Social Worker Burnout: Signs, Causes, & How to Cope

What Is Social Worker Burnout?

Burnout is a state of chronic stress and mental exhaustion that social workers may experience due to exposure to the effects of trauma, poverty, and social or racial inequality daily. Social workers spend a lot of time and energy thinking about, attuning to, and caring for their clients’ needs. Stress becomes toxic when social workers cannot turn this off, take a break, and care for themselves, resulting in burnout. Social workers may also experience decreased productivity and begin to dread or avoid their work.²

Compassion Fatigue in Social Work

Compassion fatigue occurs when social workers internalize concerns for their clients to the point of feeling helpless and ineffective, ultimately losing their ability to experience compassion and empathy. Social workers may feel distant, detached, or indifferent to their clients’ struggles. This disconnection is one of the hallmark signs of burnout. Strong emotional boundaries and self-care can help decrease the risk of compassion fatigue.

Social Worker Burnout Symptoms

A social worker experiencing burnout may notice lost energy and passion. They may start dreading work or feel more cynical, negative, or detached. Some may cancel or run late to client appointments. They may feel exhausted or helpless to change the situation, be less effective in their work, or start daydreaming about leaving the field.

Some signs and symptoms of social work burnout include:³

• Physical and emotional exhaustion or burnout
• Feeling ineffective as a social worker
• Lack of patience and focus
• Loss of enthusiasm for the work
• Heightened irritability
• Feeling emotionally drained 
• Sleep issues/fatigue
• Loss of inspiration
• Feeling distracted or unable to focus
• Increased cynicism or negativity
• Depression
• Anxiety

Causes of Social Worker Burnout

High caseloads, high client acuity, and low pay are well-known causes of social worker burnout. A recent study found that, following the start of COVID-19, 26.21% of social workers met the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 16.22% reported severe grief, 63.71% reported burnout, and 49.59% reported secondary trauma.⁴

Potential causes of social worker burnout include:

• Increased client needs
• High caseloads
• Low wages
• Limited resources
• Organizational structures and stressors
• Ethical dilemmas
• Workplace conflict
• Funding concerns
• Unsafe situations
• Inability to detach from clients’ issues
• Secondary trauma
• Exposure to abuse, poverty, and social and racial inequities
• Financial stress
• Funding requirements
• Deadlines
• Ethical imperative to respond to social justice concerns
• Culture of overwork

Social Work Burnout & COVID-19

Since the start of the pandemic, social workers have faced unprecedented workplace stress as front-line, essential workers. In addition to health and safety concerns about the virus, social workers have faced social and political stressors, racial inequality, unemployment, poverty, lack of access to healthcare, trauma, educational stressors, and grief.⁵

One interesting facet of the pandemic is that social workers must help others while experiencing the same struggles themselves. Social workers face the same fears, insecurities, doubts, workplace difficulties, childcare uncertainties, grief, and loss as their clients, yet they are expected to have the answers.

How to Prevent Social Worker Burnout: 15 Self-Care Tips

Fortunately, social workers can take steps to prevent or manage burnout, including caring for their mental and physical health, setting limits and boundaries, and seeking professional support and consultation. Learning to deal with feeling overwhelmed and practicing stress management is essential.

Ways to prevent social worker burnout include:

1. Practice Physical & Emotional Self-Care

Social workers have all heard the saying, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” This statement is more than a cliche. Physically and emotionally recharging (or refilling) is crucial to staying healthy and helping others.

2. Leave Work at Work

Having rituals when you transition from work time to personal time can be beneficial, especially when working from home. For example, get to a stopping point with current tasks and write down a list of everything that needs to be taken care of the next morning. If commuting, identify a boundary like a river or highway that signifies the end of your workday.

3. Take Advantage of Resources Provided by Your Employer

Employers may have several resources available for burnt out social workers, including supervision, EAP counselors, coaching, and other services. Social workers are encouraged to find out about and take advantage of these resources.

4. Keep an Open Dialogue With Your Boss

Employers often say they are blindsided when they find out an employee is struggling with burnout. Consider talking to your employer about your concerns before burnout becomes more serious.

5. Ask For What You Need

Social workers tend to put their own needs last. To avoid burnout, social workers must identify their own needs and communicate them clearly and directly.

6. Eat Healthy

Physical and mental health are directly related. Eating healthy food will give social workers more energy and vitality to face daily challenges. Since social workers are often on the run, packing healthy nutritious snacks and lunches is helpful.

7. Set Realistic Goals

Social workers can burn themselves out by setting too many goals at once, seeking perfection, or simply being unrealistic about what can be accomplished in a day. You may need to lighten your to-do list and set reasonable goals and expectations.

8. Take a Vacation

Nothing beats a true vacation for unplugging, recharging, and leaving stressors behind. Have a trusted colleague cover your  phone and emails so you can leave the office with confidence. Everyone needs to unplug sometimes, and social workers are no exception (though plan wisely to avoid the post-vacation blues).

9. Build Self-Care Into Your Day

Social workers can incorporate self-care micro-strategies into their busy day so they don’t have to wait for their next vacation to tend to their needs. Ideas to get started include keeping a full water bottle handy, starting the day with a two-minute meditation, standing up to stretch, or listening to music.

10. Connect With Family & Friends & Tap Into Their Support

Like everyone else, social workers need support from people who care about them. Since they are often the ones doing the helping, asking for support can be difficult. Try scheduling a regular date with a friend or family member to help you stay connected.

11. Observe How You React to Client’s Traumas & Make Changes as Needed

Social workers are at risk for secondary trauma due to regular exposure to traumatic experiences, pain, and struggles. Signs of secondary trauma include intrusive thoughts or images, increased startle response, and avoidance of places or people that remind them of these traumatic events. Learning to separate yourself from the job and clients is essential to preserve well-being and prevent burnout.

12. Meditate

Meditation helps many people feel more calm, grounded, and present. Formal meditation means sitting for a specified period of time, and informal meditation is noticing the present moment through the senses. Both types have excellent mental and emotional benefits and are good additions to the daily routine.

13. Exercise

Research supports the link between exercise, improved mood, and reduced workplace stress. 30-60 minutes per day, five days per week is generally regarded as a great place to start.⁶

14. Laugh

Finding ways to laugh, be silly, and have fun is a great way to de-stress and reduce burnout. Laughter releases endorphins, the feel-good chemical that helps people feel happy and content.

15. Seek Out Peer Support & Consultation

Social work can be isolating because those outside the field struggle to understand the unique challenges. Confidentiality restrictions also prevent social workers from talking about their work. Peer and consultation groups can be a great way to process work stress with others who understand and still protect confidentiality.

When to Seek Professional Help

Social worker burnout can require additional help to overcome. Consider seeking support if you experience insomnia, appetite or weight changes, severe anxiety, or thoughts of death or suicide. Additionally being easily startled, having intrusive thoughts/memories/dreams, and avoidance of triggers can indicate an underlying trauma condition.

Many therapy modalities can help with stress and burnout management, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), internal family systems therapy (IFS), and mindfulness. Eye movement desensitization reprocessing therapy (EMDR) can benefit those struggling with vicarious trauma. For help finding a therapist, start your search through a free online online therapist directory.