How Do You Feel About That?

If you would like to listen to the podcast episode on this topic click the appropriate link for your phone at the bottom of this article.

Have you ever thought about just how important and significant your feelings are to you?

How you feel about things, a situation, a person or a pet, determines your attitude towards them, or whatever situation you find yourself in.

When you love someone you're prepared to do pretty much whatever it takes to provide them with what they need or want.

Conversely, when you dislike or loathe a person, it is much harder to find the motivation or willingness to do even the bare minimum for them.

Your feelings, thoughts and views are then super important in determining your attitude to people or whatever is going on in your life.

We all know just how crucial are thoughts and feelings are to us; even though they may mean nothing at all to others.

As social workers we are constantly asking children what their feelings, wishes and thoughts are about one thing or another, and we do the same with parents and family members.

We do this with children because we know how important their wishes and feelings are to their sense of wellbeing, and want them to know we care about their feelings and wishes, even if we cannot ensure they get what they want.

With parents we consult with them and request their thoughts and views because we know how significant they are to their children and that they can either support or undermine any plans made to safeguard them.

We also seek their views and feelings because they represent part of the assessment of their capacity to parent.

Any way you look at it, your feelings are highly important to you, and yet when it comes to social workers, your feelings are denied, or are insignificant in the eyes of your managers, employers and the courts.

Following the line of thought of recognising how significant your feelings are to your sense of wellbeing, what then is the likely impact on your self esteem and health?

I conducted a poll on LinkedIn a few months ago, asking participants whether they would encourage a loved one to become a social worker, and they were to choose from 3 possible answers:

No.

Yes, but for a short time only, and

Yes, indefinitely.

Four hundred and thirty one people participated and the outcome of the poll was as follows:

67% (287 people) voted No.

12% (50 people) voted Yes, but for a short time only.

22% (94 people) voted Yes Indefinitely.

78% of participant then would not encourage people they loved to become a social worker for an indefinite time period, and for me that speaks volumes about how most people feel about the profession.

Clearly there are a number of reasons why people voted the way they did, but I suspect; and reflecting on the significance of the connection between our feelings and our wellbeing, I believe that the lack of concern about the feelings of social workers is a highly critical factor affecting this result.

Given that there is a national shortage of social workers, and an increasing demand for them, you might think that the social work profession might wish to learn something to help improve how social workers feel about their work.

Would that be too much to expect from those who who claim to care about children and vulnerable groups in our society?

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/incredible-witness/id1679934113

https://open.spotify.com/show/5w3CWjV1CcwdsA7tTiAPVO?si+43d84dcf6c8049ed