Overview
Standard 4: Wellbeing
The wellbeing of social workers is essential and supports social workers to meet their statutory duties to children and families. Social worker wellbeing includes:
To promote employee wellbeing you should value and respect diverse backgrounds in order to:
This employer standard ask employers to:
The yearly health check surveys practitioners on their views about how the organisation manages their wellbeing. This provides employers with useful evidence of how well they may be meeting the standards. Employers have a duty of care to provide a safe working environment, as required by the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974)
Given the potential for violence in social work, aggression and harassment should not be seen as just part of the job. Practitioners deserve a secure workplace and risk assessments help mitigate this. Employers should ensure the wellbeing of remote and lone workers by addressing risks like poor posture, inadequate seating, isolation, and work-life balance.
As a senior leader or principal social worker in adult care you need to ensure that supervisors follow the post-qualifying standard. You should follow the Knowledge and skills statement for adult social care. This statement requires wellbeing-focused supervision for social workers.
In children and families social work, it’s important for senior leaders and principal social workers to follow the Knowledge and skills statements. Supporting wellbeing is crucial for social workers providing good services to children and families.
This standard is designed to improve the wellbeing of social workers by creating supportive, effective workplaces that:
Read the full details of Employment standard 4: Wellbeing on the Local Government Association website.
Health and Safety Executive. Health and safety statistics in Great Britain.
Kalliath, P., Hughes, M., & Newcombe, P. (2012). When work and family are in conflict: Impact on psychological strain experienced by social workers in Australia. Australian Social Work, 65(3), 355-371.
Kinman, G., & McDowall, A. (2014). The work-home interface: Building effective boundaries. In L. Grant & G. Kinman (Eds.), Developing resilience for social work practice (pp. 33-53). Bloomsbury Publishing.
McFadden, P. (2015). Measuring burnout among UK social workers. Community Care.
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