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THE WORKFORCE CHALLENGE FACING ADULT CARE

Supporting the People Holding Care Together

The adult social care sector continues to face significant workforce challenges across recruitment, retention and leadership stability.
 

According to Skills for Care, adult social care in England experienced an estimated turnover rate of 23.1% in 2024/25, equivalent to approximately 335,000 people leaving their roles within a single year.
 

At the same time, the sector continues to face around 111,000 vacant posts across adult social care services.`

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Government workforce surveys also found:

  • 74% of domiciliary care providers reported recruitment difficulties 

  • 58.5% reported retention challenges 

  • many services reported declining staff morale and emotional fatigue within teams 

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335,000

People leaving roles annually

23.1%

Staff turnover rate

111,000

Vacant posts across the sector

The human impact

Behind the statistics are exhausted Leaders, but the true impact goes far beyond the statistics.
 

Care managers and leaders are often balancing:

  • constant staffing pressures 

  • safeguarding responsibilities 

  • emotional strain within teams 

  • increasing regulatory expectations 

  • rising recruitment and agency costs 

  • the emotional demands of supporting vulnerable people every day 
     

Many leaders are supporting everyone else while receiving very little support themselves.
 

Over time, this level of pressure can affect:

  • wellbeing 

  • resilience 

  • confidence 

  • decision-making 

  • retention 

  • workplace culture 
     

The emotional burden carried by care leaders is significant — yet it is often overlooked within wider workforce discussions.​

The cost to organisations

High turnover creates substantial financial and operational pressures for organisations through:

  • repeated recruitment campaigns 

  • onboarding and training costs 

  • increased agency reliance 

  • reduced continuity of care 

  • pressure on remaining staff 

  • leadership instability 

  • increased operational risk 
     

Beyond financial costs, workforce instability can also affect:

  • team morale 

  • service consistency 

  • quality outcomes 

  • staff wellbeing 

  • organisational culture 

  • CQC readiness and compliance 
     

For many providers, maintaining a stable, resilient workforce is becoming one of the sector’s greatest challenges.

Why leadership support matters

Research across the sector continues to highlight the importance of leadership support, wellbeing, learning and development in improving retention and workforce stability.

Skills for Care has identified that staff receiving regular training, development and support are significantly less likely to leave their roles.
 

Supporting the emotional and psychological wellbeing of care leaders is no longer a “nice to have”.


It is essential for:

  • workforce stability 

  • staff retention 

  • resilient leadership 

  • positive workplace culture 

  • sustainable, high-quality care 
     

Because when leaders feel supported:

  • teams are stronger 

  • organisations are healthier 

  • workplace culture improves 

  • staff feel valued 

  • better outcomes follow for both staff and the people they support 

How I can help...

I understand the realities facing today’s care leaders.

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The coaching and mentoring is designed to help managers, leaders and teams feel more supported, resilient and emotionally equipped to navigate the ongoing pressures of adult social care.

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I believe that supporting the people holding care together is one of the most important investments organisations can make.

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