A study by unions representing the sector also found 40 per cent are exposed to aggressive or physically abusive behaviour at least once a month.
Ruth is a Christian social worker based in London.
She told Premier’s News Hour that dealing with people is always complex: “You find out that it’s an ongoing process – it’s really difficult.
“So I think that it comes to a point where you think, ‘is it myself or is it the client?’ and I think that sometimes if you’re not giving 100 per cent you would rather just say, ok, I think I need to do something different.”
The online survey questioned almost 3,500 social workers and was carried out for the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and its trade union arm, the Social Workers Union (SWU).
Most called for smaller caseloads or more staff and co-working on the most difficult cases to make the job less stressful.
Ruth said many social workers stick with their jobs by remembering the reason they entered the profession.
“The main reason why you come into social work is because you do have compassion for people,” she explained.
“It’s difficult – you tend to just stay in there because you have to remember the reason why you joined there in the first place.”
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