When social workers discuss the challenges they face in their jobs, they might mention increasing caseloads, colossal amounts of paperwork, or how undervalued they feel, but one issue is sure to make many see red: hotdesking.
Hotdesking involves multiple workers using a single workstation during different time periods. Many professionals feel, however, that social work and hotdesking do not go hand in hand, and councils are reportedly beginning to move away from it. With the Hackney model’s pod system seemingly being more widely adopted, has hotdesking had its day?
Slough children’s services trust, a not-for-profit independent company that took over children’s services from Slough borough council, soon realised that hotdesking was a contentious issue among many of its new staff.
Eric de Mello, head of operations at the trust, says it had to act. “We haven’t completely moved away from hotdesking,” he says. “We’re just in our first year of operation after taking over services from the council, but we have heard what social workers have to say. We have been allocated nine [desk] spaces for every 13 people and our social workers were struggling. Newly qualified social workers were telling us that they found it quite difficult not knowing where to go for advice.”
Initially the trust made sure newly qualified social workers were in line of sight of their managers, but then decided to move to a hub system based on the Hackney model and similar set-ups around the country. Space restrictions mean it is still not possible for everyone to have their own desk all the time, de Mello says, but the trust has been able to make better use of space and ensure teams are able to stick together as much as they can.
Prof Eileen Munro has been outspoken about the harm hotdesking is doing to social work and hopes more councils will follow suit. Munro, whose landmark review of child protection practices was published five years ago, has argued that hotdesking leaves social workers feeling isolated, hindering their work.
She understands that saving money is a top priority but practitioners’ needs differ from those of the office workers authorities also employ. “Councils need to think about how the office is organised,” she says. “Is it organised so that social workers can have sensitive conversations without disturbing others and without being overheard? Are there periods when most people in a team are in and can easily meet?”
She adds: “It’s not just about how social workers should have their own desk. It’s about the office being somewhere people like to go and where they can find colleagues who are supportive. It’s about the role social workers play being valued.”
These conclusions are echoed in research by Laura Biggart, a senior academic at the University of East Anglia, who led a research project into emotional intelligence and burnout in child and family social work. As part of the study, Biggart and her colleagues spoke to social workers and managers about work environments and found the topic of hotdesking came up time and again.
Aside from the practical issues it caused, leading some to resort to working from their cars, many social workers discussed the emotional impact of hotdesking. “Hotdesking creates unpredictability and uncertainty, so inevitably it adds to the anxiety social workers feel,” Biggart says. “It also lowers morale because they see it as not being worthwhile enough to have a desk. They see managers who make these decisions keeping their desks whereas social workers lose theirs.”
She explains why it is such a big issue for social workers in particular: “If you got shouted at in the street and insulted, most people would want to go home because it’s a safe space, and people will be there to show sympathy and support. Your workspace is a bit like that and social workers are being yelled at or dealing with very upsetting things every day. They need somewhere safe to return to and hotdesking doesn’t help with that.”
For one social worker, however, hotdesking isn’t all bad. Sophie Olivia, who works in child protection at Cheshire East council, which has moved away from the system, says despite the difficulties there were upsides to hotdesking. “Positively, it enabled colleagues to get to know everybody on the team and we felt [like] a united service,” she says.
Around three years ago, Cheshire East also adopted the Hackney model’s pod system. Olivia’s team of approximately 50 staff is now split into five pods, each with approximately seven social workers of differing grades, from newly qualified workers to senior practitioners, overseen by a team manager.
Olivia is in favour of the pod system and believes it is a more efficient way of doing social work. “I think management oversight is better and, inevitably, by working in small teams other social workers become aware of the cases that social workers are holding on their pod,” she says. “This means that when a social worker is having to prioritise another case or there is staff sickness, for example, other social workers already have a good understanding of the case and can then offer support to the family. This prevents crises for families and also promotes the worker-client relationship.”
For de Mello, acting on the concerns of the social workers in his trust was a no-brainer. “We had to listen to what they had to say because the trust takes the view that our most precious and important resource is our staff.”
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