The social work workforce

The research took place in summer 2023. The team recruited 1,375 current and former social workers for the research, which comprised surveys, interviews and focus groups.

There were also interviews with social work employers and people with lived experience of social work. A more comprehensive breakdown of the participants can be found in the full research document.

Shape of the sector

What are social workers perceptions of the profession?

A quarter of current social workers surveyed would say they have high morale (26%), but two-fifths (41%) report their morale being low (compared with 43% and 24% respectively in 2020).
Morale appears to be linked with management responsibility. Those with no management responsibility are less likely to report high morale than those from upper management (21% vs 39%).

Social workers in the NHS have the highest levels of morale, with two-fifths reporting high morale (41%), this is followed by agency workers with a third reporting high morale (34%). This is compared with only one in five local authority staff reporting high morale (22%)

Despite shifts, most social workers surveyed remain proud to be part of the profession. The vast majority of current social workers are very or fairly proud to tell others about their job (83%). Morale also impacts the likelihood of recommending the profession, those with high morale are more likely to be proud of their job (96%), though it is still relatively high in those with low morale (72%).

Most individuals with lived experience of social work had positive perceptions of social workers and felt that social workers have good intentions and make a positive impact. Where negative experiences were raised, these were attributed to individual social workers, rather than the profession as a whole. Key reasons behind the poor experience recorded included either a lack of care on the part of a social worker, or a lack of time and resources.

Some participants also shared that they had changed their opinion once they had engaged with their social worker, going from fearful to understanding they were there to help. Many also recognised that the public often has negative perceptions of social workers and a lack of understanding of the profession. Most felt that the public often hear negative stories about social workers and their failings, rather than the positive actions they do and the people they help.

Starting Out

What motivates people to become social workers?

Wanting to make a difference in people’s lives was reported as a key motivator for becoming and continuing to work as a social worker. Many social workers say that they had left previous roles to become a social worker because their roles had felt unfulfilling and “meaningless”, even if it had provided a higher salary. They wanted to have a positive impact on their community through their work.

What is the first social work role like?

One in 10 current social workers (10%) are still in their first role, but 2 in 5 (42%) left within the first 3 years with around one in ten (9%) leaving within their first year. Those who work in adults social work are more likely to spend less than one year in their first role as a registered social worker (12% vs 7% children and families). You can find a more comprehensive breakdown in the full report.

Though a quarter of social workers who have left their first role cite excessive workload as a reason for leaving the profession (25%), an equal proportion report that they were promoted out of the role (24%). For those who do stay in the profession, when asked about their motivations to keep working as a social worker, the majority of current social workers (78%) say that they continue to want to make a difference.

Current agency staff are most likely to have left their first role in social work because of high workload (41% vs 23% of local authority staff). They are also more likely to report wanting higher pay (32% vs 11% of local authority staff), not being supported by their manager (31% vs 20% of local authority staff), or because of a lack of career progression (19% vs 10% of local authority staff). On the other hand, local authority staff are most likely to have left their first role because of promotion (27% vs 9% of agency staff).

Those working with children and families report that they left because of high workloads (28%), at a higher rate than those who work in adults social work (21%). While those in adults social work are nearly twice as likely to say their first position was only temporary (9% vs 5% children and families).

Workplace practices

What kind of organisation do social workers work in?

Overall, current social workers surveyed tend to report working in a process-oriented culture (44%), with just over a third saying their organisation is results-driven and 3 in 10 saying it is collaborative and flexible (29%). Social workers in local authorities are the most likely to describe their organisation as “process-oriented” (49%), compared to only 39% of those whose main employer is an agency. Only around one in 10 current social workers would describe their organisation as dynamic and creative (12%), although this rises to 18% of those who work in the NHS.

There is a strong majority of social workers surveyed who feel that, in their organisation, employees respect and value each other’s opinions (83%). In the qualitative interviews, those who spoke positively about their organisation’s culture described it as supportive, collaborative, flexible and friendly. Those who spoke negatively noted bullying, racism, and being overworked and underpaid.

Those with a disability are less likely to say that they feel like they belong (63%) compared to those who compared to those who do not have a disability (71%). 79% of social workers cited high workloads and burnout as the biggest challenge for their organisation. This is followed by a lack of applicants for vacancies (60%) and a skills shortage (42%).

Social workers spoke highly of their teams and their managers, saying they felt comfortable in their organisation and that they could use their co-workers as a resource when they were struggling, had questions, or needed a second opinion. This is particularly true for early career and newly qualified social workers.

However, several social workers expressed frustration with having to follow strict bureaucratic processes and paperwork that take time away from working directly with people. They feel the tick-box requirements sometimes interfere with providing quality care.

What challenges do social work employers face?

Social workers report the main challenges for their organisation are high workloads and burnout (79%). This is followed by a lack of applicants for vacancies (60%) and a skills shortage (42%). In contrast, demand for flexible working arrangements (15%) and low productivity (7%) are not seen by the majority of social workers as being challenges.

Social workers spoke of a potential “spiral” in social services: with burned out social workers leaving the profession, creating more work for those who they leave behind, causing them to become fatigued and leave the profession faster and therefore contributing to the same problems they were victims of.

Vacancies and recruitment

What issues are there recruiting people into the profession?

The majority of social workers (88%) reported that their organisation has been recruiting in the past year. This is higher for those who work for a local authority (95%), compared to those who are employed by an agency (79%).

The biggest recruitment challenge, as stated by those whose organisations had been recruiting, was not enough applicants (63%). This was followed by applicants who lack experience (51%) or the necessary skills (42%). Managers stated that burnout and workload were top concerns and contributors to low retention.

While many responses said that there have been no particular aspects of recruitment that have worked well in the past 12 months, one of the top phrases mentioned with positive experiences in mind was “flexible working”. As only 8% said that a hiring difficulty has been because they have not been able to offer flexible working hours, and 6% for not being able to offer remote or hybrid work, it does not appear that flexible or hybrid working is a barrier to recruiting social workers.

Other solutions discussed were the use of agency staff, however, recognition was often given to this being a short-term high-cost effort. Others looked to recruit international staff or potentially other healthcare professionals if the role allowed.

A number of social workers were keen on entry-level schemes such as apprenticeships, Step Up to Social Work and improving the approved and supported year in employment (ASYE) experience. Some mentioned that their organisation were able to offer financial incentives such as retention payments, higher salaries, and perks such as free parking.

Most who were interviewed believed that their organisations initiatives to recruit a more diverse workforce were successful and there was no mention of any issues around diversity equality and inclusion in the profession as a source of issues with recruitment and retention.

Moving around the profession

Are social workers looking to change roles?

When looking to the future, though over two-fifths of social workers (44%) say they would be likely to change employer type within the next 5 years, just under half say they would be unlikely to do so (48%). Over half of those who have been in social work for less than 3 years are likely to move (57%), compared to 3 in 10 of those who have been in social work for 20 years or more (31%).

Those currently employed by an agency are most likely to say they will change employer type. This is much higher than the proportion in local authorities that would move (65% vs 43%).

Only one in 5 current social workers (20%) think that they are likely to change to a different type of social work within the next 5 years, which is down from 28% in 2020. In comparison, 72% don’t think they will change. However, most social workers have actively looked at other roles, with 8 in 10 reporting that they had done some job searching over the previous 12 months.

Mid-career social workers tend to be the most likely to be looking for a new role. Over half of those who are in their first 3 years of a social work career (58%) have spoken to colleagues about jobs, but this rises to nearly three-quarters of those who have been in social work for between 5 to 10 years (73%).

There is a division in the reasons given when social workers reported job searching which was dependent on the length they had been practising as a social worker. Those with 10 or more years in the profession cite a lack of career progression (35% vs 25% of those with fewer than 10 years), while those who have not been in social work for as long cite high workload (61% vs 51% with more than 10 years’ experience), impact on mental health (57% vs 50%), and wanting higher pay (52% vs 39%).

Social workers who have a disability or health condition that limits their day-to-day activities have reported experiences of discrimination/prejudice as a cause for job searching (26%), more than double the proportion who are limited a little (9%) or with no limiting disability (8%). Similarly, a fifth of social workers who belong to a non-Christian religion (21%) cite experiences of discrimination/prejudice, much higher than the proportion of Christian social workers (11%) or those who identify with no religion (6%).

When looking for other roles, social workers tend to look within the profession. However, a third of job-searchers were looking at roles both within and outside social work (34%) and 15% were only looking at roles outside the profession. This is mostly driven by a fifth of adults social workers (19%) who were only looking at roles outside social work.

What does movement around the profession look like?

Broadly, those looking at jobs are looking within their own specialism but children and families social workers are slightly more likely to look for a different type of role. For example, 6% of children and families social workers were looking at adults roles and 13% were looking at both types of roles. On the other hand, only 2% of adults social workers were looking at children and families roles and 5% looked at both types.

The qualitative research revealed a perception among social workers that working with children is a more time-consuming, stressful, and scrutinised role than working with adults. Some who had started their careers working with children switched to working with adults for these reasons, and many who worked with adults chose not to work with children to avoid overwork.

Even when looking outside of specialism type, social workers will tend to look at roles within other current employer type, such as local authority social workers looking at other local authority roles. That said, there are sizeable portions looking elsewhere. For example, 36% of local authority social workers were looking at agency roles and 34% at NHS roles. Even though most agency roles would be based within local authorities, these roles are thought to offer higher pay and greater flexibility of workloads.

Do social workers take on additional paid work?

A quarter of current social workers surveyed (25%) have taken on extra paid work in addition to their normal role within the last 6 months, rising to a third of agency workers (33%) and two-fifths of NHS social workers (40%). Most of this additional work was extra hours with their main employer (53%), although a quarter had taken up a second non-social work role (25%), and one in 5 were doing bank or agency work alongside their main role (20%).

Leaving the profession

Why do people leave social work?

Within the next 5 years, two-fifths of social workers surveyed think it is likely they will leave the profession (39%). This rises to two-thirds of those employed by a social work agency (66%), with a quarter being very likely to leave within the next 5 years (26%).

More positively, just over half of social workers (53%) say they are not likely to leave the profession in the next 5 years and this is highest for staff within the NHS (63%). The proportions found here are also consistent with 2020 – there has been no change in social workers’ likelihood to leave social work.

When asked why they left, many social workers who were in the profession within the last 5 years indicated that they moved towards a different position or due to personal circumstances rather than specifically looking to leave social work. Similarly, just under a fifth left due to retirement (17%) rather than moving to another profession. Around a third of former social workers reported either dissatisfaction with the standard of care they were able to provide, high workload, or the impact that the work had on their mental health as one of the most common reasons for leaving the profession.

Impact on social work services

Qualitative findings highlight a concern over the impact that social workers leaving the profession has on the services provided. Many social workers stressed the increasing risks for people not receiving the support they need, or the quality of care they deserve. It was also felt among individuals with lived experience of social work.

Participants felt that the reason behind social workers leaving is that they are often overworked and face many challenges when dealing with cases. Most felt that there are significant impacts on social work services as a result of people leaving the profession.

Reflecting on their personal experience, only a few participants had experienced delays with social work services. Those who had experienced delays were negatively impacted by this and reported they were unable to access the support needed at the time.

Where do people go when they leave social work, and would they return?

Social workers who leave the profession tend to move into health and social care (38%) or education (11%). Among former social workers surveyed, a fifth would be likely to return at some point in the next 5 years (21%).

Current children and families social workers are more likely than adults social workers to look at roles in education (49% vs 30% adults), while adults were more likely to look directly at charity work (3% vs 0% children and families). Children and families social workers who were looking at health and social care roles were particularly likely to look at talking therapies (41%), compared to only a quarter of adults social workers who looked at health and social care saying they then went on to look at talking therapy roles.

Among former social workers surveyed, a fifth would be likely to return at some point in the next 5 years (21%) and fewer would return within the next 6 months (16%).

Improving retention

What would encourage social workers to stay in the profession?

Current and former social workers cited a reduction of workloads, increased staffing levels and increased support from the government as the top factors that would improve retention in social work. Social workers from an ethnic minority were more likely than white social workers to want changes to the workplace environment, such as improved culture (32% vs 24% white social workers), more opportunities for remote or hybrid working (17% vs 7%), or more support from managers/employers (30% vs 21%).

Most social workers felt that in order to attract more people into the social work profession there needs to be more understanding about the profession and what social workers do. Many felt that some people are deterred from entering the profession due to poor reputation and negative associations with social work, particularly due to the messages portrayed in the media, such as social workers taking children away. There was also a sense that the profession lacks recognition and that social workers are not being rewarded for the work they do.

What happens next?

The findings from this research are consistent with the intelligence we have gathered through our engagement activities with the sector about the views of the workforce and the challenges they face.

We recently completed our fourth renewal period (1 September 2023 to 30 November 2030) where more social workers renewed their registration than ever, and the register continues to grow. In 2024, we will use the findings from this and our other research to design and deliver a campaign that will promote public confidence in social work. As part of this we would like to inform and educate the public on what social work is and the important role that social workers play in society.

We will continue to engage with the social work sector through our various networks and will highlight this research alongside our other research, ‘Public Perceptions of the Social Work Profession’ and ‘Practice Education in England: A National Scoping Review’ during Social Work England’s Social Work Week in March 2024.

Register your place at the upcoming events below:

• Register your place on Social work workforce - the story as we see it: research findings.
  Thursday 21 March 4pm to 5pm.
  
  
• Register your place on Practice education in England: a national scoping review.
  Friday 22 March 1pm to 2pm