Workplace friendships help social work retention, finds poll

Most social workers feel workplace friendships help them stay longer with their employers, a Community Care poll has found.

The finding supports recent research with 10 practitioners by social worker Anna Bedford, which found that workplace friendships helped participants “survive” the profession and kept them safe. 

“The research showed that friendships at work can inject fun during long days and strengthen loyalty towards organisations,” she wrote.

Some of the participants, whose careers spanned five to 30 years, commended their social work friends for being their inspiration or encouraging them to put themselves up for promotions.

In response to our poll, which garnered 554 votes, two-thirds of respondents said friendships with colleagues contributed “very much” (36%) or “quite a lot” (30%) to them remaining with their current employer. 

‘Couldn’t do the job without them’

Social workers commenting on Anna’s article also admitted their colleagues are the ones helping them “get through the day”.

“No one understands the pressure of an Ofsted visit or [putting new] policy changes into practice as much as the person sat next to you,” said one practitioner.

“I’m currently debating moving on and my only factor in staying is my team and my co-manager. Couldn’t do the job without them.”

“In the absence of any, let alone reflective, supervision, the only validation, empathy, understanding and emotional support we [receive] is from our colleagues,” added Dan. 

“I can’t say I’m particularly close friends with the colleagues I value but I know I couldn’t get through any work day without them.”

Tell us how your colleagues helped you through a tough day at work in the comments below.