Resilience has become a buzzword in social work over the past few years, celebrated as a key trait for professionals in such a challenging profession.

On the surface, resilience—the ability to bounce back from adversity—seems like an essential quality for social workers, who often navigate high-pressure environments, emotional challenges, and complex social issues. However, the concept of resilience in social work has sparked controversy, as critics argue it shifts the burden of coping onto individuals rather than addressing the systemic issues that cause burnout, stress, and high turnover rates.

Here, we’re looking at the concept of resilience in social work, why it’s sought after, why it’s controversial, and how we can approach it more thoughtfully within the profession.

The Importance of Resilience in Social Work

Working in social care requires social workers to face intense emotional demands, heavy caseloads, and exposure to difficult situations, from child abuse cases to mental health crises. Under these circumstances, resilience is seen as a coping mechanism to help professionals manage stress, maintain emotional balance, and continue providing high-quality care. Employers often encourage building resilience as a way for social workers to handle these stressors while remaining effective in their roles.

Some of the key reasons why resilience is considered important in social work include:

• Coping with emotional strain: Social workers often deal with traumatic situations and vulnerable populations. Without resilience, emotional fatigue can quickly set in, leading to burnout.
• Maintaining long-term career viability: Social work is a profession with a high turnover rate. Those who remain in the field long term are often thought to possess a high level of resilience, which allows them to continue despite the stress and emotional demands.
• Enhancing problem-solving abilities: Resilient social workers are often better at adapting to change, managing crisis situations, and developing creative solutions to complex problems.

Resilience is celebrated as a essentialtrait that enableds social workers to continue functioning and serving those in need, even when faced with overwhelming challenges.

The Controversy Surrounding Resilience in Social Work

Despite the positive associations with resilience, the concept has generated significant criticism within the social work community. Many argue that an overemphasis on individual resilience can overshadow the larger systemic and organisational issues that contribute to stress, burnout, and mental health struggles in the profession. Here are some of the key criticisms:

1. Blaming Individuals for Systemic Problems

One of the most significant critiques of resilience is that it puts the responsibility for coping on individual social workers rather than addressing the root causes of stress in the workplace. High caseloads, underfunded social services, limited resources, and administrative burdens are systemic issues that make the job unsustainable for many professionals. Focusing on resilience can imply that the problem lies with the worker’s ability to cope rather than with the system itself.

For instance, telling social workers to “build resilience” without addressing understaffing or insufficient mental health support can come across as dismissive of the real challenges they endure. It may also unintentionally stigmatise those who struggle with burnout, as though they are failing because they lack personal resilience, rather than due to structural failings.

2. The Risk of Normalising Overwork

Another problem with the focus on resilience is that it can normalise overwork and excessive stress. If resilience is viewed as a solution, there is a risk that employers may ignore the importance of creating supportive, healthy work environments. The message may become, “If you can’t handle the pressure, you’re not resilient enough,” instead of recognising that no amount of resilience can make up for poor working conditions, inadequate supervision, or an unmanageable workload.

This approach overlooks the need for systemic change, such as better staff support, realistic caseloads, adequate funding for social services, and policies that protect workers’ well-being.

3. Emotional Suppression and Burnout

Another controversy centres around the idea that resilience can encourage emotional suppression. Social workers often deal with harrowing situations—whether it’s child protection cases, domestic violence, or mental health crises. Encouraging workers to be “resilient” without acknowledging the emotional toll these experiences take could lead to emotional repression, where workers feel unable to process their own trauma and grief.

Over time, this emotional suppression can backfire, leading to compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, or burnout—issues that are prevalent in social work. A narrow focus on resilience may result in professionals internalising their struggles rather than seeking necessary help or systemic improvements.

Rethinking Resilience: A Balanced Approach

Rather than discarding the concept of resilience entirely, it’s important to think of it as just one part of the solution. Resilience can help individuals manage personal challenges, but it must be complemented by broader organisational and systemic change. Here are some ways to approach resilience in a more balanced way:

• Focus on organisational change: Employers should prioritise creating supportive work environments with manageable caseloads, access to mental health resources, and policies that prevent burnout.
• Team-based resilience: Building resilience should not be an individual responsibility alone. Employers should foster team resilience by encouraging peer support, offering professional development, and providing access to clinical supervision and counselling services.
• Acknowledging the emotional toll: Social workers should be encouraged to seek help for their own mental health needs, rather than suppressing emotions in the name of resilience. Professional development programs should incorporate emotional support and self-care strategies.

Resilience is undoubtedly important in social work, but it’s not the silver bullet it’s sometimes made out to be. While individual resilience can help social workers manage stress, the emphasis on personal coping mechanisms must not overshadow the need for systemic change. The real challenge lies in creating a balanced approach—one that supports both individual resilience and addresses the larger structural issues that contribute to the emotional strain on social workers. Only then can we ensure a healthier, more sustainable profession for those who dedicate their lives to supporting others.