Daughter hates her graduate job Social Work

[Livinlife2dafull]

I'm literally lost at what to say or do.

My daughter recently finished university studied Social Work. She is 22.

She managed to secure a job really quickly which was a very popular programme for newly qualified Social Workers with a brilliant starting salary.

She has to travel quite far to get there, leaving 7am returning sometimes as late as about 7pm.

2 months in now and she said she hates it. She hates all the extra work, she said they are giving her and 2 other NQ staff, that qualified staff are not even doing. All other new staff on the programme are not getting the work she is. She has mentioned it to her line manager who used to manage her when she was a student but said they haven't really said anything or done anything just said they are short staffed. She and the other 2 staff have now put it in email, writing their concerns. She also said the other staff don't like the job.

As a parent I feel sad. I sent my daughter to uni and now she is talking about quitting to go back to warehouse work. She is stressed and already doing loads of extra work at home and is tired from travelling.

I said why doesn't she speak to someone higher and join the union. Surely 2 months in it shouldn't be this bad?

What other options are available? As a parent I feel helpless and almost disappointed as she was so happy to get this role initially.

She absolutely should join a union for a start.

I am guessing she is on the asye programme she needs to speak with her assessor for support

Social work is really tough. Long hours, low staffing, stress, poor regard from the public and other professionals too at times. And yet it is life changing job that protects some of the most vulnerable in our communities.
Too many newly qualified staff have a bad start and do not continue. Perpetuating long standing staff shortages. Your daughter should talk to her manager or their manager. She deserves better .xx

I have two social worker friends and both regularly work into the early hours.

I have been a social worker for 13 years and I only work my contracted hours but I work in adult social care

I would reassure her that it’s okay to quit - ie to find something else, entirely unrelated if necessary and to start again. I had a similar situation at a similar age and I felt under such pressure to stay and keep going, it nearly killed me. What I really needed was someone to tell me it was okay to start again: I ended up applying for jobs in marketing and did that for many years instead. Your early 20s are the time for figuring this sort of stuff out, and sometimes that means realising something isn’t for you after all.

All the social workers I know basically describe what your daughter has said.

Adult Care SW here, she should be protected via the ASYE (program for newly qualified staff) & complexity of case's should start more straightforward & obviously over time she should be allocated more complex case's with supervision. My advice is to remind her managers/supervisor of this. Also I never work over my hours as a rule, I occasionally work late to finish something & I log it on my timesheet & take the time back. It is not the job of Social Workers to work extra for free, it is up to the council/managers to ensure we have enough staff to manage the workload & risks. I wish her luck as it is a rewarding career, but you need to be firm with managers & not take part in the 'because I'm a caring person doing a caring job I need to work 2 hours unpaid overtime every day to keep everyone happy'.

It sounds like it's the working conditions she doesn't like rather than the job.

She should join the union so she has proper advice and guidance re workload and hours.

However, it is also a necessary part of most professional jobs (in the public sector) to be able to draw boundaries with managers. So if she is given an additional case/ told a report needs writing/that an extra visit is needed then she needs to respond with "my diary for the next week/fortnight/month is already full (she needs to block out time for paperwork in her diary). Which of these other tasks should I not do?" And then get confirmation in writing to cover her own back.

Then, as soon as possible start applying for similar jobs in the charity sector where pay tends to be worse but conditions tend to be better (or used to be anyway)

Can she move to work somewhere nearer? There are always social work jobs going. Not too near if she's in child protection though, running into parents in Asda is rubbish.
But if it is child protection then that is how it is, best bet is stick it out a while then move to a different sector (fostering, adoption, charity.)
One problem is that all the sort of jobs social workers might want to do instead (homelessness, domestic violence, refugees etc) are worse pay.
Lots of social workers I know either work compressed hours or part time.

I take it she’s in children’s?

You have reminded me - yes, asking manager to prioritise. "This is what I need to do, I can't fit them all in, which should I prioritise?"

Some things will get easier/ quicker - case noting and court reports for example - with practice. Use tech where possible too - type up notes during the meeting, rather than hand writing and typing up later. I know some who can dictate notes straight into word but it doesn’t work for me. Also some who get reports read out to them by thr lap top while they do something else like make their tea.

I'm a frontline child protection social worker and have been for many years and have never worked into the early hours. This kind of thing perpetuates negative stereotypes about social work as a career and is largely nonsense.

I’m bamboozled why anyone goes into social work, it’s consuming and very family-unfriendly. I honestly don’t think (usually women) know what they’re letting themselves in for when they decide to go to Uni to do it.

Yes she is

A huge positive is she has a degree and she obviously interviews well. If she decides she wants to leave social work there are lots of other things she can do including at the council. Or graduate schemes doing other jobs in council or private sector or charity. She doesn’t need to go back to warehouses!
she needs to keep being boundaries as advised about

She might also want to move closer to work

Fair enough! It’s my experience though. My friend took a step back in her role to a more junior position and moved to 4 days for this reason.

Im a social worker. She’s in a shit social work job. It’s not social work per se that’s the issue. The absolutely fantastic thing about social work are there are so so many different areas within it you can work in. That’s why I chose it!

also she is protected by the asye so it’s where she’s working that’s the issue. They often take the piss out of the youngsters who don’t want to speak up but she should. Asye means you have a dramatically reduced workload. If they won’t listen she moves her asye to somewhere else: there are social work jobs everywhere. She’ll have no bother. She really does not have to give up! My advice is get her asye done (it’s only a year) then look for other roles. Hospital, adults, cic, disability, fostering - and that’s just with local authority. I went independent and do autism assessments and support now. It’s a very useful degree with a lot of scope. She absolutely does not have to go to work in a warehouse! But the 7-7 thing is typical but total bullshit and should not be allowed.

I agree with pp - she is in a shit job not a shit profession. I would suggest she needs to complete the year and find some ways of making things easier - set some boundaries, speak to her assessor, can she move to live nearer? She must join a union (why hasn't she already?) I teach and wouldn't go into a classroom without knowing I was in a union..all she needs is a complaint or allegation..it's not about striking. Also look around for a better role (as suggested). Sorry the idea that she will be back in a warehouse is a bit silly.

As a social worker she will need to very quickly get used to advocating for herself. Assuming she’s in England her case load should be restricted, in Scotland she should also have a limited case load in her newly qualified year. She needs to speak to her supervisor and her line manager and explain what she’s struggling with and the support she needs. She could also change jobs, different teams even in children’s social worker have very different cultures, she may find a team that suits her better. It’s not a case of hellish work or leave the profession entirely.

A social work qualification will open doors for her but she does need to gain practice experience. It’s a tough job by nature but being able to stand her ground and ask for support will stand her in good stead.