Results of the second wave of the adult social care workforce survey published
The survey was led by Ipsos in partnership with the University of Kent, Skills for Care and King’s College London.
The wave 1 survey took place in 2023 just as the adult social care (ASC) sector was coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this second wave was to measure if and how the wellbeing and work-related quality of life of the ASC workforce had changed between 2023 and 2025 when the second wave took place. Wave 2 measured the ASC workforce wellbeing, care work-related quality of life using the ASCOT-Workforce suite of measures, access to learning and development, experience of violence and bullying at work, and intention to leave current job or the ASC sector. This second wave of the survey also asked about delegated healthcare activities and employment terms and conditions to support policy development.
Wave 2 included a longitudinal sample (participants who agreed to be recontacted at the end of wave 1) and a fresh sample. Fieldwork started on 14 August 2025 and closed on 10 October 2025 once the targeted number of responses was reached.
A total of 3,008 members of the ASC workforce responded to the survey which includes 926 responses from the longitudinal sample, and 2,082 responses from the fresh sample (after data cleaning). Quotas were set by key variables and the data are weighted to reflect the profile of the workforce in England according to Skills for Care’s ASC workforce data set (ASC-WDS).
DHSC has published the findings from the research here. The findings are outlined in a report, which starts with an executive summary. Other published outputs include a technical report and the data tables with responses to each question. All outputs can be downloaded by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page.
The findings and recommendations are relevant to a wide range of organisations including local authorities, care providers, umbrella organisations, individual employers, members of the workforce and organisations representing or supporting the workforce. Steps that could be taken to improve the wellbeing and work-related quality of life of the adult social care workforce include:
Signposting sources of support to improve overall wellbeing
Provide comprehensive training on safety to staff, so people feel equipped to deal with challenging behaviour when they experience physical violence or harassment at work
Ensuring that the leadership of ASC organisations stands up against physical violence, bullying and harassment in the workplace, whatever the source; supports a culture in which the workforce feel confident in reporting concerns; addresses these issues when they are reported and supports staff who experience violence in the workplace
Ensuring that when delegated activities are undertaken, people are trained or shown how to conduct them by the person in charge of the delegation, and that they feel comfortable and confident in doing them
Proactively supporting members of the workforce who are known to have a disability or unpaid caring responsibilities
Ensuring members of the workforce have a meaningful appraisal or review once a year, with clear objectives that motivate them
Helping members of the workforce make the most of opportunities currently available for learning and development, including on delegated activities, during paid hours
To access the main report, please click here.
