Social work can often feel like an unwelcoming concept, a thankless job that is nothing but stress personified. In this article I want to try and highlight some of the more positive aspects of social care, and show that it is not all doom and gloom.
Firstly, if there is one thing you can say about social care, it’s that it is definitely varied. There’s no chance of entering a monotonous routine like you would in other jobs. This variation might not always be welcome, but if you’re a person who believes that variety is very much the spice of life, then social work will provide that.
Secondly, social care allows you to make a genuine difference to someone else’s life. For example, helping disabled members of society feel fulfilled and be an active member of the community. These sort of moments are almost what makes the job worthwhile. These sort of breakthroughs, for some workers, might not be the most common occurrence. But it is often the case that when breakthroughs are far and few in between, the moments become much bigger events. Returning to the example, you may be finding it extremely hard to get someone to feel like they are an active member of society, perhaps due to the difficulties or extent of their disability, or sometimes due to the lack of someone’s motivation. But when this does occur, the struggle to get there makes the satisfaction so much more worthwhile.
Thirdly, the bonds you make in social care are extremely special and unique. This applies to both those you are caring for and your coworkers. In most social care roles, you will be looking after the same person or people on a daily routine, thus you will get to know them very well. A lot of the time, you will be one of their few, or only point of human contact, which can sound daunting at first. But, once you become used to this rather sad truth, then you truly embrace it and you can be satisfied in the knowledge you are providing that much needed point of human contact and making someone’s life that bit more enjoyable. No one will understand the highs and the lows of what you are going through more than your coworkers, this results in forming very different but equally important bonds with them alongside those you are caring for, and the sense of comradery that emerges is one of the strongest in any profession.
This article cannot do justice to the joys of social work, due to how unique so many of the experiences are, but I am hoping that it is not just the doom and gloom that pops into your mind the next time you think about a career in social care.
