Social workers do not feel supported in their workplaces to speak about how they’ve been affected by the war in Gaza, a Community Care poll has found.
UK practitioners have been deeply affected by the conflict, in which over 36,000 people have been killed in Gaza due to Israeli attacks, following the killing of about 1,139 people and the taking of 253 hostages in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
However, children’s social worker Alshad Dustagheer told Community Care that “there isn’t an invitation or a safe space for practitioners to talk about how they’re feeling”.
“For me, it’s a lack of leadership, because I think the leadership in the social work profession should be saying, ‘Well actually, let’s talk about this’,” he added.
Findings from a recent Community Care poll, which amassed 570 votes, reflected Dustagheer’s experience, with the majority of practitioners (81%) not feeling supported to speak about the Israel-Gaza war at work.
Only 19% said they did.
‘Social workers feel pressured into self-censorship’
Some practitioners commenting on the related article reported a pressure on social workers to remain silent about their views and feelings.
“Personally, I think it is important that we are open about our opinions and feelings. I do not think it is healthy to skirt around the issues and be indifferent,” said Nathan Servini.
“I think some social workers can feel pressured into self-censorship and not expressing their views, worried that they might come over as controversial, not matching the narrative of the wider establishment.”
Another practitioner, Eirene, said her team was sent an email telling them that discussing the events in Gaza would be a breach of contract and that any symbols of support would not be allowed.
“When a colleague in response used a peace symbol mug she was told to stop using it with a veiled threat of a possible disciplinary [procedure]. That’s the environment in which we work.”
Pauline said the war was an issue that “our managers and sector leaders shut us up on”.
‘Directors need to help affected staff manage emotional health’
Philip, meanwhile, highlighted the impact of the conflict on social workers who felt a more direct connection with the war.
“Social workers who are from Muslim and Jewish faiths must be exhausted mentally and spiritually about current events on the world stage when in the UK they already suffer discrimination, racism and prejudice,” Philip added.
“Service directors should have a plan in place for those whose origins are not from the UK to enable them to feel safe, secure [and able] to manage their emotional health while at work.”
Have you been able to start conversations about the Israel-Gaza war in your workplace?
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Whilst what is happening/has happened in Israel and Gaza is awful, the whole thing is so divisive and political that it is better not to talk about it at work. People tend to be on one side of the other and it just creates unnecessary arguments. We are also understaffed and overworked and our priority is to the people who we work with. The events in Israel and Gaza are the least of our concerns, and the least of the concerns of the people we are trying to help.
This is the on the one hand on the other hand argument that conveniently ignores not only the humanitarian dimension of what’s “awful’ but also that there are people we are colleagues with and service users we work with who are personally effected by what’s happening. Asking someone like me to ignore what’s happening in the world when my partner is Palestinian and also expecting Jewish colleagues ignore their own distress is the kind of social work that offers nothing outside of a bubble of meaningless ‘professionalism’. For social work to have any relevance for “people we are trying to help” it has to engage in society and communities. Otherwise social work just becomes sterile task completion and box ticking which generally does little address people’s concerns. Differing with colleagues over any event isn’t about creating “unnecessary arguments” but rather shows that some of us see debate and disagreement as integral to social work. Otherwise we become the very thing social work isn’t, namely bureaucrats mechanistically carrying out the orders made on us by other better paid bureaucrats. Shutting us away from what’s perceived as “divisive” surely also means we never talk about racism, homophobia, religious differences, sexism, cultural differences and the like. I and scores of social workers will never shy from expressing our views on those either.
This is a cop out response.
If managers are so dictatorial about this issue, about what other matters are they setting the pace, working conditions, 50+ hours working week, excessive and dangerous level of caseloads? Hardly a safe working environment, eh?
Social Work is routed in social justice, humanity, it should be a challenging profession, For me it has been extremely distressing to watch. I think it is important to have open conversations otherwise become complicit. I agree if we cannot talk about this situation then how are we going to talk about other issues.
I am not surprised at the results of the survey at all. I am a Muslim/Arab social worker and was deeply affected and frankly traumatised at the beginning of the war. I was barely functioning at one point and had a constant headache/feeling anxious and tearful; I would just collapse at the end of the working day trying to recover enough for the next working day. I was quieter at work (not like me) just trying to hold it together…I don’t know if anyone noticed at work but no one asked. I think even if they did notice they probably didn’t ask because they just didn’t know how to handle it. I would say no one checking in with me made it much worse and made me feel people don’t care and if this was happening to me and my children no one would care. I had to say something in the end and I did to my lovely colleagues in my peer supervision group and their response was so kind and compassionate I think it was a turning point, because I realised people did care and given half a chance they would be supportive. I believe they didn’t feel confident to raise it though because they didn’t know how to or even if they were allowed to perhaps? When there is no one senior leading the way and showing staff that work is a safe place to talk about major global events, particularly when there is such a high level of trauma being live-streamed through our TV’s daily, then they naturally just shy away from such sensitive matters. I would say, if social work is truly anti-oppressive then why is it largely ignoring one of the greatest oppressions we are witnessing in recent history- we all need to do better.
I think one of the things which would make me feel unable to speak in the workplace about a bitter conflict which has been seething over two thousand miles away since the late 1940s is a lack of spare time because of the burden of an enormous case load.
Presumably the large caseloads of social workers also prevent them making a cup of tea, saying good morning and hello, not thinking about the weekly shop, ignoring when the car needs an MOT with the working days passing in monastic silence. Undoubtedly caseload pressures are so much more immense compared to being constantly bombed, shot at by snipers, seeing homes turn into rubble, hospitals demolished, carrying dead babies in plastic bags, suffering amputations without anastesia, identifying dead ones by scraps of hair and fragments of teeth, children dying of malnutrition. A world truly turned upside down.
Which bit is the cop out?
sorry Abdul…. reply was not to your response, it was for the one you replied to …. .where he says…. “The events in Israel and Gaza are the least of our concerns, and the least of the concerns of the people we are trying to help”
I realised that eventually. Thanks for taking the time again.