Fried Social Worker

Here I am admitting this to the world. I was finally able to admit it yesterday in therapy, but I still need to talk of this.

I am a burnt out social worker. I've been burnt out before, and I am back again. I know I am not alone, as a web site called Fried Social Worker points out. I am so overwhelmed by paperwork and nit picking crap that I want to scream. I have so many deadlines and people putting pressure on me I could just spit. I took on a HUGE project over Christmas, coordinating the Sub for Santa effort. Did I get any help with my overwhelming huge case load, no. Did I get any thanks but nice emails and pats on the back, no. What I got was an ass chewing during the week between Christmas and New Years about everything that is going wrong, how badly my paperwork suffered, and how I might lose my promotion if I don't get this fixed now. Gee thanks for all my hard work. Thanks for making this effort one of the biggest programs ever. Thanks for getting all these gifts for children. Your paperwork is bad, you got behind because you lost focus. No notice of the 50 and 60 hours weeks I worked. None.

It is distressing and depressing to be burnt out again. I HAVE to have this job for the money and health insurance aspects, or I would up and quit. I mean that. I am so sick of working here.

I can't even start on the reviews that we go through here. We just finished one for a federal audit, and I am just disgusted by what the reviewers said. I think there must be a special class of anal and disconnected from the real world for federal child welfare reviewers. I've declared that GWB appointed each and every one of them, which I think explains a lot.

According to the Fried Social worker website some of the causes of burnout are:

1. mismanagement
2. Chronic fear of downsizing (They fired a couple of people just before Christmas.)
3. Office politics
4. lack of appreciation
5. Personal Risk.

I only selected those that apply to me. I also am annoyed by being mandated to be available from 8-5 via a cell phone which is shit. I hate that I have to change my voice mail EVERY day and tell people what I am up to that day. One day I'll be honest and say I'm goofing off online and wasting the day.

On my team, I feel that I am the step child, constantly being compared to the better older brother. I am CONSTANTLY reminded that I have paperwork problems when others don't. I don't know why, maybe it is my only way of expressing my displeasure with my situation and my employer.

I am trying to do better and to get this paperwork crap under control. I am so sick of everything, I know I need a vacation. I could not take any time off during the holidays because of the Christmas project, then I was too behind to to take any time off because of their unrealistic rules for taking annual leave. I needed a break and could not get one.

May I just say, that I believe that Mismanagement is one of the biggest reasons I am burnt out. I could write pages on that issue, but I'll defer at the moment.

I know I am rambling here, but I am miserable at my job, and I am caught in a catch 22. I would LOVE to quit, but I can't. I have to have this job. I can't quit. There is so much more I could say, but I'll write that some other time.