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Antiwork

Exploited Social Worker- HR Told Me it’s “My Fault”

Long time lurker and appreciator of this thread and all of the sentiments. I finally have my own story and I need some advice. I'm a sole social worker in a multi-disciplinary team of non-mental health professionals at a post secondary institution. I'm responsible for the mental health and wellbeing of approximately 1200 young adults. My caseload grows and grows with no limits on when I can say no, what my scope should be, and no one to consult with due to confidentiality. For years, I've been working on proposals for senior admin to hire an additional role. The risks of only one person are endless- burnout, vicarious trauma, liability, if I'm away, there's no backup plan… Etc. I've been interviewed to tell vulnerable stories about my own mental health and how this role has impacted me in order to bolster the case. After a week of working 15-hour days…


Long time lurker and appreciator of this thread and all of the sentiments. I finally have my own story and I need some advice.

I'm a sole social worker in a multi-disciplinary team of non-mental health professionals at a post secondary institution. I'm responsible for the mental health and wellbeing of approximately 1200 young adults. My caseload grows and grows with no limits on when I can say no, what my scope should be, and no one to consult with due to confidentiality.

For years, I've been working on proposals for senior admin to hire an additional role. The risks of only one person are endless- burnout, vicarious trauma, liability, if I'm away, there's no backup plan… Etc. I've been interviewed to tell vulnerable stories about my own mental health and how this role has impacted me in order to bolster the case.

After a week of working 15-hour days to the point of a near nervous breakdown, I booked a meeting with HR to ask about managing these demands until the additional role is hired. Her answer? There is no additional support being considered for my role. It's a “one person job.”

Her other advice was…
-stop answering emails
-stop trying to seek support from my team, they only invalidate me
-fix my mental health
-have better boundaries
-have better time management

Oh, and the worsening mental health trends aren't actually a thing, but perhaps my mental health is actually worsening.

I'm devastated on so many levels. I've put years of my heart and soul into this work, only to be told that I've been f*cked with for years and strung along, and all of my attempts to improve my working conditions are useless.

When I did agree that my mental health must be bad and I would go see my doctor, she was like “ah no no no please work on those boundaries!” Why wouldn't they want me on a paid mental health leave!?

Thank you for listening to my rant. I've felt depressed and listless for days now, and I need to get this off my chest.

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