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Live Journal Blog Response to comments on the SW Sickness article, provoked be SW's are "incompetent" and "leadswingers" type comments:

You have no idea, do you? antwhi2001 wrote:
Wednesday, 16 September 2009 at 09:45 am (UTC)
I'm not in Social Work, I'm in the NHS, which also has categories of jobs involving similar pressures. Some of the comments here are moronic and all they demonstrate is a lack of intelligent thought. If we have to speak in generalisations :1. These people are generally not lazy or shirkers. If they were, (a) they wouldn't have gone into a notoriously difficult field of work, and (b) they wouldn't be working an average of 12% above their contracted hours.2. Inadequate pay results in difficulty recruiting. That leads to vacant posts which other workers have to do their best to cover. Doing your best but knowing it isn't enough is soul destroying when the welfare of children is at stake. Doing it month in month out is stressful for any caring individual. Physical and mental illness is inevitable for some.3. Getting rid of the "shirkers" who are working flat out isn't the answer. Employing more, and better, staff is. That takes time and money. Are taxpayers willing to pay for it? If not, it won't happen. I am. Are you?4. I have been trying to do an impossible job for 5 years with inadequate staffing (due to financial constraints). I have not had a lot of time off sick. I have however been on prescription drugs for stress management for the last 3 years. Pressure takes it's toll. Don't blame the people in the system. Fix the system.

Comment on SW Sickness by BASW Chief Exec

Last night Hilton Dawson, the chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers, said: "They face stress, an inordinate workload, intrusive managements and very difficult work situations. The media coverage of the profession is horrendous. It's the most undervalued, least respected and least understood profession in Britain."
He said that new recruits were often thrown into the most difficult situations, adding: "I regularly hear about newly qualified social workers being burnt-out after just 18 months in the job."