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Dear social worker, welcome to 
the podcast that prioritises you

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the person behind the title. 
I'm your host Lisa Ann Edwards, 

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and today we're going to be 
talking about giving yourself 

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permission. 
Because last week I had a 

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coaching session with a social 
worker who said they when 

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working overtime but felt guilty
they were working overtime 

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because it was taken from their 
time, but then as a result of 

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feeling guilty, they were then 
feeling resentful towards the 

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job. 
So I want to talk about 10 

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different things you can give 
yourself permission to do. 

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Because sometimes what holds us 
back is actually saying yes to 

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ourselves. 
Let's talk. 

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Saying yes to ourselves 
sometimes can be one of the 

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hardest things to do, and it can
be one of the hardest things for

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us to recognise as social 
workers that we should do. 

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It's so easy to lose who you are
in the job, and for students 

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listening to this, This is why 
it's important We understand now

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at this point what we need to be
saying yes to. 

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Now. 
I'm going to go through 10 

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things. 
I won't be keeping you here too 

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long today, but I just want to 
go through these just to get you

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to think about what you're 
saying no to right now, which is

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something that you need. 
Sometimes we're saying no to 

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things because we've created a 
narrative about this thing and 

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truly don't understand that if 
we just turned round and said 

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yes, it would make our lives 
easier or it would meet our 

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need, or it would help us do XY 
and Z. 

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So let me tell you what I'm 
talking about more specifically,

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and if I have time, I will talk 
more about why we don't give 

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ourselves permission. 
Number one, embrace 

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imperfection. 
You are never going to get 

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everything that you need done at
the same time, not going to 

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happen. 
You will always have a crisis. 

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You will always have an e-mail 
that you need to respond to, a 

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team meeting to attend. 
You will always have an 

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emergency meeting, a strap 
meeting of some sort. 

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That is the nature of social 
work. 

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And whilst sometimes it it can 
be frustrating that you're 

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having to put things aside in 
order to manage a crisis, manage

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something urgent, if you're 
someone who really thrives off 

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getting things right, getting 
things perfect, these are one of

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the permissions you're going to 
have to work towards. 

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Learning. 
Embracing. 

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Imperfection. 
Embracing that you can't control

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everything. 
You can't control your time. 

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You don't know what's going to 
happen when you go out for a 

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home visit. 
You don't know what you're going

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to be presented with when you 
attend a meeting. 

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So you do your best to keep the 
boundaries in place. 

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Be aware of what the boundaries 
are. 

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But equally, imperfection. 
Certainly something which is a 

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dichotomy. 
Now I think about it because you

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don't go into the job to not do 
something right, to not be 

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perfect. 
It's not a job where you can't, 

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you know, get things right. 
But we are human, and sometimes 

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we have to embrace the human 
side of us and not be like 

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robots, which can happen, which 
can happen. 

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Be careful of that #2. 
We talked about this last week. 

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Prioritising your health, making
your physical and mental health 

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a priority. 
The caveat here is where you can

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give yourself permission to have
your break or to finish on time 

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once or twice a week. 
Just like it's OK that you won't

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get everything right and 
perfect, it's OK to say I want 

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to leave on time today. 
Sleep, Exercise. 

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Food. 
Getting check UPS at the 

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doctors, the dentist. 
How many social workers? 

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I've worked over the years who 
haven't been to the dentist for 

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years for one reason or another,
mainly due to them saying they 

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were too busy #3 Celebrate your 
successes. 

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Come on now, it's so easy to 
forget what you've achieved, how

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many people you've helped, how 
many children you've saved, how 

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many adults you've supported. 
Don't forget what you've 

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achieved. 
I know social workers that keep 

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a chronology of it and this is 
one of the recommendations in 

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some of my programmes. 
Keep a chronology of what you've

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achieved. 
Because you're surrounded by 

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trauma and crisis all the time, 
it's very easy to let that 

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become your 80%. 
And then the 20% you just about 

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remember what you've done, what 
you've achieved, how you've 

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helped someone. 
It's time to celebrate your 

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achievements. 
Give yourself permission to do 

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so, No matter how small it may 
seem. 

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It can boost your morale and 
help you maintain motivation. 

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Number What number are we on? 
I'll carry it away #4 

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Acknowledge your limits. 
Give yourself permission to 

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know, understand, and embrace 
what your limits are. 

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You can't solve every problem. 
You can't help every single 

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child and family. 
There's going to be moments 

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where you have to ask someone 
else who has the expertise. 

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It's OK to acknowledge your 
limitations. 

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It's OK not to know everything. 
That's why you come to the 

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podcast or you go to someone 
else's event. 

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Or you may contribute to writing
to a magazine or a journal. 

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Go where you know the expertise 
exists and give yourself 

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permission to do so #5 where you
can. 

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The caveat is where you can. 
Give yourself permission to turn

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off your laptop outside of work 
hours and even your mobile 

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phone. 
Give yourself permission to 

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unwind. 
Give yourself permission to 

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focus on your personal 
interests. 

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It's OK to have a life outside 
of social work. 

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It's OK. 
Give yourself permission number 

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six, Give yourself permission to
take time off. 

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You can see I'm getting animated
now and memory has just dropped 

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right here. 
I'm going to share it with you 

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briefly. 
I was in year two of my NQ 

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that's newly qualified for those
not in the UK, approximately 18 

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months in and my manager said to
me in supervision, she said you 

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didn't take a break last year 
and now we're moving into this 

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year and I haven't seen you take
a break other than bank 

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holidays, she said. 
By September, I want you to have

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taken a minimum of a two week 
break. 

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I was like a break. 
I I'm sure I I almost said or 

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worse of the effect. 
What's that? 

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I laugh about it now, but if you
really check it, that's a 

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dangerous place to be. 
That wasn't a good place, 

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although during that time I 
didn't feel burnt out. 

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To an extent, I was protected as
an NQI didn't feel burnt out. 

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I didn't feel like I was running
on a treadmill. 

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I just, you know, was doing my 
job. 

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But I walked into the job with 
the habit of not even 

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considering the annual leave I 
was entitled to. 

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Give yourself permission now. 
Don't get into those kind of 

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patterns. 
This is why I'm so passionate 

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about it. 
I've I've been there. 

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I've done it. 
I had that mindset. 

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It doesn't work. 
What number am I on now? 

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Last track? 
Number six, I'm guessing number 

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six. 
Practical. self-care. 

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Practical self-care is taking 
part in activities that promote 

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your well-being, Hobbies, 
meditation, exercise. 

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Coming to one of my events and 
being around other social 

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workers, I have another one 
coming up. 

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Actually, I'll tell you more 
about that next week. 

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Something practical, Not where 
you sat in front of a screen or 

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sat reading a book. 
Something that that gets you 

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moving or gets you talking or 
being social #7 Seek support. 

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Reach out for support from 
whether it's your colleagues, 

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your peers, your supervisors, 
coaches, counsellors, art 

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therapists, your doctor. 
Asking for help isn't a sign of 

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of weakness. 
Give yourself permission to ask 

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for help. 
Do you know how many people 

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don't ask for help? 
Do you know how many people 

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feel? 
It's a weakness. 

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I'm sure you can think of some 
adults or parents that you're 

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working with right now that 
haven't asked for help. 

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And you're saying to them, well,
why didn't you call me? 

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Why didn't you let me know? 
I could have helped you, but yet

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sometimes we don't do that for 
ourselves #8 We've talked about 

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this before, but I'm reiterating
boundaries. 

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Establish clear boundaries 
between work and personal life. 

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Sometimes they get blurred and 
sometimes for a period of time 

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it is necessary. 
I know there'll be a period of 

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time, whether it's two weeks or 
a month, where you've really got

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it. 
Knuckle down and get get your 

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head into somewhere and you're 
aware that that's going to take 

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some of your personal time. 
That may happen. 

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Be aware of that. 
But on the whole, overall, there

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should be clear boundaries 
between you and the person and 

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your personal life. 
It's OK to say no to additional 

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responsibilities that could 
overwhelm you. 

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Keep things in the realm of 
what's manageable for you, I 

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think. 
I've definitely taken the 

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numbering out, but whatever #10 
I've said this before, I must 

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say it again. 
Take breaks. 

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Give yourself permission to take
regular breaks. 

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Even if you don't take your one 
hour, you can take 15 minutes 

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twice in the day, four times in 
the day. 

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That makes your hour. 
It's important you take time 

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away from the screen. 
It's important that you 

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recharge. 
It's essential for you to 

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maintain your mental health. 
Think about all the work that 

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your brain is doing, all day, 
every day, all day, every day. 

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Constantly assessing, constantly
thinking, constantly thinking of

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the the best possible outcomes 
for children and the ways to get

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there. 
Your brain needs to be hydrated,

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you need to be nourished, and 
you need time away from the 

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screen. 
We know that social work is 

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physically and emotionally 
demanding. 

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We know with social work that 
trauma is part of the job. 

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You will be exposed to it. 
It's imperative that you 

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consider what you're saying yes 
to that you no longer mean. 

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And it's imperative you think 
about what have you stopped 

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giving yourself permission to do
that would in turn benefit you? 

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Anything that you do to pour 
into yourself, whether it's just

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listening to this podcast, 
whether it's just buying one of 

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my books, whether it's booking 
in with one of my coaching 

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sessions, and feel free to do 
that. 

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If you feel you need some 
support, go straight to social 

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work coaching hub.com and I'll 
be there for you to support you.

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Use the resources you've got 
access to and give yourself 

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permission to look after 
yourself and pour into yourself 

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whilst you're pouring into 
others. 

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God bless you and have a 
wonderful week. 

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PS Give yourself permission to 
explore new opportunities. 

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There's so many social workers 
that I coach on a weekly basis 

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that are contemplating leaving 
the profession or leaving their 

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workplace, or trying a different
form of social work. 

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Do you know where your social 
work degree can take you? 

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Where your master's degree can 
take you? 

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There's so many other roles out 
there where you can utilise 

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transferable skills and there's 
many roles out there where it is

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focused on social workers, 
whether it's hospital, social 

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work or adult social care. 
If you're a children's social 

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worker, mental health, social 
workers, the list goes on. 

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Give yourself permission just to
look at different types of 

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social work, different types of 
social work roles where you feel

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you could embrace all of your 
skills and your creativity and 

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thrive. 
I worked in local authority for 

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over 10 years and I can't recall
more than once or twice perhaps 

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where I was considering a 
different form of social work. 

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Now I think about it, I could 
have stepped into learning and 

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development and supported ASYES.
That's the assessed year in 

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employment, The first year of 
employment for social workers 

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here in the UK assessed and 
supported year in employment. 

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That's it. 
Excuse me? 

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The point is, there are so many 
different forms of social work. 

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There are so many jobs out there
which would welcome your skills,

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your transferable skills from 
the role that you're in. 

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Give yourself permission just to
look, particularly if you've got

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one foot out of the door, 
particularly if you're feeling 

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burnt out, particularly if 
you're feeling completely 

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exhausted with your role or your
workplace or your organization. 

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There's so much out there, and 
it doesn't mean you have to stop

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being a social worker. 
It just means you're a social 

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worker in a different capacity, 
in a different workplace, a 

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different type of organization, 
whether it's a Christian 

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organization or a charity. 
What do you enjoy most about 

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your social work role? 
Find somewhere that just does 

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that. 
If you love direct work, for 

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example, perhaps a youth work 
role would suit you best or suit

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you better, Should I say rather 
than best? 

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Don't want to make any 
assumptions now. 

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First rule of social work. 
Anyway, on that note, I'm 

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heading out because I know I am 
publishing this late, but I'd 

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wanted to make sure I didn't 
forget this element around 

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permission. 
On that note, I'll leave you to 

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it. 
I may revisit this next week. 

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We'll see. 
Until then, have a blessed week.