A WOMAN who quit her job as a social worker has revealed why she waved goodbye to her seven-year career to be a nail tech.
Kiah Bethany, 28, revealed she decided to call it quits after years of stress and anxiety.
Kiah explained why she left her role as a social workerCredit: tiktok./@kiahbethany
She took a pay cut to work as a nail tech insteadCredit: tiktok./@kiahbethany
Now, one month on from quitting the role, she said she has no regrets about changing career paths in her late twenties.
Taking to TikTok , she said she’s already sleeping better at night, and her anxiety has eased off too.
“I’m not waking up in the middle of the night panicking about things I’ve forgot to do or not had time to do,” she told her followers.
During her social work career, Kiah said there were plenty of bad days, which led to her being in an almost constant state of stress and panic.
That’s something that’s had more of a lasting effect on her, she explained.
“If I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen the next day I’m almost always wondering how bad it might be because that’s what it was like for seven years,” Kiah said.
After sharing her feelings on leaving her job others chimed in, and it turns out plenty of them had a similar experience.
One said: “I left social work a couple of months ago and can completely relate to poor sleep, I used to have nightmares and I’d wake up in the morning with dread for the day.”
“Being a social worker is like always being in threat mode, not good for the body. I now do planned project work and it’s much better,” a second wrote.
And a third commented: “It’s horrendous for work-life balance. I would wake up in the night constantly worrying.”
However, there were people who agreed the job might not be for everyone, but insisted they love it.
“I’ve worked for 25 years in health and social care and work in a team of social workers, it’s stressful at times but so are all jobs.
“I personally love it,” one said.
Meanwhile, someone else said they ended up leaving after taking a few weeks off and realising they didn’t want to go back.
“I took four weeks off and found myself again, I’ve moved on to fostering and omg I’m a different person. I hope you find yourself again,” they said.
WHAT DO SOCIAL WORKERS DO?
Social workers generally help vulnerable people who may need extra help due to health issues, poverty, abuse and more.
According to BASW , social workers aim to improve people’s lives by “helping with social and interpersonal difficulties, promoting human rights and wellbeing.”
Their website states: “Social workers protect children and adults with support needs from harm.
“From helping keep a family under pressure together to supporting someone with mental health problems, social work is a varied, demanding, often emotional and very rewarding career.”
Often, social workers will specialise in a specific field of the job, such as family and children support or adults with disabilities.
What happens when a parent is reported to social services?
When someone is reported, information about the parent is passed on to .
A social worker will then arrange a visit to the address to see if the information given is true and what they can do to help.
Within one working day of a concern being reported, a should make the decision about what sort of investigation is needed.
There are two types of investigation that a social worker can choose to implement in this situation, under the Children’s Act 1989.
A “child in need” assessment under section 17 of the 1989 act will identify the needs of the child and ensure that the family are given the appropriate support in enabling them to safeguard and promote the welfare.
A section 47 investigation is where there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.
This type of investigation can be undertaken by the , a social care worker, or both.
If a referral is made to social services, they have an obligation to safeguard any children at the heart of any referral and ensure their safety and wellbeing.
There is a fear for many parents that their children will be removed, but this isn’t necessary unless they believe the child faces an immediate risk of harm.
How to contact social services in the UK
There are a number of different ways to contact social services in the UK.
The best way is to go to your local authority’s website to find the correct telephone and email contact number.
They may even have a form you can fill in and submit.
For child protection concerns you should dial 999 if it’s an emergency, or contact the children and family services.
An out of hours contact should also be available.
Thewebsite provides links to family action, and other ways of contacting social services include and Childline.
There is also help on gov.uk , in which someone can enter their details to apply for a care assessment from social services.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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