The Socialist 27 January 2016

Housing: smash the Tory wrecking bill

Housing: smash the Tory wrecking bill

Davos summit: a broken capitalist system

Google pays pittance for avoiding £2bn tax

Red doors and wristbands scandal

Steelworkers may face benefit cut-off for not seeking bar jobs

Oscars snub black artists: fight racism and austerity in the arts

Labour councillor smears TUSC policy as 'BNP'

Them & Us

Top tweets: #TraditionallySubmissive

Teaching: a perfect storm is brewing

Teachers need national strategy for a national struggle

A day in the life of a teacher and mother

New wave of protests in Tunisia

India: student death exposes caste oppression

Tories 'Prevent' civil liberties

Labour councillor suspended for fighting cuts

Dave Nellist's byelection appeal to Jeremy Corbyn: 'let's discuss how to fight the cuts'

Labour election post-mortem: nothing to report!

The dark arts of Labour's right

Councillors must fight to defend our services

'People's budgets' and local democracy

Lewisham: no backsliding in council cuts fight!

"I have left work many times in tears" - a council worker

Trade union bill will stretch resources and limit action

Birmingham teachers strike to resist academy attack

24-hour tube strike suspended

Care services under threat in Haringey

Workplace news in brief

The end for deep coal mining jobs in Britain

Obituary: Dean Meehan 1962-2016

Letters

Protesting against closure of Huddersfield A&E

Coventry children's services closure protest

New Socialist Party branch fights against St Austell austerity

Socialist Party discusses the fight for socialism

Socialist Students bake-off

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"I have left work many times in tears" - a council worker comments

Workplace stress, photo by JC Count (Creative Common) (Click to enlarge)

I work in an office for my local council supporting social workers. Some days I really enjoy my job and I feel I help social workers with the paperwork side of their job, so that they can focus on the more critical parts.

A lot of social workers are very grateful for the support I provide and I feel valued by them.

However, I do find there is a lot of 'office politics' that comes with the administration side of the work.

There have been a lot of changes to the definition of an 'administration task' and in what the social worker is expected to do themselves.

This is due to the many restructures that have taken place. It can lead to some of my colleagues feeling very awkward when they have to say they cannot do what they have been asked.

It can be a very high pressured environment and people can sometimes be short with one another. As someone with a 'hidden disability' this can be very difficult as people do not understand how they can deeply upset me. I am open about my disability, however I don't wish to be defined by it and am cautious of people using it against me.

Hope

I have left work many times in tears from feeling very overwhelmed. At times my depression has been greatly heightened due to being in the workplace.

There have been positives of being in work. From where I was three years ago, when unemployed, I have grown dramatically in confidence. When I work on computers I am in my element.

Senior managers should have more awareness on the effects that high workloads have on people, because I struggle to tell people that I'm not coping before it's too late.

That is my hope but I think we as a workforce and trade union will have to fight for it!

In this issue

Socialist Party news and analysis

Housing: smash the Tory wrecking bill