This week, our hosts Vince and Cara are reflecting on two stories published at mysocialworknews.com this week: Is it appropriate to be friends with your manager? and My best friend at work is leaving for a new job, and it hurts worse than a break-up as they explore boundaries, the potential for conflict, and how friendships can enhance or complicate professional roles.

Created by social workers, for social workers.

Join the conversation, every Friday morning.

On this week's podcast, five years on from the pandemic, our hosts discuss their initial personal and professional reactions to the start of lockdown, recalling the early challenges and uncertainties - from remote working to increased safeguarding concerns.

Vince and Cara reflect on the lasting changes in practice introduced during the pandemic, including remote assessments and virtual meetings, and share the experiences of emotional strain, isolation, and resilience among social workers during this time. What are the key lessons, and how can we can better prepare for future crises?

Created by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation every Friday morning.

This week, our hosts are exploring the theories behind Mel Robbins' "Let Them" approach, highlighting key insights from her new book, reflecting on the importance of emotional boundaries, and the challenge of accepting things beyond our control. As Vince and Cara explore their initial thoughts on "Let Them," and its relevance to social work practice, they share personal experiences from their own practice, and discusses practical steps to adopting the philosophy.

Created for social workers, by social workers. Join the conversation every Friday.

In this week's podcast, our hosts Vince and Cara, inspired by THIS article at mysocialworknews.com, discuss the importance of taking the time to spring clean your caseload, and declutter your digital life in order to blow the professional cobwebs away. This includes reflecting on the importance of recognising cases that need to be closed and how lingering cases can negatively impact workload management, as well as tackling overwhelming email inboxes, organising files, and maintaining digital archives.

Created by social workers, for social workers. Join the conversation, every Friday morning.

In this week's podcast, our hosts reflect on the recent statistics - which show that the average social worker caseload in the UK has fallen to the lowest in recorded history - considering frontline reactions to the news, and the credibility of the figures reported. Do these statistics align with the experiences of frontline social workers? Is a decline in agency social workers a cause for optimism, or concern? And both Vince and Cara share their strategies for improving conditions and reducing burnout and vacancies.

What do YOU think? Join the conversation, every Friday morning. Created by social workers, for social workers.

This week's episode is inspired by this article, after the MailOnline exclusively reported this week that a brawl on the streets of Gateshead last Tuesday was triggered by social workers attempting to remove children from a property in the area. Our hosts, Vince and Cara, share their thoughts on this latest riot, examine why social workers are frequently at the centre of these conflicts, and discuss how we can we better protect social workers from physical and emotional harm.

Join the discussion, every Friday morning.

Created by social workers, for social workers.

If hospitals can call a Code Black, why can’t social work?

On this week's episode, our hosts discuss how social work trauma doesn’t explodes - it erodes. What are the systemic failures and government inaction at the heart of the problem? Would a Code Black even work in social work?

Join the discussion, every Friday morning.

Created by social workers, for social workers.

This week our hosts Vince and Cara, both social workers themselves as well as columnists for Social Work News, share their views - along with those of our readers - on the recent news that Social Work England has proposed raising its annual fee by 33% from September 2025.

Is the amount fair? Do you feel Social Work England is holding up their end of the deal? Join the conversation. And don't forget to take part in the consultation, and ensure your regulators know your thoughts.

Every Friday morning, created by social workers, for social workers.