Being a social worker is no easy feat.
Practitioners face a mountain of challenges: limited resources, high caseloads, increasingly complex needs, staff shortages and pay increases that have been criticised as inadequate.
Yet, while inadequate pay is frequently cited as a reason for practitioners leaving permanent roles, a recent Community Care poll suggests a different story.
Management key to retention
Of around 2,200 respondents, 62% named “unsupportive management” as more likely to make them leave an employer than inadequate pay, with the rest stating the opposite.
‘Management can make or break practitioners’ confidence’
A recent Community Care article, based on the views of experienced social workers, highlighted the value of good management to practitioners’ experience of their roles.
Senior social worker Naomi credited her manager’s support for helping her find her footing when she first stared out.
“I’ve moved on to roles since where the manager hasn’t been supportive and that makes your job 10 times harder,” she said. “If you’ve got a supportive, understanding manager, it’s very helpful.”
However, Janet, an agency worker with over 30 years’ experience, told Community Care that management has now become more “oppressive”, compared to when she qualified.
“It can eat away your confidence and how you feel about being a social worker if you’re working in an environment that feels quite stressful and micromanaged.”
What makes for supportive management in social work?
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The role and responsibilities social workers have is demanding,you work long hours with no or little attempts by manager’s to recognise this even when it comes to taking time back.No attempts are made to ensure the workforce is represented.It is no wonder social workers experience self doubts,eroded self confidence and eventual low moral.
In my years of social work practice I can firmly say I have experienced only three managers whom I have respected and whom I felt valued the team and each others contribution, strength, but also area’s that could be strengthen.One in my early years of social work,one in my later years before retiring and only one during my years of
working has an agency worker.
Attitudes and management style’s appear to have changed and not for the better.Managers do not appear to have any management skills, communication skills,they have not yet learned thier profession to manage a team of mostly newly qualified social workers who want to learn, they want guidance direction and experience.
Managers are mostly learning the requirements,knowledge and skills of the profession themselfs and therefore find it difficult to recognise the equitys in someone else or that it is part of thier role to support and develop a team of social work professionals whether that is pointing them in the right direction for learning purposes and or developmental purposes.
Instead the service is more knee jerk reactions and supervision which is more of a tick box process than two way learning with a mutual respect for the workers strength.Supervision should be about identifying what will support the worker to provide a better service.
In my honest opinion Managers carry an important role in developing a team,if you do not have the trust or working relationships in your manager you are vulnerable on many levels. The work we as social workers carry out involves children’s life’s we work closely with families ,including other professionals and organisations to ensure the children’s needs are fully considered and planned for.
A manager who appears not to support their team members by ensuring the whole team is equipped to function by providing appropriate advise guidance and supervision but uses it has a tick box exercise and uses reasons why they need to rush of is a red flag to be.
The manager who colludes with other professionals to undermine some workers but not others.This a red flag to me and dangerous pratice.
The Manager who feels it is appropriate to undermine an employes with family members.Is a red flag to me and only reinforces a lack of professional pratice yet they are in a position where their word can influence someones employment status and integrity.
All I have described I have experienced /observed and can give ample examples.I am in no way justifying poor and dangerous pratice this serves no positive outcome for the profession and or children whom we work with .However why not research why some teams/authority’s employ more agency workers.
Not having reflective pay and recognition for the responsibilitys and ,long unrecognised working hours social workers are confronted with is an issue.The issues are also wider bullying and attitudes in plain sight is another one.
Black and minority employees are more likely to be referred for fitness to practice!!! Why is this,are they deserving of less time to train and support than others ?
How Managers interact with some workers and not others should be explored.Some are undermine regardless of their experince and abilities.This encourages an enviroment where it is accepted some of the workforce can be vocal others can not.It also encourages/reinforces a culture of some section’s of the workforce are not competent,which then has an affect how other professionals service users interact and take certain groups seriously. This is also a red flag.
The profession is not just about tick boxes,it should not be about being in a position where by you can determine a
person’s integrity simply because you can without being challenged or having any valued reason but simply because you expressed concerns about something you should do has a professional.
Being referred to as the individual and not having the respect to use a person’s name.What does this tell you about the management culture.What does this mean for the service users?
Respect is earned not expected regardless of one’s status.It is how you treat others.
If employees are treated in this way is it difficuilt to understand how those we claim to deliver a service to feel and are treated.
Why would anything change if some managers are in a financialy better position.Why would anyone remain in an environment which does not financially meet thier needs to support their families.We can move on children can not.
Again my opinion/views are based on my experiences.I can give further examples.
One senior manager related to me “I need people who will get things done”. Fine, but also recognise that there are only so many things one can do within the 37 hour working week. Hence Social Workers are having to work 50+ hours weekly. Managers struggle to make decisions about priorities. I left the role.
I’m due to leave Children’s Services after 10 years in the next few weeks. I’m moving over to adults services and I honestly can’t wait.
There are more holes in children’s services than there is in a sieve. I would never under any circumstances recommend the social work profession particularly in Children’s Services to anyone.
Our service is so understaffed and the daily workload is insane. Staff retention is poor, yearly pay rises are very poor and we are lumped into general council stock when it comes to pay rises. the public and the government do not care for council workers.
I’m expected to work over my hours to complete all the work given to me. My council refuses to pay me overtime and there is zero chance of being able to get any time back. So I down tools at 5pm and go home. I never do any work over my hours because I am not paid for it and it is essentially free work for my employer who refuses to employ more workers and who doesn’t value me enough to pay me overtime.
There is very little quality training available and there is very little career progression available once you have become a “senior” social worker. Often to progress into management you need to be friends with people in the right places.
There are repeat themes and issues within social work and senior management repeatedly fail to address these issues.
Preach. I am on the verge of quitting my Children’s SW role for much the same reason; it is physically impossible to do the volume of work we are expected to in the hours we are paid for, and, when I put boundaries in and stop work on time, I get criticised for not completing as many cases as colleagues who give up their own time for the role (and who I have advised to stop doing so, for their own health, and to reflect the need to employ more staff!) The only thing that has stopped me from quitting already is that I care about outcomes for children and want to do a good job, and I know I am good at my job, but it increasingly feels like I’m trying to build the Hoover Dam out of toothpicks. There comes a time where we need to put ourselves first, and I think I’m almost there.
I was. A CP social Worker.
The Management didn’t care about staff wellbeing..target driven narcissists..
In my first 6 months my caseload which should have been protected at 15 was 36.
They could not get staff even when 3 experienced SW’s left because of a Restructure.. 2 with 3 months notice ..no replacements were put in place ..They waited for the new cohort to qualify 6 months ..No one wanted to work there.
I had a breakdown went back too soon as was sole provider for my kids ( even though I was married and he had income)
I drank one day in work hours and never returned to work …13 months (May 2018) later I was wrongly sacked for GMC…even though I had a diagnosis for BiPolor in August 2016..my work record was faultless so the couldn’t sack me for that ..couldn’t sack me for health ..refused my resignation and maliciously sacked me.Tbeir wrong decision was overturned to.health by the HCPC .
But because I was so unwell I missed the 12 week deadline for tribunal
I was put on the DBS barred list.6 years now
Treated lkkd a rapist or paedophile unable to work in any field that I’m passionate about.
I was married to a malignant Narcissist and was a victim of emotional financial and physical abuse…My ex gave his version of the truth and then they came after me for Neglecting the care of my kids after colluding with him trying to justify their wrong decision.
FiinL hearing on Fitness to practice next March /April..
It’ has been hell I find it ironic that my assessment skills were never questioned until I told the truth of my experiences and their poor management. NARCISSISTS LOVE POWER
THEY HAVE NO EMPATHY.
making up their own narritive to suit theie own warped needs. It’s disgusting that those most unsuitable to the roles in senior/ management are inflicting damage on their own workforce.
BTW According to research from Bristol University in 2016 over 88 LA’s 480 respondents. Found 32 % of teams in SW use alcohol or other substances to cope..but in CP it’s 52%…. those people are never questioned they act like little God’s. If the treat a good SW like that what chance have victims got.?
I loved my job and I worked like a dog ..never missed a deadline or had an assessment returned…my perception was fine until I turned it on their terrible management..never wanted to bs a whistle blower .but the truth is the truth .
25 years qualified and 30 years working in Social Care roles, and have never had any complaints/HR involvement. New manager for just over a year now and it feels like I get nothing but complaints and criticism, and HR have been called in unfairly and unnecessarily. I am aware of compliments that have been sent to my manager about my work and these haven’t been shared with me. Tried to raise my struggles/concerns and was shut down by other management so nowhere left to go. I’ve tried to raise poor practice issues I’ve seen in a supportive way that don’t meet policy or at times legislation, but these aren’t addressed – I hope they don’t come back and bite my colleagues who are all doing their best, but have some knowledge gaps (no fault of their own as they are also not getting the advice they need). For the first time in 30+ years I wish I wasn’t a SW and would literally do anything to get out,but am main breadwinner for my family, and also won’t be able to get another job with so much HR involvement. Absolutely love my actual job if I was allowed to do it well and was supported, but really feel I can’t go on much longer. Just feel trapped and am trying to keep my head down, tick the boxes management want ticked and do nothing more (have been criticised for doing more), until I can move to another authority. Against all my ethics I am just saying everything is ok as otherwise it is used against me.