The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on UK Older People’s Social Workers: A Mixed-Methods Study

• Published in: The British journal of social work Vol. 53; no. 8; pp. 3838 - 3859
• Main Authors: MacLochlainn, Justin, Manthorpe, Jill, Mallett, John, McGrory, Susan, Ravalier, Jermaine, Nicholl, Patricia, Schroder, Heike, Currie, Denise, McFadden, Paula
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 07.12.2023
• Subjects: COVID-19; well-being; older people’s social workers; working conditions; retention
• DOI: 10.1093/bjsw/bcad139
• ISSN: 0045-3102

Abstract The social work profession was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we examined the well-being, working conditions and intentions to leave the social work profession among a sample of UK older people’s social workers. This was a cross-sectional mixed methods study analysing data from 426 social workers who worked in older people’s services in the UK at five time points of the pandemic spanning 2020–2022. Data were collected using anonymous online surveys which included both quantitative and qualitative questions. The mental well-being of participants decreased as the pandemic progressed and this decline was associated with intentions to leave the profession. Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed two major themes: Practice challenges and Staff well-being. The findings highlight the nature of stressors related to internal related practice demands, and external health and social care service stressors encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic and have implications for policy, practice and research in older people’s social work. In this article, we examined the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being, working conditions of social workers employed in UK older people’s services and their intentions to leave the social work profession. Data came from a wider study of health and social care practitioners who completed online surveys at five different time points during the COVID-19 pandemic. The surveys contained both quantitative and qualitative questions. We analysed the responses of 426 social workers who worked in older people’s services between May 2020 and July 2022 and found that: The well-being of older people’s social workers declined as the pandemic progressed and remained low in comparison to UK population norms. Lower well-being scores were associated with greater intentions to leave the social work profession. In comparison to older people’s social workers who were aged sixty plus years, those aged between twenty and forty years were more than seven times more likely to state their intentions to leave social work. Lastly, respondents voiced concerns over staffing levels and staff absences; feelings of being unsupported and isolated; increased pressures; and a blurring of home–work boundaries.