Social workers do not feel valued by either their employers or the general public

The social work profession and good quality social work practice are fundamental to the wellbeing of society.

However, the profession is being hindered by inadequacies in basic conditions including recruitment, retention, frontline resources, training, leadership and public understanding.

It has frequently been referred to as “in crisis” over the past 15 years, especially within children and family services. Problems are also widely reported internationally, especially in Australia, Ireland, Sweden and the United States.

Research suggests the issues are complex; there are wide-ranging reasons for high turnover and vacancy rates, for example. In the UK, efforts to address the problems – the creation of the Social Work Task Force, plans for the College of Social Work, and Professor Eileen Munro’s review of child protection – should help.

But it is essential that the voices of children and family social workers on the frontline are heard when planning to address inadequacies.

My PhD research on recruitment and retention issues has found that social workers generally have good relationships with service users and team colleagues, but feel undervalued by employers, and vilified and misunderstood by the media and the general public.

Social workers are frustrated by employer mistrust and organisational demand to meet “targets”. This is compounded by poor communication between frontline workers and management.

The devaluing of social workers is the root cause of problems in recruiting and retaining high-quality practitioners. But we cannot confront negative media and public perceptions until in-house issues are acted upon.

Feeling undervalued leads to cynicism among frontline staff and leads to a divide between workers and senior managers; managers’ attempts to convey sincere appreciation take time to be accepted as genuine by frontline staff.

This divide needs to be addressed urgently if social work is to succeed in securing its valued place in society. Any cultural shift in attitudes towards the profession must involve clear lines of communication.

Senior managers need to stay in touch with their social work roots – where they have them – and be strong in their leadership, where social worker autonomy and accountability are recognised and valued.

Frontline team managers know the value in asking their team members how they are doing and must be given time to do so. Supervision should never be purely about managing caseloads.

It also seems that social workers need to engage increasingly in their futures by ensuring core social work principles and values are upheld. The realities of frontline work must be explicit for any consultations on the future wellbeing of the profession to be meaningful; the more voices that are heard, the more informed progression can be.

The profession needs leaders who will stand up, not only to defend a public service under attack, but also to advance the social work cause with an unswerving eye on children’s needs and strong values.

The fundamental interest of child protection and wellbeing, shared by senior managers and social workers, is the key to forging the path towards political and public value, and professional longevity.

Simon Cauvain is a senior social work lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. His PhD thesis – Recruitment and Retention in Children and Family Social Work: A North City Case Study – will be available in December.