Working conditions and well-being in UK social care and social work during COVID-19

Jermaine Ravalier; Ruth D. Neill; Paula Mc Fadden; Jill Manthorpe; Patricia Gillen; John Mallett; Patricia Nicholl; Heike Schroder; Denise Currie; John Moriarty

doi:10.1177/14680173221109483

Working conditions and well-being in UK social care and social work during COVID-19

Jermaine Ravalier, Ruth D. Neill, Paula Mc Fadden, Jill Manthorpe, Patricia Gillen, John Mallett, Patricia Nicholl, Heike Schroder, Denise Currie, John Moriarty

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

59 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Summary
Stress and mental health are among the biggest causes of sickness absence in the UK, with the Social Work and Social Care sectors having among the highest levels of stress and mental health sickness absence of all professions in the UK. Chronically poor working conditions are known to impact employees' psychological and physiological health. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected both the mode and method of work in Social Care and Social Work. Through a series of cross-sectional online surveys, completed by a total of 4,950 UK Social Care and Social Workers, this study reports the changing working conditions and well-being of UK Social Care and Social Workers at two time points (phases) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings
All working conditions and well-being measures were found to be significantly worse during Phase 2 (November–January 2021) than Phase 1 (May–July 2020), with worse psychological well-being than the UK average in Phase 2. Furthermore, our findings indicate that in January 2021, feelings about general well-being, control at work, and working conditions predicted worsened psychological well-being.

Applications
Our findings highlight the importance of understanding and addressing the impact of the pandemic on the Social Care and Social Work workforce, thus highlighting that individuals, organizations, and governments need to develop mechanisms to support these employees during and beyond the pandemic.

Original language	English
Article number	146801732211094
Pages (from-to)	165-188
Number of pages	24
Journal	Journal of Social Work
Volume	23
Issue number	2
Early online date	6 Jul 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/14680173221109483
Publication status	Published (in print/issue) - 31 Mar 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP).

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.

Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP).

Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank all respondents, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC), and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland for seed funding for the survey. Moreover, thanks to Community Care ©, Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Midwifery, Royal College of Occupational Therapists, British Dietetic Association, College of Podiatry, and the NISCC for advertising and promoting the study. The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Filter Ethics Committee in the School of Nursing at Ulster University (Ref No. 2020/5/3.1, April 23, 2020, Ulster University; Ulster University IRAS Ref No. 20/0073). The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP).

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.

Keywords

Working conditions
wellbeing
social care workers
social workers
COVID- 19

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1177/14680173221109483

Working_Conditions_in_COVID_Article_2_Author Accepted Manuscript, 235 KB

Cite this

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title = "Working conditions and well-being in UK social care and social work during COVID-19",

abstract = "SummaryStress and mental health are among the biggest causes of sickness absence in the UK, with the Social Work and Social Care sectors having among the highest levels of stress and mental health sickness absence of all professions in the UK. Chronically poor working conditions are known to impact employees' psychological and physiological health. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected both the mode and method of work in Social Care and Social Work. Through a series of cross-sectional online surveys, completed by a total of 4,950 UK Social Care and Social Workers, this study reports the changing working conditions and well-being of UK Social Care and Social Workers at two time points (phases) during the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsAll working conditions and well-being measures were found to be significantly worse during Phase 2 (November–January 2021) than Phase 1 (May–July 2020), with worse psychological well-being than the UK average in Phase 2. Furthermore, our findings indicate that in January 2021, feelings about general well-being, control at work, and working conditions predicted worsened psychological well-being.ApplicationsOur findings highlight the importance of understanding and addressing the impact of the pandemic on the Social Care and Social Work workforce, thus highlighting that individuals, organizations, and governments need to develop mechanisms to support these employees during and beyond the pandemic.",

keywords = "Working conditions, wellbeing, social care workers, social workers, COVID- 19",

author = "Jermaine Ravalier and Neill, {Ruth D.} and {Mc Fadden}, Paula and Jill Manthorpe and Patricia Gillen and John Mallett and Patricia Nicholl and Heike Schroder and Denise Currie and John Moriarty",

note = "Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2022. Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP). Funding Information: The authors would like to thank all respondents, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC), and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland for seed funding for the survey. Moreover, thanks to Community Care {\textcopyright}, Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Midwifery, Royal College of Occupational Therapists, British Dietetic Association, College of Podiatry, and the NISCC for advertising and promoting the study. The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Filter Ethics Committee in the School of Nursing at Ulster University (Ref No. 2020/5/3.1, April 23, 2020, Ulster University; Ulster University IRAS Ref No. 20/0073). The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2022.",

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AU - Neill, Ruth D.

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AU - Manthorpe, Jill

AU - Gillen, Patricia

AU - Mallett, John

AU - Nicholl, Patricia

AU - Schroder, Heike

AU - Currie, Denise

AU - Moriarty, John

N1 - Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP). Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022. Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP). Funding Information: The authors would like to thank all respondents, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC), and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland for seed funding for the survey. Moreover, thanks to Community Care ©, Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Midwifery, Royal College of Occupational Therapists, British Dietetic Association, College of Podiatry, and the NISCC for advertising and promoting the study. The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Filter Ethics Committee in the School of Nursing at Ulster University (Ref No. 2020/5/3.1, April 23, 2020, Ulster University; Ulster University IRAS Ref No. 20/0073). The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was funded by seed funding from the Northern Ireland Social Care Council and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, and the NIHR Policy Research Programme grant to the NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's College London (grant number NIHR PRP). Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.

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N2 - SummaryStress and mental health are among the biggest causes of sickness absence in the UK, with the Social Work and Social Care sectors having among the highest levels of stress and mental health sickness absence of all professions in the UK. Chronically poor working conditions are known to impact employees' psychological and physiological health. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected both the mode and method of work in Social Care and Social Work. Through a series of cross-sectional online surveys, completed by a total of 4,950 UK Social Care and Social Workers, this study reports the changing working conditions and well-being of UK Social Care and Social Workers at two time points (phases) during the COVID-19 pandemic.FindingsAll working conditions and well-being measures were found to be significantly worse during Phase 2 (November–January 2021) than Phase 1 (May–July 2020), with worse psychological well-being than the UK average in Phase 2. Furthermore, our findings indicate that in January 2021, feelings about general well-being, control at work, and working conditions predicted worsened psychological well-being.ApplicationsOur findings highlight the importance of understanding and addressing the impact of the pandemic on the Social Care and Social Work workforce, thus highlighting that individuals, organizations, and governments need to develop mechanisms to support these employees during and beyond the pandemic.

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Working conditions and well-being in UK social care and social work during COVID-19

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Making a Difference:The Symbiotic Value of Workforce Wellbeing Research for Regulators

HSC UK Workforce Wellbeing and Coping (C-19 Study) - Phase 1 to 5

A scoping review on applied drama methods used in social work education

Cite this

Working conditions and well-being in UK social care and social work during COVID-19

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Activities

Making a Difference:The Symbiotic Value of Workforce Wellbeing Research for Regulators

HSC UK Workforce Wellbeing and Coping (C-19 Study) - Phase 1 to 5

Research output

A scoping review on applied drama methods used in social work education

Cite this