The daunting and irritating thing was that many of the responses implied, however kindly, that the writer should be able to cope. They did not say all that much about the overwork being unacceptable. I was amazed at the seeming agreement that it has to be the way it is! No wonder we got lumbered with it! What is this fear that has us all in its grip? I have noticed this in the office.
I responded with a bit of a rant, which I may regret. I was very forthright about the system and the culture of social work. I asked if anyone had any ideas about what to do about it. I really wanted to say. please don't let's accept that it's OK that the system is the way it is and that it is our own fault if we can't cope! Such a clever bit of brainwashing.... well I need a rest from the struggle now and again!
This week I was a little less overwhelmed. That doesn't make the system OK, just that I might be finding a sort of escape. So today I want to concentrate mostly on keeping sane in the job.....and keeping my head above water! What helps me to escape from going under, in spite of the system?
Writing this blog.. I feel better after I have written. It helps me stay detached and I enjoy putting the grist in the mill.It is empowering! (I wish I had more time and energy to write creatively about clients. But one of the "costs" of the system is that I don't want to think about clients when I am not in work. When I work a 10 hour day, and have so much ridiculous paperwork to do, I need to relax when I am not at work. I would resent giving any more energy to the job in actually thinking about clients. So I don't give them much benefit of my attention in a creative way. Perhaps I could do occasional writing that is aimed at finding solutions for clients, not just listing problems.Too bad it would have to happen off the job! The most important, fundamental thing is....
Remembering who I am. That means, connecting with "I" as I do the job. The "I" who is more than my job. It's amazing how challenging it is to do that, in a bureaucratic system. The whole thing is geared to creating a smooth machine, and we are little cogs in the machine. The machine is not interested in our feelings, just our function. The trick is, not to believe it. Do the stuff that must be done, but remember who I am. I am a human being who likes working in a quiet environment, I like privacy, I like having time to do things properly. Not having those things and missing them does not make me a bad person, whatever the system says! I have a kind of mantra that helps me do this- "no matter what...I am OK.I have the right to see things my way." I am not a machine. This is my precious life and so I practise....
Seizing the moments. Noticing things I come across that are beautiful. Taking a second or two to do this at the time if I can.. Beauty lifts my spirits and it is so absent in the office. So absent. Thankfully I am not always in the office. I see flowers in people's gardens. I saw a single amazing apple on a tree this week. I see the sun from the office kitchen window....I saw a beautiful school building on a late visit yesterday. It's vital to notice these things. I also remember who I am by...
Taking time for me during the work day. Relaxing for 10 or 15 minutes. Going to a coffee shop even if I don't have the full hour for lunch. When I am out and about, I can stop and have a cup of tea. They haven't yet installed tracking devices under our skins so why not? Even if I also make notes about work in the cafe, I am somewhere else than the office. I feel I am part of the rest of the world not a bureaucratic cog. It helps to spend a few minutes every day...
Dreaming about a better way of doing the job, a better system. I won't start on this topic properly here, but I do know of an approach that I like, Signs of Safety. I don't know how the whole system could be better but I know it's possible. If we were using creativity, had supportive management, based on a holistic understanding of people, so much more could be done. What sense does it make to do keep focussing on the problem, describing the problem, analysing the problem, recording the problem? If our energy was focussed on finding solutions, and creating solutions instead of on covering our backs and avoiding punishment or exposure, how much more effective the profession would be! It could be exciting, constructive and rewarding. It could make a real difference to children's lives. Signs of Safety takes an approach that works, but it has to be a real change not just tacked on to the old system. Scometimes it's great to switch off completely by...
Doing something FUN at the weekend, other than watching TV and eating lovely food. That takes planning, but it is worth the effort to switch off completely from the job. Of course it's wonderful having unplanned, unstructured time, but life needs variety. Then I go back to the office a little refreshed. I can help myself stay sane by
Making it as easy as possible to deal with. minutiae. Things like, having my own checklist of tasks per child per case and ticking them off. Have headed paper with me to do written agreements. Keep all papers and notes about a family together in a plastic folder. The office may be paperless, but I 'm not! Sometimes
Doing some work at home is better for staying sane, than being rigid about not doing this. Within limits of course! I don't want to come home and work for 3 hours every night. But writing up an Initial Assessment is so much easier when it is done "fresh" and the memories are vivid. So writing a draft assessment in an hour or so at home after the visit is OK for me at the moment.Better that than struggling to remember vital details and spending 4 hours on it later.Always though,
Knowing what I have to do is crucial. When it's frantic, it's easy to get caught up in Do Do Do and then I feel overwhelmed. If I know what I have to do, even if I don't have the time to do it, I feel slightly more in charge of my work.If I get the chance, remember to...
Picking colleagues' brains, how do they do it? (Stay organized that is!) I have had a few ideas from others .It's just finding the time to talk to my colleagues about anything, including work, that's the real challenge here.For example what about...
Using a new case check list. In the crazy system we have, there is an advantage to have a checklist that I design, which I understand! It helps me keep track of what I need to do and when. The devil is, truly, in the details. But let's try to give the powers that be what they want, with the least amount of wasted time and effort on my part. It could take up most of the working day, satisfying the powers that be. (In fact, it probably is the main real aim of the job.) The first things on that list are to start a note of vital information which will come from different places at different times. And send an appointment letter immediately. Then remember about
Writing lists of tasks every day. This is different from the new case list.It is more of an ongoing mammoth to do list. It's possible to have so much to do that you forget to make a list and then all that stuff is floating around in your head. Stressful. Not fun. Writing it down is a lifesaver.Especially when you have 10 schools to contact before half term tomorrow, 3 Child Protection investigations, untouched new cases and deadlines approaching. ...either you run from the office screaming which could be embarrassing, or you make a list and remember to look at it. Maybe we should all run from the office screaming but in the meantime
Using standard letters, and post or email requests for information is better than ringing around. This is a short cut that is purely for efficiency. Of course we are meant to be working closely with other professionals but as they are similarly chasing their tails, it is tedious and timewasting to chase your tail chasing them as they chase their tails... And it saves writing stuff down if they send emails. And you can prove you tried to contact them so it slightly covers your back. Of course it doesn't really build working relationships and it discourages probing for the deeper issues through an actual discussion. But hey ho, there must be some casualities in the war that is now social work practice on the frontline.Oh and it's less distracting for your colleagues in the office than a phone call. And it's cheaper! And since the direct line doesn't have voice mail (or shouldn't) why give someone else the work of taking a message if you aren't in the office. And in the midst of all this laborious minutiae...
Remembering why I entered the profession is a good thing. I wanted to help people. Really! It was just that simple. I also wanted to make a difference and not just go through the motions or put people through a conveyor belt process. Hah! I still do want to help people so
Remembering what I am actually trying to do is a very good thing. Keep coming back to...
Focussing on the children. The system is not their fault, so I mustn't take my anger out on them. I am dealing with flesh and blood children, not ID numbers or players in virtual reality. The system is a virtual system. The children are real. Cutting corners on the prescriptive paperwork is different from cutting corners when a child is at risk. It can get blurry though, so keep on track by
Asking myself a few simple questions that allow my heart to have a say. Social work has become so left brained and rational, it loses sight of the fact that what we want to know is....
What is this child's life like?
Is the child being mistreated or abused by anyone?
Is this child having a miserable life?
Is this child's life being ruined by how they are being treated?
Is the child in danger?
Do the parents care?
Do they accept there is a problem?
Is there a real need for something to change?
Is the child's life good enough?
Is the parenting good enough?
How do I know these things?
That's what my job is really about, answering those questions in a meaningful and honest way. I can only do the best I can in the limited time available. I may not always get it right, and when it comes to clients...
Being realistic is a necessity.
People aren't perfect. Parents can be struggling, cruel, stupid or totally overwhelmed. Or good enough. Or great. Children can be lovable, or a bit of a challenge or both. If I have a clear focus on the child's life experience, and how life is for the child, I will probably have done a good enough job.I can't make things perfect. A child is a person living a life, and it's not always that easy to see life through another person's eyes but I do try. And I haven't given up yet! Because in the midst of it all I also am living my life and
Seeing a deeper meaning.
I do have a spiritual perspective on life, which has sometimes been more theory than practice. But I do believe there is a deeper purpose for my life, and a significance in all life. We aren't just bodies with feelings, we are spiritual beings. I still need to go deeper into that experience. One flash of insight that I had this week was that I could choose to see the pressure to do initial assessments so quickly as an encouragement to me to live "in the now". Respond to life now. That is part of seeing the whole job as a spiritual challenge. I always have that choice.Then staying on top, coping, is not the be all and end all. Then I am free to be in the system, but not of the system.
Another poem of Rilke-
"Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower"
by Rainer Maria Rilke; translation by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows
Quiet friend who has come so far, feel how your breathing makes more space around you. Let this darkness be a bell tower and you the bell. As you ring, what batters you becomes your strength. Move back and forth into the change. What is it like, such intensity of pain? If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine. In this uncontainable night, be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses, the meaning discovered there. And if the world has ceased to hear you, say to the silent earth: I flow. To the rushing water, speak: I am.
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