Prologue Journal

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1 in 5 gov’t social workers say they may quit within 5 years amid work challenges and management issues, survey finds

Hong Kong Free Press

Around one in five social workers at the government’s Social Welfare Department say they may quit within the next five years, citing immense challenges at work and management problems, a survey has found.

The General Union of Social Workers in Social Welfare Department (GUSWSD) surveyed 446 social workers working for the government in September and October last year, according to local media reports.

Around 80 per cent of those surveyed said they believed there was low morale in the Social Welfare Department. Over 23 per cent said there was a high possibility that they would leave the department within the next five years.

The reasons cited included immense work challenges, management issues in the department, and poor mental health. Almost 50 per cent of those surveyed reported experiencing anxiety, the questionnaire found.

The chairperson of the union, Leung Kin-hung, said the Social Welfare Department had been seeing an exodus of social workers in recent years.

Many social workers had left Hong Kong after the protests in 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic, he said. Some NGOs are now also offering higher salaries and better benefits than before, attracting social workers working in the government, Leung added.

Social Workers Registration Board. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.

In response to media inquiries, the Social Welfare Department’s figures showed a 4 per cent vacancy rate for social work assistant roles, and a 14 per cent vacancy rate for social work officer roles as of the end of last year.

There had been a total of 260 resignations among social work assistants and social work officers over the past three years, the department added.

Overall, Hong Kong’s civil service has seen a higher turnover amid an emigration wave and the requirement of a compulsory oath of allegiance to the government.

Hong Kong has around 27,000 registered social workers, meaning they are licensed by the Social Workers Registration Board.

Last year, the city’s opposition-free legislature unanimously passed amendments that gave government-appointed members a majority on the board and barred those convicted of offences endangering national security from being social workers.

The changes saw little vocal opposition despite a survey finding that they were not welcomed by social workers – a silence that activists attributed to fears of workplace retaliation.

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