How to overcome workplace distress, fatigue and burnout by understanding the causes and implementing practical strategies

Stress, fatigue and burnout are serious problems in the social work profession. High case loads, staff shortages, budget cuts and the challenging nature of the job contribute to high levels of stress, and social workers can crack under the pressure.

This accessible book demonstrates how managers and practitioners can overcome workplace distress, fatigue and burnout by understanding the causes and implementing practical strategies. Part 1 outlines how stress, fatigue, burnout and trauma can be identified, how they impact upon social workers, and what strategies can help. Part 2 explores stress in particular settings, covering frontline practice, working with trauma, working with aggressive service users, bullying and violence in the workplace, and making mistakes. The book is rooted in the reality of everyday social work, incorporating the views and experiences of practising social workers.

This book is full of techniques and tips that will be invaluable to all social work managers and practitioners seeking to beat workplace stress overload and burnout.

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The authors should be congratulated for bringing together the experiences of 14 social workers and blending this into an accessible resource for other social workers to draw from... The view was that the accounts of the social workers quoted in the book 'normalized' her own experiences and if she had access to this resource at the time of her own experience it would have helped her significantly to cope. The book, therefore, adds an important and valuable contribution to social workers who are experiencing similar issues and perhaps will assist individuals to manage their health and well-being in a more informed way due to the provision of education about positive coping and strategies, and how to address their workplace issues in advance of irretrievable decisions around job exit... the voices of other social workers' experiences are also very valuable to the target audience... the author is deserving of warm congratulations for the production of an important text to support social work practitioners to develop their coping abilities to manage their well-being and stay healthy at work, and thus improve service user
experiences of safe and quality social work.