'Have Your Say' workforce survey 2026: Full report and summary of responses

13 October 2026

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This report contains the findings of our 2026 Have Your Say survey, which asked social care workers in Wales about their experiences of working in the sector.

We received 7,565 responses to the survey.

The survey asked about:

personal, job and employment characteristics
fair work, including fair reward, representation, flexibility, and progression
health, well-being, stress and support.

The full report splits the findings into three job groupings - care workers, social workers, and managers. It also provides comparisons to past surveys and explores written responses to questions asked in the survey.

The total number of responses to the survey was made up of:

5,418 care workers
746 care managers
971 social workers and social work managers
430 respondents in other social care job roles.

The full report is available in Microsoft Word format.

We've also produced a short report which provides a summary of the findings. You can download the short report as a Microsoft Word document, or read below.

Short reports are also available for the following three job groups:

We published the full report and each of the short reports on 13 October 2026. Visit the Social Care Wales website for a news piece that includes comment from Social Care Wales Chief Executive Sarah McCarty.

Below is a summary of the report's findings.

Demographics

Personal characteristics of respondents were similar to those in the 2024 and 2025 Have Your Say surveys:

the most common age group was 55 to 59 years old(14 per cent)
80 per cent were female, and 20 per cent male
95 per cent were straight/heterosexual, five per cent identified as homosexual, lesbian, or bisexual
73 per cent were White, 16 per cent were Black, and nine per cent were Asian
20 per cent said they had a long-term condition which lasted 12 months or more. Of those who had a long-term condition, 67 per cent said it affected their day-to-day functioning
31 per cent said they were a carer outside of work
12 per cent said they were neurodivergent
45 per cent said they could speak at least some Welsh.

In 2026, we also found that:

62 per cent of respondents held qualifications at Level 3 or above (A-level equivalent or higher)
62 per cent of respondents self-identified as working class.

Job characteristics

32 per cent were adult care home workers, 23 per cent were domiciliary care workers, and 12 per cent were social workers
47 per cent had worked in social care for 10 years or more
23 per cent of managers were Responsible Individuals (defined under the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016)
20 per cent of respondents who spoke at least some Welsh reported using Welsh all or most of the time in work
30 per cent used Artificial Intelligence (AI) regularly or occasionally for work.

Employment characteristics

38 per cent worked in the public sector, 53 per cent worked in the private sector, and nine per cent worked in the voluntary sector or multiple sectors
74 per cent were working full-time
38 per cent said they were members of a trade union.

Motivation, recognition and commitment

56 per cent started working in social care because they wanted a job that would make a difference to people’s lives. 41 per cent felt they’d enjoy it, 32 per cent felt it would suit their skills and 27 per cent had personal experience of caring for someone
42 per cent found out about working in social care through friends and family working in the sector, 30 per cent through a job advertised online, and 19 per cent through personal experience of caring for someone
64 per cent felt valued by their managers, 74 per cent felt valued by colleagues, and 78 per cent felt valued by those they support and care for
25 per cent were considering leaving the sector
39 per cent expected to stay in the sector until retirement and 16 per cent expected to stay in social care work for less than twelve months.

Pay and conditions

94 per cent were paid the Real Living Wage or above
32 per cent were satisfied with their pay
57 per cent were satisfied with their terms and conditions
83 per cent were employed on fixed hours contracts, seven per cent were on flexible or casual contracts and eight per cent were on zero hours contracts.

Work intensity and choice

14 per cent felt enough staff were in place to deliver services all of the time
53 per cent agreed they had enough time to do their job well
41 per cent agreed they had choice over which tasks they do, and 56 per cent agreed they had a choice in how they perform tasks.

Consultation, influence and representation

87 per cent reported formal mechanisms for staff voice were in place
51 per cent agreed that staff were always consulted about change at work
35 per cent believed their views were taken into account most or all of the time
83 per cent were aware or very aware of their employment rights
58 per cent agreed their employment rights were respected.

Training and progression

80 per cent of respondents had performance appraisals at work
79 per cent agreed they had the right training to do their jobs well
48 per cent agreed that they needed more training to progress their career
24 per cent believed there were barriers to accessing training
39 per cent wanted a leadership role in the future, and 51 per cent believed it was possible to become a leader
15 per cent had sought a promotion opportunity in the past year, and 47 per cent of these respondents had been shortlisted and offered a position
86 per cent felt their employer acted fairly with regards to promotion decisions.

Fair treatment

30 per cent of respondents had experienced poor treatment at work. 26 per cent experienced bullying,18 per cent experienced discrimination and 18 per cent experienced violence at work in the last 12 months
72 per cent of respondents who experienced bullying reported it and 39 per cent were satisfied with the outcome
59 per cent of those who experienced discrimination had reported it and 32 per cent were satisfied with the outcome
91 per cent of those who experienced violence reported it and 54 per cent were satisfied with the outcome
similar levels of bullying (seven to nine per cent) and discrimination (four to six per cent) involved managers, colleagues, and those receiving support.

Health and well-being

Well-being measures indicated lower well-being than the working population of Wales. Using measures by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), on a scale of 0 (not at all) to 10 (completely), we found that:

satisfaction with life was 6.6, compared to 7.6 for workers across all sectors in Wales (UK average 7.5)
feeling worthwhile was 7.1, compared to 7.8 for workers across all sectors in Wales (UK average 7.8)
happiness yesterday was 6.7, compared to 7.5 for workers across all sectors in Wales (UK average 7.4)
anxiety was 4.1, compared to 3.2 for workers across all sectors in Wales (UK average 3.2).

We also asked other questions about well-being. We found that:

67 per cent said their morale was good most or all of the time
60 per cent of respondents reported having worked while ill
42 per cent said they had good financial well-being (doing alright or living comfortably)
24 per cent were finding it difficult to manage financially, and 52 per cent felt it was more difficult to manage financially than last year.

Stress

59 per cent agreed they struggled to switch off when they leave work
27 per cent said their workload was causing stress at work. This was followed by worrying about things outside of work (24 per cent), paperwork and bureaucracy (23 per cent), lack of support from managers and colleagues (15 per cent) and work-related costs(15 per cent).

Support

63 per cent said they felt helped and supported by their manager most or all of the time
72 per cent said they felt helped and supported by their colleagues most or all of the time
49 per cent said they had enough support to deal with stress
36 per cent would seek information about health and well-being from managers
63 per cent would seek mental health support from a GP.

This survey was carried out on behalf of Social Care Wales by researchers at Cardiff University, supported by Care Forum Wales. The final report was produced by the researchers.