’ve found myself thinking about what else I could do, as the workload is starting to make me ill. The impact of under-resourcing other services including family support and family courts are compounding these issues. Alongside a pay rise of 2% last year and nothing at all the year before, it really doesn’t make me feel valued. It’s a shame as I still love the job and I’m good at it, but even though I’m assertive and resilient, I’m getting to the point of thinking about leaving.

it sounds to me like you have the skills and traits to make a proper go of it, but you need to go in with open eyes.

Please don’t let the brutal truth put you off.

I’ve met some amazing social workers who were truly unsung hero’s of society. I was on the service user end rather than the professional end and I will be eternally grateful both personally and on behalf of our broken wee town to the woman who threw herself into being the best damn social worker I’ve ever met.
She got my 16yo friends baby a full time nursery place so she wasn’t stuck at home all day with her junkie father and teenage mother with post natal depression and no one but her 15yo pal for support. That kid owes being a functional human today to that early years intervention.

Do listen to the advice of those that have done it, don’t run yourself into the ground, get out of you need to. The broken jaded social workers do the most harm in my opinion

I'm a social worker, well a senior manager now - I love social work. I love the capacity to help families make real and meaningful change. It is hard and at times overwhelmimg but it is important work and it challenges me. Boundaries and finding ways to create work life balance is important. Also not all local authorities are made equal. I work for an excellent authority who are supportive and really embed a learning culture. I have worked in places where this absolutely isn't the case. Shop around. Your manager and your team will make a huge difference to your experience too.

I'm a senior social worker (adults) qualified 21 years ago at 22.
I love my job and it has definitely become who I am. It can be stressful at times but no two days are the same, I work in a really supportive team and love mentoring students.