One in five social care professionals say they will leave their role in the next year

The results of a Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) wellbeing survey reveals many social care professionals feel unsafe and dissatisfied in their job.

The first annual Have Your Say Workforce Wellbeing Survey report asked people working in the social work, social care and children and young people workforce on a wide range of topics, including wellbeing, pay, terms and conditions, support, access to training and qualifications and general experiences of working in the sector.

More than 6,500 registered and some non-registered workers responded to the Scottish regulator with the largest response being from the social care workforce, making up 59% of the total responses.

Just over a fifth of respondents (22%) said they were likely to leave their role in the sector in the next 12 months. Almost half of the respondents said they are likely to leave their role in the next five years. Their key reasons are being overworked, low pay and poor employment or working conditions in general.

Forty-three per cent of workers who plan to leave the sector have experienced either bullying, discrimination or harassment in their role. Overall, 45% of social worker respondents revealed that they have experienced this behaviour along with social care workers (37%) and workers in children and young people services (34%).

Just over half (56%) of respondents said they were satisfied with their job, however more than a third (35%) of respondents said they were not. Concerningly, four in ten (40%) said they did not feel safe in their work environment, while under half said they would recommend their organisation as a great place to work.

Encouragingly, most respondents said that their colleagues help and support them (75%), that their job gives them a feeling of satisfaction (60%), their manager helps and support them (58%) and their own morale is good (56%), always/most of the time.

However, staff turnover was reported to be high by almost half of respondents, leading to increased stress levels, increased workloads and lower staff morale among remaining staff. Less than half (48%) of the respondents said that the right staff are in place to deliver services or that morale amongst colleagues is good (40%).

Four in five respondents (81%) agreed that their work is valued by the people/families they support, and three quarters (76%) felt valued by colleagues. However, they were less likely to feel that their work was valued by the general public (42%), their employer (40%) or the Scottish Government (20%).

Suggestions about what should be done to make the sector an attractive and rewarding place to work focused on better pay. Other common suggestions included improvements in how staff are recognised and supported, reducing workloads/ time pressures and issues related to staffing/ recruitment.

Maree Allison, Chief Executive of the SSSC, said the survey findings highlight the challenges facing the sector.

“I’m reassured to hear that many people feel valued for the work they do and the survey has given us a unique insight into this workforce and their experiences. It’s important now that we learn from the findings so that people working in this sector feel supported, able to develop their skills and to grow in their careers. 

“However, the results also highlight challenges covering a range of topics, including pay and conditions with half of those on hourly rates telling us they are finding it more difficult to manage financially than this time last year. 

“And there are significant differences in experiences overall depending on whether people work in social work, social care or children and young people services.

“We will share the findings to help shape and design the support and services we provide as well as guiding the work of partner organisations and government.”