A recent study published by the Guardian has found that social workers are facing a variety of health-related difficulties.
The study which interviewed almost 1000 social workers found that of these health related problems, anxiety and insomnia were the most common. Additionally, social workers who are young, have little work experience, are without a licence, male, unmarried or were employed part-time had the most health problems.
Social workers, especially those who work in domestic violence and child protection, have complained for years about excessive workloads. Their labour rights are now an important issue in several countries across the world with Taiwan being one of those at the forefront.
Employers Should Promote the Occupational Health of Their Staff
After the survey was conducted, a series of conferences were held to share the results with social workers. The workers who attended these events were asked whether their employers took measures to protect their health; only half reported that their employers did.
Two of the most common measures were to enhance psychological health by group work and providing individual services. A third measure was to hold courses to enhance the workers’ professional competency, which was followed by help from supervisors and colleagues.
The survey and suggestions from the conferences shows that social workers had many occupational health issues and lacked support. Therefore it is being proposed that a directive is put in place for health and safety awareness at work for social workers.
It is being suggested that governments around the world should implement policies and budgets that encourage employers to implement work-related measures. Employers should promote the occupational health of their staff through various means and evaluate outcomes periodically.
Moreover, educators have the responsibility to design courses that help students understand the health risks they will face and increase their competency in dealing with issues. More evidence-based research on effective intervention is needed.
When people devote so much of their time to looking after other people who have various mental and physical health problems it is very easy for them to neglect their own health as a result of that. Social workers around the world should be represented and looked after by those in their local governments and I feel that any efforts that work towards that should be pursued.
Do you feel that social workers are overworked and what can we do to ensure that these situations do not become worse in the future?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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