That’s according to the latest Social Work and Workforce Health Check, an annual survey which assesses the health and wellbeing of social workers and other frontline practitioners within Adult Services.
As well as having pride in their job, the majority say they plan to stay with the council in the year ahead and feel that the council is committed to tackling inequality in the workplace.
Practitioners say the council promotes a 'strengths based approach', which encourages them to better support adults with care and support needs to live their idea of a 'good life'.
The survey also found that, while some social workers are working over their contracted hours and may experience stress due to work, the majority know where to get help if they are concerned about their wellbeing and feel able to discuss stressful situations or their workload with their manager and agree ways forward.
Almost all practitioners say they are satisfied with the support they receive from their managers and that they have access to learning and development opportunities which enhance their knowledge and skills.
Last year senior managers made a commitment to be more visible within teams, which has resulted in the majority of frontline practitioners feeling that communication from senior managers has improved this year.
Councillor Linda Leach, the council's Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: “We absolutely believe that Wolverhampton is a place where social care practitioners and social workers can make a real difference to the lives of adults with care and support needs.
"It is fantastic that our workforce sees their future with us at the council and would recommend Wolverhampton as an employer to their friends. We have actions already in place to further support our social workers and wider workforce this coming year, including our planned redesign of Adult Social Care which will help address the challenges some have identified in the survey.
"I would like to place on record my thanks for the fantastic work all our social workers and frontline social care practitioners do for people in our city.”
The findings of the Social Work and Workforce Health Check will be presented to members of the Fulfilled Adult Lives Scrutiny Panel on Tuesday (21 March, 2023).
For more information about social work jobs available with the City of Wolverhampton Council, please visit A Career in Social Work.
