That’s according to the latest Social Work Health Check, an annual survey which assesses the health and wellbeing of social workers.
As well as having pride in their job, the majority said they plan to stay with the council in the year ahead and would recommend the council as an employer.
Social workers feel that the council has a clear model of practice that promotes relationship working and a ‘strengths based approach’, and that the authority was actively committed to tackling inequality and discrimination.
The survey also found that, while many social workers are still working over their contracted hours, there has been a decrease in those feeling stress due to work.
More adult social workers also say their workloads are manageable this year, although the Covid-19 pandemic and staffing pressures have understandably had an impact. Workloads for Children’s social workers have increased slightly but remain below the levels recorded a few years ago.
Emma Bennett, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Executive Director of Families, said: “We firmly believe that Wolverhampton is a great place for social work, and we are constantly striving to improve and further drive up standards of practise across the city.
“There are tremendous challenges facing the social work profession nationally, particularly in recruitment and retention, and so we are really pleased with the overall findings of this year’s Health Checks, and particularly that social workers see their future with us at the council.
“Our social workers do an incredible job in often very trying circumstances and, as a council, it is important that we do all we can to support them in their role.
“In Adult Services, work is currently taking place to look at demand for adult social care in the city, workloads and our current operating model, so that we can ensure that practitioners are able to use their skills and time effectively while supporting even better outcomes for the people they are working with.
“In Children’s Services, we recognise that staff are telling us that their workloads are feeling more unmanageable and that they are having to work over their contracted hours, and we have already begun to take action to address these issues.
"For instance, we have created a new peripatetic social work team which will bring additional capacity so that, as and when there are any vacancies within teams, we can quickly fill them. This will help prevent excessive workloads and help reduce stress levels. We are also piloting a quicker recruitment process.
"We have also put a range of other measures in place, including providing a large selection of resources to help all social workers with any wellbeing, mental health and other issues they may be experiencing."
Principal Social Worker Jennifer Rogers added: “I would like to place on record my thanks for the fantastic work all our social workers do, day in, day out, for some of our city’s most vulnerable adults and children, and their families.”
For more information about social work jobs available with the City of Wolverhampton Council, please visit A Career In Social Work.
