Social Worker Took Her Own Life.- This could have been me.

https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2018/08/15/social-worker-took-life-stress-caused-work-arrangements-coroner-rules/

Behind the headlines is the story of 66 year old Annie Peel from Cumbria......In a nutshell, she found the pressure of the job intolerable and was facing competency intervention, two complaints and had a manager she did not like. She had had bouts of mental ill health before during her 28 year career...  Cumbria of course, considers "The health and wellbeing of all its staff to be of the utmost importance...continues to invest in the wellbeing of our workforce... " and the report helpfully includes contact details of The Samaritans, in case anyone is upset by it. 

This could have been me...I haven't been doing social work for 2.5 years now as I didn't want to put up with the craziness any more. I knew of an office which had 3 staff die in the course of a year, all stress related. One a young woman of 33 who had a brain tumour. It is sad, as when I started the job back in the 80's, it wasn't perfect but there was a recognition that the work was demanding and people had more realistic work loads and working hours...and I'm sure I did better work with families. 

This social worker who died was in her 60's, and didn't get the help she needed. I'm glad that the coroner made a clear link between her work and the stress that drove her to take her own life.   A Social Worker commenting on the article says "Younger management often bully older experienced staff. My experience is that older staff are not wanted and they certainly are not supported."  This is borne out in the original article.. Anni Peel wanted to move into a less demanding, lower grade job.  I assumed at first she wanted to move from being a social worker to being a social work assistant. Not so.

Annie Peel was a team manager who wanted to have less responsibility. She had how many social workers reporting to her directly or indirectly?  Most likely at least 20.  I know from experience that is very stressful.  At her age, and already with mental health issues in her history (most likely also work related, but that is not spelt out), why did her employers not accept that?  

She was a person who, according to the local paper,  "... had a great sense of humour that could lift spirits and colleagues and families alike held Annie in their affection. The shock of Annie's untimely death has been felt in the Carlisle teams but also across the county." I know so many social workers who might fit that description, How sad that her sense of humour was not quite enough to see the ridiculousness of her employers putting her through the machinations of capability rather than employ someone new and untried.  If her work was really that bad, why not move her along with dignity to a less arduous post?  At 66 this does not seem unreasonable... Why could this not happen?

But managers, even Directors are driven by political pressures including cost saving. And more than that, it is society's choice to prize the culture of "work till you drop and then some more", if it will save some money.  Will people actually pay for a service with enough staff?   The  employer preferred to persecute her, is how it reads.  Another commenter who gives her name as Anne Edwards... 

"Can there be anyone who has not experienced agonising panic attacks, huge anxiety and daily fear that something may go wrong. It is harder for older workers who may struggle more than younger people e.g. with computerised records or with the pace of work, especially if the person suffers from health issues ( more common as one ages)"   and one commenter says;
"I’m thoroughly ashamed sometimes to be associated with my own profession for failing in its duty of care to its own staff and being so frightened of the bogey man (Ofsted) that they fail staff and in turn children..."  This sounds like internalized oppression, experienced by persecuted minorities whose self respect is deeply eroded by the way they are treated so that they turn on themselves...

Although I have now been out of social work for 2.5 years, I have friends still there, and I know it is not improving.  But now I'm aware of the wider picture too.  The general acceptance of stress as normal part of working life.  Research in vast amounts highlights the link between stress and deterioration in physical and mental health. But in general  mainstream just ignores it with a bit of handwringing and tokenism. 

I think it's the first time I've read an article in commuity care highlighting this issue quite so clearly, often it's full of what social workers have got wrong etc... But I do think it is about a bigger picture of how we define being human,I feel we got besotted with computers and have misused technology so that it dehumanises as an agent of control.. It's so interesting that children in Silicon Valley are sent to a WALDORF school and are not given gadgets till age 11... it sounds remote from talking about stress in social work but there is a connection. You may know what I mean...? 

 I cannot really understand how it is that (speaking in shorthand) we think it is OK for a small number of people to half kill themselves working 60 plus hours a week whilst many many people have no work at all. Yet we are increasing the retirement age. And part time work is limited.And we complain about loneliness and poor care of the elderly and children not having empathy etc etc... and mental ill health and suicide rates amongst children.... 

Meditation, faith,  spiritual practice and other forms of self care etc kept me fairly sane through some challenging times.  Now I might teach meditation but it is a bit frustrating to see how we think it is OK to be frenetic most of the time, as long as we meditate! I may not have expressed this very clearly but I think there is a spiritual, as well as "merely" a health issuse. Yes it's definitely undervalued work and really,  how can stressed, fearful, shamed staff do good work with anyone? 

 I read a book called Whack-a-Mole: The Price We Pay For Expecting Perfection by David Marx, He begins by sharing a story from his own life about how he once did something quite dangerous at home, even though it was his job to be responsible for Health and Safety... It is a long while since I read it but it totally underlined the dangers of a blame culture. I doubt it was read by many social work managers...

 Condolences to Annie's family and I honour her for all the good work she did.  Such a shame to end not just her career, but her life. I am glad that Community Care is publishing this, so often it is reporting on the latest flaws and failings of staff.. and I am glad the Coroner made such a clear judgement.    How can we support each other in a system which is based on divide, intimidate and rule.  I think it needs to be something outside of social work and not just an Employee Wellbeing Service which Annie did not wish to use.   Annie Peel was a team manager who wanted to have less responsibility, why did her employers not accept that?  She was a person who, according to the local paper,  "... had a great sense of humour that could lift spirits and colleagues and families alike held Annie in their affection. The shock of Annie's untimely death has been felt in the Carlisle teams but also across the county."But managers even Directors are driven by political pressures including cost saving.  It is society's choice to prize the culture of work till you drop and then some more, if it will save some money.  Will people actually pay for a service with enough staff? 

That could have been me, but I didn't choose to stay in an exposed role like Team Manager, I didn't choose to stay as a hard pressed front line worker, and eventually I didn't choose to stay in any local authority social work job.  Life is different now, uncertain, challenging, but I'm not oppressed, shamed and harried on a daily basis.  I wish I could help those who are.
  
And I think I've needed 2.5 years to detox...It's not easy looking back at a working life much which was a case of surviving and maintaining sanity within a system designed, deliberately or not, to turn people into puppets. And in which I feel I wasted much of my creativity and potential.. But at least I am alive!  Annie Peel did not see a way through her current stressful situation and there, but by the grace of God, I did.