Burnout and taking a break

 

How often do we have conversations with carers talking about how they don’t need to feel guilty for needing a break? How they are only human and can only give so much to others because they need something left for themselves.

Now how often do we take our own advice?

I imagine a lot less than we should. We seem to find it easier to explain to others how what they are doing is what they need to do for their own mental health, but we don’t do the same for ourselves.

The rate of burnout in Social Work is high and the average length of a Social Work career is approximately 8 years. There are a lot of reasons for this such as high caseloads and low resources, but I do think that some of it comes from Social Workers who want to make sure they do the best for the people they support and put themselves on the back burner to achieve it.

I follow a lot of Social Workers on twitter and see regular conversations about how people are having to work weekends and late into the evening to actually achieve what is expected of them in their day-to-day role. It makes me wonder if this is part of the problem. If we are willing to do those evenings and weekends without getting paid for them then why would the people, we work for try and improve the situation? They are currently having everything achieved without having to pay out for it. It also means that when people are looking at the service it appears as if it doesn’t need more funding because the targets are being achieved when actually it’s a false façade and they choose not to check behind the curtain to see the reality.

A lot of the instances I see of people having to do that are Children’s Social Workers and then this I feel creates further issues in turn because when people are tired, overworked and overwhelmed they are more likely to miss something because they are not working to the best of their abilities. This leads to people taking sick time for stress which also impacts the service because they are then understaffed, and it becomes a vicious cycle.

I am fortunate that because I work in adults there are not as many strict deadlines as children’s services meaning I can leave something on a Friday and pick it back up on a Monday generally without it being too much of a problem. I can work over if I need to which I have done but I don’t feel as much pressure to have to.

I am also in a position where if I am particularly struggling for whatever reason I can speak to a manager and say that I cannot function that day and take time off to alleviate some of those Mental Health difficulties and rest. Or as an alternative I can have a day where I focus on admin and not actually make any phone calls or attend any visits because I know that I would not give the best to the people I am supporting if I did.

When we think about professionalism in Social Work this wouldn’t be the first thing that jumps to mind but actually, I think it is very important. It can be difficult to look at ourselves and admit that we are struggling but we are only human and sometimes we do. I know that if I am having a day where I am particularly struggling with my emotions and feel like I can’t stop crying that speaking with someone on my caseload or their family and potentially bursting into tears is not professional and not what they need from me. I am involved with them to support them, and I do not need to switch that dynamic and make them feel they have to support me.

I have people in my life both personal and professional that can provide that support to me but the people I am working with are not those people and should not be put in that position.

It is the same as if a case comes in and it hits a bit too close to home for whatever reason, it is professional to not take that case and be able to tell your manager why. It is not that you can’t do your job its just that you know that could potentially have a detrimental effect on your own Mental Health and it is not worth it.

Recognising these things in ourselves is an important part of Social Work and we should not be ashamed to admit when we are struggling, or something would not be good for us. We expect it from the people we support so why are we any different?