Throughout a social worker’s education and career, we are consistently taught to approach our practice through a client‑centric lens, prioritizing the dignity, self‑determination and respect of those we serve.
The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) Code of Ethics guides us to advocate for individuals, families and communities with integrity and a commitment to social justice. These values are deeply ingrained in our practice, shaping how we engage with clients and how we navigate systems and challenge inequities.
Yet, I often find myself wondering why a social worker’s well‑being is not highlighted as a standalone standard or ethic.
While our ethics are important to support clients, we often fail to extend that same care and compassion toward ourselves and our social work colleagues. Too often, we end up putting our own needs last, leading to burnout, job dissatisfaction and low morale. We gently remind clients that they cannot care for others unless they first care for themselves, yet we rarely apply that same principle to ourselves. The question is why this happens and why it has become the norm within our profession.
We are often taught to remain stoic, yet empathetic and to persevere, no matter the cost to us and our families. We must remain resilient for the sake of those we support, while accepting an income that fails to reflect the true value of our work, leaving many of us in precarious financial situations. Social workers experience a high level of responsibility, yet our wages do not reflect the weight of the work that we perform.
The social work profession requires extensive, costly and highly specialized education that is ongoing until we leave the profession. We are often expected to pay out of pocket for the continuing education credits that are required each year to remain a registered social worker and practice within the field. We often try to source free training opportunities, and are considered lucky if our organization sponsors some education. Throughout my time as a social worker, it has become evident that many of my colleagues are often working “side hustles” or multiple jobs, which we often wear as a badge of honour. This is contributing to our high burnout rates and reducing our ability to perform self-care.
Social workers consistently report overwhelming caseloads, challenges with retention, exposure to violence, high levels of stress, moral injury and caregiver burnout/compassion fatigue. A recent Saltwire article addressed these very concerns in Newfoundland and Labrador, concerns that can be found in other provinces and across the country.
I have often been told that because I chose to be a social worker, I should expect to be psychologically injured and poorly compensated.
I have often been told by leadership, the community and colleagues that because I chose to be a social worker, I should expect to be psychologically injured and poorly compensated. But regardless of the profession, no one deserves to be harmed at work and compensation should reflect the education, experience and nature of a position. Social workers often take work home or put in extra hours without additional pay, driven by a sense of loyalty or the belief that it’s the right thing to do. Social work students are expected to complete unpaid work placements, and in my experience, many organizations rely on this unpaid labour to carry out essential tasks.
Low wages, stress, and high demands are making private practice more attractive for social workers as they can be better compensated and work reasonable hours, leaving the public system without the required resources, resulting in high staff turnover.
Social workers do not enter the field to become financially wealthy, but we should expect a decent living wage. I once proudly wore a button that read, “Social workers will work for cupcakes.” Looking back, I realize that I was embracing (and promoting) a mindset that normalized accepting low wages for work that carries immense responsibility and high expectations. The organizations in which we work, our social work standards, the public, and even our own colleagues often reinforce this discourse, making conversations about money feel taboo and leaving us to believe (or accept) that passion for the work should replace fair compensation.
I often wonder if we simply lack the time or energy to collectively advocate for ourselves due to demanding workloads and high stress. I also question why caring professions, fields largely staffed by women remain overworked and underpaid.
Social workers are taught to engage in self-care, but this is an individualized perspective and puts the onus on the worker. Organizations, the broader social work profession, the public, and colleagues also share a responsibility to engage in collective care for social workers, along with all caring professionals. This includes wages that reflect our value and reasonable working expectations.
There is a beautiful quote that comes to mind when I reflect about the responsibility of collective care: “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” We need to change the social work discourse and change the landscape in which we are expected to work.
There are solutions, but to reach them, we must come together as a collective and be heard. Social work regulatory bodies, professional associations, working groups, organizations and individual social workers are doing important work to ensure our voices are heard. With the high demands of our roles, it can be difficult to take on additional committees or advocacy efforts, yet having a voice in these spaces remains essential.
We must also do a better job of teaching social work students about the realities of burnout, compassion fatigue and trauma. I remember thinking it would never happen to me because I was tough, but I truly didn’t understand the toll that social work demands. I even believed it would be acceptable to live in poverty, because that’s what so many portrayals of social work had taught me to expect (movies, TV shows, social media). We must do more to coach new social workers to recognize their worth and to ensure they care for their own well‑being as intentionally as they care for others. The health-care sector references a quality‑assurance framework known as the Quadruple Aim: better patient experience, improved population health, lower costs and improving the work life of health-care providers. By adopting a similar framework, we acknowledge that excellent client care is linked to the wellbeing of the staff who provide it.
