How to prevent stress and burnout in social care

Those who work in social care tirelessly champion the wellbeing of the people they support, and at times this can mean putting the needs of others ahead of their own. And although fulfilling, the demanding nature of social care can lead many people working in the sector feeling stressed and burnt out.

According to The Care Worker’s Charity Wellbeing Report 2025, over one-third (34%) said their job negatively affects their mental health, and 43% of respondents reported experiencing burnout. These figures clearly show just how significant this issue can be, but there are ways that providers can help mitigate the causes, spot the signs and support their hardworking teams.

What are some of the signs of stress and burnout in social workers?

We may have all experienced a level of stress and burnout during our working lives. But those working in social care can have a heightened risk of burnout due to the demanding and emotionally charged nature of the job, manifesting into physical, mental and emotional symptoms such as:

• Loss of patience and focus
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Feelings of self-doubt
• Easily distracted and cancelling personal appointments
• Irritability and increased negativity
• Fatigued and drained
• Falling ill or not fully recovering from illness
• Anxiety and depression

What can cause stress and burnout for social care staff?

• Large workloads

Care providers are, year on year, facing growing demand. And when this is coupled with recruitment and retention struggles, your care workers may find themselves juggling these large and often complex workloads. More clients / residents equal more work, and more work can lead to more burnt out staff; particularly so when the care being delivered is highly manual, complex, and can often evoke a level of emotional intensity. And of course, these roles often involve extensive administrative and regulatory requirements, further increasing the burden.

• Limited resource

A significant barrier faced in social care today is demand vs supply. One well-known factor that immediately comes to mind is the lack of funding and the subsequent competitive pay for care workers.

But resource struggles don’t end there. Perhaps you’re not able to recruit enough staff in time to provide the level of care you need to, instead having to rely on expensive agencies. Or maybe complex funding requirements and invoice processes mean you are consistently waiting for the money you needed last month. These complications only amplify the stress felt in an already bustling and overstretched service.

• Organisational stressors

Time pressures, tight deadlines, complex payroll and regulation compliance are just some of the organisational stressors that many social care providers experience on a day to day basis. And this is often directly impacting on your employees. In our latest Care Trends Report 2025, 38% of providers told us that employees being unhappy with the frequency of regulation amendments is their biggest retention challenge (up from 31%).

What is the impact of stress and burnout in social care?

• Retention struggles

While improvements are being seen, the social care sector continues to grapple with high turnover and vacancy rates. According to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) State of Care Report 2023/24, ‘… the overall vacancy rate across all adult social care stands at 8.3%, with the vacancy rate for homecare over double that for care homes – at 12%.’  It may not be surprising to many, but this means the vacancy rate for adult social care is three times higher than the wider economy.

• Performance decline

When we are feeling stressed and burnt out at work, it’s fair to say we may struggle to be the best versions of ourselves. Feelings of overwhelm and poor sleep can make it harder to focus and lead to more frequent mistakes

And not only are some of your employees taking time off work because of their stress, those who remain may be struggling to keep up with the extra load, leading to mistakes being made. And in worse case scenarios, these errors may impact the quality of care being provided.

• Financial strain

All these struggles ultimately end up costing your business. Stressed and burnt out staff may go off sick or leave the sector altogether, leaving you to either recruit new employees or fall onto agencies to plug those gaps that you just cannot fill quick enough.

Subsequent impacts on care delivery or the management of the organisation may even lead to fines. And data silos or missed referrals slow down your efficiency, so you’re stuck playing catch up rather than preparing and growing your organisation for future need.

How to prevent stress and burnout in social care

After researching the challenges around this important topic, we have come up with some strategies that can hopefully help you tackle stress and burnout in social care:

1. Offer resources and support

While 43% of respondents reported experiencing burnout, only 13% said they were able to access paid time off work to recover, according to the same Wellbeing Report 2025 we mentioned earlier. So, make sure you’re continuing to empower your care teams to utilise any and all resources you have available. You may be in a position to offer some more flexibility for your staff, so they can work around personal commitments and appointments they may have.

And don't forget about the importance of breaks. They're not just for resting; they're a chance for your staff to recharge, catch up, and share their best practices. It's these small moments that help build a strong sense of teamwork.

2. Set realistic goals

We understand that you are under a lot of pressure to meet all your service needs, and your employees probably understand that too. Yet there is only so much you can effectively achieve with the resources you have.

You may, therefore, want to set realistic goals for your teams, to break down some of those potentially overwhelming tasks that may be causing some anxiety. Taking small steps, rather than always aiming for perfection, can make a big difference when supporting your employee’s wellbeing. And when personal development goals can align with your organisation’s objectives, it ensures that you’re both nurturing your employee’s development while also driving your services’ success.

3. Be flexible

As we’ve briefly mentioned, the growing workload in social care can be demanding and unpredictable. Your employees may find themselves working more than their scheduled hours, missing their breaks or being interrupted part way through a task. You don’t want to excessively scrutinise your employees’ day, but factors like these can easily go unrecognised.

Digital time tracking within workforce management software can help here, as it can allow care managers to monitor their team’s workload, so they can offer support and try to prevent employees from being overwhelmed with responsibilities.

Plus, flexibility can be incredibly important for tackling burnout, as it gives your hardworking teams more control over their schedules. By offering self-service tools such as a mobile app, employees can manage their schedules, swap or accept shifts and request time off—all in one place.

4. Recognise achievements

You likely already try to encourage an environment that fosters openness and respect, where every single employee feels comfortable and confident supporting one another during stressful times. So, don’t forget to try and set some time aside to acknowledge the incredible value each of your employees bring to your organisation and the people they support. And it doesn’t just have to come from your management teams.

You may want to remind your staff that they can give each other a quick ‘thank you’ when someone has done something particularly recognisable. Lifting each other up and reminding one another of all the amazing things they're doing and accomplishing can work wonders in boosting morale and relieving some of that burnout they might be experiencing.

Take a look at our blog ‘10 benefits of continuous feedback in social care’ for more information

5. Understand your teams

One way you can learn and understand what you can do to help your care staff is to take a closer look at their day to day. You may want to observe and personally ask them about the aspects of their job that are causing stress and burnout. You'll probably notice some recurring issues, but it's important to gather a variety of perspectives since each person brings a fresh outlook on their role.

With Performance and Talent, you can set up engagement surveys, pulse checks, and suggestion boxes, helping you identify stress points and implement initiatives that improve morale and engagement. And from this, you can drilldown into the detail and see exactly what your organisation can do next to support your people and your service’s long term goals.

How Performance and Talent can help you tackle stress and burnout in social care

With Performance and Talent, our continuous performance management solution, you can transform your workplace culture, support employee development, and enhance engagement with real-time feedback and surveys.

---

See the transformation you can bring with Performance and Talent for social care today.