Negative care image extends to friends

More than half the population don’t understand the caring professions like nursing and social work according to recruiter Randstad Care.  The company polled 173 people who work in the care sector to ask them if their friends really understood the industry that they worked in.  Randstad Care’s analysis showed that less than half (45 per cent) of nurses and social workers said their friends really knew what their job entailed – with just a third (31 per cent) saying their friends had a sophisticated grasp of the ins and outs of the job.

Victoria Short, MD of Randstad Care said: “Both nursing and social work suffer from unhelpful and inaccurate stereotypes. The problem is that people think they know what these jobs entail – although very few have an accurate idea.  Perhaps it’s no surprise people don’t understand, given their portrayal in the media? Nursing professionals are often belittled as battle-weary matrons – neither an accurate or helpful comparison.  And few professionals can expect to receive as much hostility or negative stereotyping as social workers. The weak representations of social workers occasionally found on TV reinforce the popular stereotypes of social workers as politically-correct bureaucrats. The image of social workers as trying to part children from their carers is particularly damaging. No wonder we struggle to attract and retain quality candidates into the profession.”

The nursing and social care professions were less well understood than average. While just 45 per cent of care sector workers said their friends understood their jobs, across the UK, 51 per cent of workers said the same.

Social workers and nurses are, at least, better understood than the automotive industry, where just one in every five workers say their friends understand their job (21 per cent) – the least well understood profession in the country.

Victoria Short said: “Not enough people appreciate the complexities or the benefits of the caring professions. Nursing and social work are not simple jobs; they’re complex roles with a huge amount of responsibility.  Both need to attract more high-achievers who will make a success of the job as a long term career – but also people who see it as a vocation and a career where they can make a difference. We know we need to attract more graduates into the care sector but if they have an erroneous idea of what the job is all about, they aren’t going to be motivated to succeed in the job in the long run.  Let’s not forget there’s a huge shortage of social workers – we will find that very hard to fix if people don’t understand all facets of the job.”