Social Work – Lancashire & South Cumbria Library Blog

Reflections from the workforce

Source: UNISON

This report is based on a survey of nearly 3,000 social workers across the UK. It aims to shed light on the working conditions of social workers, and limitations on the help they are able to give vulnerable families. Staff shortages, unmanageable caseloads and long hours are identified by social workers as major concerns affecting their ability to do their jobs. More than three quarters of social workers said they had experienced increased stress levels and 77 per cent of respondents were worried about their mental health due to the pressure they’re under. Seven in ten also said morale has decreased and almost half said they’re now less likely to stay in their jobs.

Taking a strengths-based approach; a literature review

Source: The King’s Fund Health Management and Policy Alert

The primary aim of this review is to examine the development and the potential of strengths-based models in social work and the social care sector. The literature review will address questions around how these approaches impact on practice, and what this means for individuals in receipt of social care services and their carers or families.

This review identifies three overarching features of the terrain:
Generally, there are three broad groupings of literature: conceptual material; material on models; and grey literature; plus a small number of evaluative papers

Strengths-based approaches are comparatively more prevalent in social work than social care (which may not be surprising given its origins).
Strengths-based approaches are being embraced by policy makers but questions remain about: its definition (how it is distinct from other approaches, and how it should be conceptualised); its effectiveness and feasibility (including its intersection with local authority eligibility thresholds); and how it should/can be evaluated.
NIHR; Feb 2021