Burnout in Social Work: Healing Ourselves While Healing Others

Burnout in social work is not a personal failure. It's a systemic issue deeply embedded in a profession that asks for so much, often with too little in return. We witness trauma, hold space for grief, fight for justice, and navigate broken systems, all while trying to remain whole ourselves.

And if you’ve ever found yourself exhausted, disillusioned, or doubting your place in the field, you’re not alone.

I’ve been a social worker for 20 years, and I’ve experienced serious burnout twice. Both times, it shook my confidence and made me question whether I could stay in this field. What brought me back wasn’t more grit or working harder. It was support, reflection, and a deep reevaluation of how I wanted to show up in this work.

The Reality of Burnout in Social Work

According to the most recent National Association of Social Workers (NASW) workforce data, more than 40% of social workers report experiencing burnout, and even more report emotional exhaustion, compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatic stress. A 2022 survey of licensed clinical social workers found that nearly 60% had considered leaving the field within the past year due to unsustainable workloads and lack of support.

The data is clear: burnout is pervasive, and growing.

And while burnout is often framed as a personal issue, the truth is that it’s a predictable outcome of working in systems built on exploitation, scarcity, and productivity-as-worth.

Naming What’s Really Going On

Traditional responses to burnout often focus on individual-level solutions: mindfulness, yoga, taking a vacation. While those may offer temporary relief, they don’t address the structural and cultural roots of burnout in our profession.

At its core, burnout is political and collective. It’s a response to:

• Under-resourced systems that ask us to do more with less
• Capitalist values that link our productivity to our worth
• Colonial legacies that normalize the extraction of labor—especially emotional labor—from women, BIPOC, and marginalized professionals
• White supremacist standards that define professionalism as perfectionism, urgency, and individualism

To truly heal and prevent burnout, we must begin to challenge the norms that normalize it.

Reclaiming Rest, Resistance, and Sustainability

Here’s what both research and lived experience tell us: burnout prevention requires more than personal resilience—it requires collective resistance, reflection, and support.

1. Shift From Individual Blame to Systemic Awareness

Burnout isn’t caused by you not trying hard enough. It’s caused by environments that reward overwork and minimize care. Recognizing that truth can release the shame burnout often brings and open the door to meaningful change.

2. Reimagine Success Beyond Productivity

Social work often glorifies overextension as a sign of dedication, but true impact comes when we are aligned with our values, supported in our efforts, and connected to a strong community. Success should mean knowing when to rest, saying no without guilt, setting boundaries that protect your energy, and investing in supervision and mentorship that genuinely supports your growth.

3. Prioritize Collective Care Over Individual “Self-Care”

You don’t have to do this alone. We’ve been taught that self-care is enough, but in this field, we also need collective care. Supportive supervision, peer reflection groups, and professional communities are not optional. They’re lifelines.

“The antidote to burnout isn’t doing more yoga. It’s creating systems of support that don’t rely on pushing through alone.” — Adapted from community care frameworks

4. Reflective Supervision is a Game Changer

Research shows that reflective supervision, rather than compliance-driven models, helps reduce burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Supervision should provide a space for processing emotional responses, exploring identity and professional values, and reconnecting with your purpose. Reflective supervision isn’t an added bonus, it’s essential.

5. Let Your Career Work for You, Too

You are not a machine. You are not a crisis response system. You are a human with needs, limits, values, and a desire for joy in your work. A sustainable career is one that gives back to you as much as you give to it.

Building a Social Work Career You Can Stay In

If you’re early in your career and wondering how to make this work sustainable—or if you’ve been doing it a while and are starting to feel the weight—know this: it is possible to build a social work career you want to stay in.

It takes mentorship.
It takes boundaries.
It takes letting go of the myth that burnout is a badge of honor.

If you’re ready for something more grounded, more aligned, and more humane, I’d love to support you.

Colorado Social Workers: Join a Supervision Group Here
Social Workers Nationwide: Learn More About Consultation 

Let’s talk about what it means to flourish in this field, together.

Copyright 2025: Petal & Peak Mental Health. All rights reserved.

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash