Study reveals critical situation in social services

Germany

The public services union ver.di has published early results of a major study of workers in social services that reveals the high risks of burnout and exhaustion faced by many workers in the sector. The survey covers more than 8,200 employees in childcare, disability assistance, youth welfare offices and other areas of social work. It found that since the pandemic many employees often skip the legally required rest breaks and 40% stated that they regularly work three or more hours overtime a week as well. Over 65% of respondents say that they are under time pressure at work, with more than 80% noting a significant change in their workloads. Ver.di underlines the staffing crisis facing social work with childcare alone trying to cope with a shortage of 175,000 staff. A third of those surveyed say that they work longer as a result of staff vacancies with pressure of work leading to increased staff turnover.

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