Melbourne's COVID-19 lockdowns meant high stress, demand and pressure for social workers and human services staff

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-04-22 03:00

Australia; VIC

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Australian researchers interviewed 12 Melbourne-based social workers and human services staff about their experience of the city's extensive and stringent COVID-19 lockdowns, and analysed their responses to help inform practices and policies in the sector. The interviewees highlighted experiencing high levels of stress and pressure as a result of challenges with compliance requirements, services going digital, clients losing social connections, high demands for services, and other impacts. They also noted the dramatic effects of lockdowns on service users from less affluent backgrounds. But they also highlighted some benefits to services as agencies rapidly and innovatively adapted to the crisis. The researchers hope their findings can contribute to innovation in the human services sector when faced with future crises.