The Social Work Relationship, Self-Care, and Healthy Work Environments

by Darla Spence Coffey, Ph.D., MSW

Council on Social Work Education, President and Chief Executive Officer

     Happy Social Work Month!

     I’ve been very appreciative that The New Social Worker has been highlighting the importance of self-care over the last several months. When I get a chance to talk to students graduating with their social work degrees, I encourage them to make self-care a priority, to consider it a part of their job description. There is no doubt that the kind of work social workers do is challenging. Working with people who have been hurt, neglected, and/or disenfranchised can get exhausting. When the work gets overwhelming and the cost of caring feels too high, it is human nature to step back and create distance. This is a way in which we protect ourselves.  However, if social workers don’t figure out how to do their work without stepping back, they will not be effective.  To effect change, we must remain close enough to those with whom we are working to be affected by them – our work takes place within the context of a genuine and trusting relationship. Relationships simply don’t work if one person “phones it in.”

     As important as self-care is, it is unfair to suggest that the onus for ensuring that social workers remain healthy and engaged is on the social worker, alone. That’s kind of like blaming the victim when things don’t go well. To be fair, no amount of yoga or mindfulness can protect you from an unhealthy environment. We need to remember that the person-in-environment framework for understanding our clients and client systems is also one for ourselves. Social workers deserve to work in and with organizations that prioritize health and wholeness. We need to demand policies and protocols that support manageable workloads, reasonable compensation, space to connect with our co-workers, and support work-life balance.

     Some promising practices are emerging in this space. Flexible hours, collaborative team-based care, and scheduled times to connect with co-workers are just a few ways in which organizations are committing to the health of their employees. Social workers know a great deal about how to facilitate and support health and wholeness. We should be engaged and leading these conversations. 

     This isn’t being selfish or self-centered. It is actually a way to ensure that we can deliver the very best social work to those who need it.

Darla Spence Coffey, Ph.D., MSW, is president and chief executive officer of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). CSWE is the national association of schools and programs of social work, representing nearly 800 accredited undergraduate and graduate programs. CSWE's Commission on Accreditation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the United States. Through its many initiatives, activities, and centers, CSWE supports quality social work education and provides opportunities for leadership and professional development so social workers play a central role in achieving the profession’s goals of social and economic justice.