Positive Experiences

 

When you ask people why they became Social Workers the default answer is to help people and actually this is a smaller part of it than you think. It feels like we spend a lot of time managing things. Managing risk and managing care. Also we spend much more time than you would like doing paperwork.

The important part of what we do is a small part of it. There are small shafts of light in the darkness which make our job worthwhile and when these become few and far between that is when people struggle with burnout. A bit like in your own life when you feel that there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

I have had two conversations this week that are those shafts of light. Actions that can seem like a small thing that have made a huge impact on someone's life. They are why I do what I do.

One was a new case, family are concerned and have been waiting weeks for someone to be allocated. All I did today was call, introduce myself and arrange to go meet up them but you would have thought this family member had won the lottery. They were so grateful that I am allocated to the case that I want to get things moving and get a visit booked as soon as I am able. This is a fairly normal step in the process but when things seem dark and you are struggling that call is the ray of light. It is a sign that something is going to happen and move forward.

The other is someone who have been working with for a couple of weeks. There have been issues with the care provider and the length of time they are present. A new provider has been put in place but the timings hadn't been changed. All I did was make a phone call to extend the times but this person was so pleased. They said “I could kiss you” and “If I could dance I would”. This was the result of a 15 minute phone call and a few tweaks.

This is the reason I am a Social Worker. This is why I did the studying. This is why I accept how difficult it can be and the times we go to places that aren't the nicest. I do it to make people feel this way. I am a big believer in the Maya Angelou quote “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

That reminds me of the importance of what we do. The butterfly effect we can have. A small change can make a big difference. We don't think of ourselves as someone who holds power but we do. People see us as the “professional” and that we know what we are doing. They “leave their lives in our hands”. We need to be mindful of this and make sure that the responsibility we have doesn't cause an imbalance. We are there to give people the outcomes that they want and when we can do that we get these types of reactions and they make it all worthwhile.