I have been a social worker for 23 years. I have been a licensed social worker for 15 years and a licensed clinical social worker for over a decade. I don’t have a plan B. I love social work. However, a statistic states that the average burnout rate for social workers post masters is 5 years, due to the harsh realities of this work, and yet I am still passionate about this profession.
Lately I have been reflecting on what I wish I knew as a younger social worker. As someone who is currently supervising over a dozen up-and-coming social workers towards clinical practice, I am often called upon to give career advice. The advice is always welcomed, and the recipient always seems to be grateful. I often wish I had a mentor like me. Perhaps my life career path would have been much smoother
I used to have this saying “I have never met a social worker I did not like”. Most social workers are known for their compassion and empathetic skillsets. As a teacher in the profession, I would often hear that one of the main reasons a student came into the social work profession was because of some hurt or obstacle they had experienced in the past and now they want to help others who are experiencing similar hurts or obstacles.
But there is truth in the adage “Hurt people, hurt people”. So, now there are hurt people in the social work profession who came with good intentions of giving back, but in their desire to help the client, their Savior Complex kicks in. These hurt people hurt their colleagues, peers and the people close to them by projecting, controlling, manipulating in the workplace to mask their hurt. So, what I wish I had known about social work, is that to not be the hurt person in this field, hurting others, you will always be doing “the work”. Self-reflection, introspection, therapy. Whatever that means to you. Additionally, you can only take your client as far as you are willing to go – if you are hurting, how far can you really take your client?
When you pick a profession, it is like getting married. If I had known the contrition rate of staying in the profession was so bleak, I wonder if I would have jumped the broom. Social work gets a bad rap in media, television, and news stories because it is often the social worker who most people associate with taking children out of the home and other child welfare atrocities. But social work is so much more than that.
Social work is sitting with a family member who just learned their loved one is on hospice, social work is providing mental health services to those who may not have access so they can lead better quality lives, social work is holding the hand of a newly diagnosed HIV patient who thinks no one will ever touch them again. Social work is sitting quietly with that cancer patient as she receives her first chemo treatment because there is nothing to say. Social work is making impactful change within the communities we serve by advocating for policy and legislature changes.
So, what I wish I had known about social work is that sure it can be tough, grimy sometimes even scary work, but the rewards of seeing your clients win, is so totally worth it. What I know to be true about social work is that it is a calling. For some it’s a ministry, for others it is much more than just a profession. It takes a special kind of person to do this work. I am glad I took up the call.