FabSwingers.com forum: Social Work

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

i work in the public centre at the moment - though I don't feel I get the job satisfaction I want...Too much unwanted stress too!

Social work is a field I've often considered. Though..I'm just not sure how it'll impact my desire to have a healthy work/life balance which is very important to me...and will it add to the stress load..?

Then there are the costs of going back to uni - probably part time too...

Dear Dillemma!

Are there any social workers here...?

Any advice would be gratefully received x

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By *ampWithABrainWoman
over a year ago

Glasgow

I recently researched this as its what my daughter wants to do. High stress and need to do a postgraduate course (that you have to pay for) after the initial undergraduate course

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"i work in the public centre at the moment - though I don't feel I get the job satisfaction I want...Too much unwanted stress too!

Then there are the costs of going back to uni - probably part time too...

Dear Dillemma!

Are there any social workers here...?

Any advice would be gratefully received x"

are you a heartless cunt,who enjoys tearing families apart for all the wrong reasons, go ahead become one !!

If you have a brain and a conscience,id suggest another department !

As usual if my post upsets any social workers,

You shouldn't be on here ya fuckers !!!!

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Grrr.... I have a degree in computer science and post grad in education....

Sounds like a long, arduous journey if I have to do another degree AND post grad..

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Not got any direct personal experience but I have a wide range of friends who've had contact with social workers for all sorts of reasons (placing the elderly in care homes, adoption, child protection, disability) and not one of them really has a nice thing to say about them. At best, it sounds as if social services are incredibly stretched, as are most government agencies these days.

So I suspect it's incredibly stressful. Sorry.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Can you not switch jobs to something else that you are more qualified for?

Teaching the elderly how to use computers? Or something?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Go be a lecturer in a college, that's fairly laid back?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Don't do it!!

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Go be a lecturer in a college, that's fairly laid back?"

I've grown out of love with the education system... I'm looking for my calling I think...I want to help people but not such that I become helpless myself!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Go be a lecturer in a college, that's fairly laid back?

I've grown out of love with the education system... I'm looking for my calling I think...I want to help people but not such that I become helpless myself!"

Can you just go work in IT and then do volunteer work outside your main job?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Three years undergraduate course and you are qualified.

Social work isn't just about children's services, which gets the horrible headlines and is stressful and no win in terms of public opinion.

There are all sorts of social work jobs, but you do many months of placements during your course to help you choose.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

rather than running before walking why not volunteer in the field of work your looking at going into..

get a bit of insight without commitment to 3yrs n lots of debt

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Go be a lecturer in a college, that's fairly laid back?

I've grown out of love with the education system... I'm looking for my calling I think...I want to help people but not such that I become helpless myself!"

Due to money constraints and time restrictions, I think a lot of social workers are over stressed and have to do the best they can. Quite often they cannot help people as people need to be helped.

I suspect you would feel very frustrated and quite helpless so not much job satisfaction.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Life eh?

I'm going to think about this - it's a long term thought...and not a decision I'll take for a while. If I'm able to, I'll do some voluntary work ...alas I'm kept far to busy with my normal job that any remaining time I try to spend with my family..

You're lovely people...x

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"i work in the public centre at the moment - though I don't feel I get the job satisfaction I want...Too much unwanted stress too!

Then there are the costs of going back to uni - probably part time too...

Dear Dillemma!

Are there any social workers here...?

Any advice would be gratefully received x

are you a heartless cunt,who enjoys tearing families apart for all the wrong reasons, go ahead become one !!

If you have a brain and a conscience,id suggest another department !

As usual if my post upsets any social workers,

You shouldn't be on here ya fuckers !!!!

You don't just have to work with children to be a social worker. My mother is a social worker that's quite high up and though she deals with children primarily she's also in charge of elderly social care.

There's so much paperwork involved with getting an elderly person out of a hospital bed and into sufficient care, that's why they call them bed blockers in the hospital because they're there because there's nowhere for them to go. If they have family that can take them you need to make sure that their level of care will be met, if they go into a care home there's loads of stuff that needs signing off.

Social workers are absolutely swamped and have massive workloads, don't really think they should be slagged off. Hard to do a job when you don't have the resources and with cuts to social care happening all the time it makes their job even harder. How would you deal with 50 elderly people in hospital that don't really need to be there but if they were discharged and went back to their homes they might not be able to cook or feed themselves or wash or get themselves to the bathroom, risks of them falling and not being found. Where would you put these 50 people that may not have family or no places for them in a residential care home? They're your priority, pressure from everywhere to get them out of hospital but where would you stick them?

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By *elkel1979Woman
over a year ago

Cumbria

Personally i would not be social worker if you doubled my salary. I am a registered general nurse and work closely with social workers. They are overworked and with the pressures of the job most do not work to the best interests of the person but instead they find an easy option which is not always at the persons best interest.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Social work gets an horrific press. It isn't, as many have said here, all about the 'kiddie snatchers'. That is just one aspect.

I know a number of social workers in both personal and professional capacities and the work life balance is tricky. There are many positives too.

Have you maybe considered looking at voluntary work or moving to the third sector to find avenues that you are interested in. Not all social workers work in statutory services and a number of charities engage with social work as a profession.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Equally you can't expect people to be happy about social workers when they give inaccurate, and very misleading advice about elderly placements (happened to two completely seperate people I know in two totally different parts of the UK).

About a social worker who didn't do the paperwork for months and months on a boy due to be adopted so as a young toddler he spent ages in foster care instead of with his adoptive family during those precious years forming an attachment.

About not being able to get a disability social worker when your children desperately need support because there isn't enough to go around. So you are left to flounder.

But several families I know of have been investigated for child abuse when really they had a child with undiagnosed mental health issues. But it's apparently easier to blame the parent than diagnose the child even when the parents are screaming out for help. And often asking for help is what gets you into trouble. A very, very scary situation to have.

I appreciate most of these issues are down to lack of funding and poorly thought out policies, but for an organisation that's supposed to help people, it really doesn't seem to be. Which is a real shame.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Equally you can't expect people to be happy about social workers when they give inaccurate, and very misleading advice about elderly placements (happened to two completely seperate people I know in two totally different parts of the UK).

About not being able to get a disability social worker when your children desperately need support because there isn't enough to go around. So you are left to flounder.

I can't agree with the fact that it's to do with funding and policy a lot, more. As with any profession or job, you will also find people that just shouldn't be doing this particular job too.

I know some fantastic social workers who are being drained by the inability to actually do their job for the constant need to do paperwork or to meet targets which are unobtainable due to the structural constraints placed upon them.

I know others who are social workers by 'trade' but have moved out into the wider world than statutory services and who get to do the things they joined the profession for in the 1st place.

It's a tricky one for sure!

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By *elkel1979Woman
over a year ago

Cumbria

My latest experience is with a poor elderly lady with dementia who lives at home alone. I have put my concerns to the social worker, these are...

1.) the temperature in her bedroom over the really cold spells was 2 degrees and the only heating is a coal fire downstairs. She goes to bed fully clothed each night and is that cold will not get out of her bed during the night so she passes urine in her bed.

2.) she will not wash, bathe or change her clothes due to the cold.

3.) her emergency alarm that she needs in case she falls has been taken out as her son has not paid the bill in over 6 months. This alarm is also linked to the smoke detector so if there is a fire it alerts the call centre.

4.) she has been left with nothing to light the coal fire on several times and there is evidence she has been trying to light glossy paper on the cooker to try and light it.

The list is endless and i have been battling now with social services since November so i have now taken it further and took my concerns to The Care Quality Commission.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

CARE = cover arse record everything.

paperwork is vital but so time consuming

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Go be a lecturer in a college, that's fairly laid back?

I've grown out of love with the education system... I'm looking for my calling I think...I want to help people but not such that I become helpless myself!"

Social work can be rewarding in the right setting but often times your under appreciated by the people your trying to help and you will deal with a lot if sad and distressing things and I don't care what anyone says you cannot just switch off when you leave work you carry it with you always! Why not try working in the private care sector? That's what I did and 13 years later I wouldn't dream

Of doing anything else! You can go in unqualified on lower pay and train on the job to work up to management level which is great pay and great job satisfaction as you essentially will be the one providing the best quality of life for the people in your care and have the satisfaction of knowing that it's because of you they can lead a good life x

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Loads of people have been sacked from social work the past few years, and the ones left behind a fair amount of those left due to being overstressed and having to work overtime, every day, for nothing.

They've been given extra workloads without extra time to do them in. They're overburdened right now.

There are always jobs in social work though. And other countries have better social systems in place. It would open opportunities for you.

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By *edangel_2013Woman
over a year ago

southend

There are plenty of jobs in social work, mainly because it is so over stretched people tend to leave the job on stress related illness.

What about youth offending or probation? If you can get into youth offending there is a fantastic range of jobs with Integrated Offender management which works with youth offenders who have been in care then in prison giving them amazing support, amongst other things.

I work closely with the iOM team and they are awesome people.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"There are plenty of jobs in social work, mainly because it is so over stretched people tend to leave the job on stress related illness.

I work closely with the iOM team and they are awesome people."

I know someone who did this one night a week volunteering while working.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Thank you all...

So much to consider.... I'm going to try to get my work/life balance correct in my current job.... And do some more research.

The last thing I want is a costly mistake....which affects my bank balance and personal life. My sex drive is draining away as we speak!

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By *ust_for_laughsCouple
over a year ago

Hinckley

I considered a Social Work degree when I went to Uni this year but given my age, decided on Criminology instead, it's way less stressful!

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By *illwill69uMan
over a year ago

moston

Social work is a thankless stressful job...

Truth is the available jobs in social work are generally inversely proportional to need.

Social workers are overworked and overstressed. They are in the wrong when they fail to act and in the wrong when they do act. They are the whipping boys and patsies whenever anything goes wrong. Social workers are also regularly assaulted, and have little protection as it is seen 'part of the job' when giving negative news to violent people.

If you can handle all the above go for it, god knows we need good people who can take the grief and survive that aweful job.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Social work is a thankless stressful job...

Truth is the available jobs in social work are generally inversely proportional to need.

If you can handle all the above go for it, god knows we need good people who can take the grief and survive that aweful job."

Thank you for that insightful reply!

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By *eryBigGirlWoman
over a year ago

East Yorkshire

"Social work is a thankless stressful job...

Truth is the available jobs in social work are generally inversely proportional to need.

If you can handle all the above go for it, god knows we need good people who can take the grief and survive that aweful job."

Sadly that's pretty accurate

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Social work is a thankless stressful job...

Truth is the available jobs in social work are generally inversely proportional to need.

If you can handle all the above go for it, god knows we need good people who can take the grief and survive that aweful job.

Sadly that's pretty accurate

From what I've seen that's a pretty good assessment. Depending on where you live, the pressures of the job and cuts are only going to increase. It's not an area of work I'd want to get into at the moment but it does need strong and resilient people.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Without a social worker my mom and dad wouldn't be independent as they can be at the moment.

Social work can be hard stressful but you can get a lot of job satisfaction

Depends what u really want x

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By *orneyashell87Couple
over a year ago

stockotn on tees

"i work in the public centre at the moment - though I don't feel I get the job satisfaction I want...Too much unwanted stress too!

Then there are the costs of going back to uni - probably part time too...

Dear Dillemma!

Are there any social workers here...?

Any advice would be gratefully received x

are you a heartless cunt,who enjoys tearing families apart for all the wrong reasons, go ahead become one !!

If you have a brain and a conscience,id suggest another department !

As usual if my post upsets any social workers,

You shouldn't be on here ya fuckers !!!!

Social workers only split up families if it's needed and aren't heartless cunts

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Social Work - career change...?