Wenjing Zhang (Research Fellow, KCL), Ann-Marie Towers (Professor of Social Care Research, KCL), Bo Hu (Associate Professorial Research Fellow, LSE) and Annette Boaz (Professor of Health and Social Care, KCL) discuss findings from the Leavers Study, which involved interviews with 30 people who had left adult social care roles within the previous two years. First published on the Care Work website. (747 words)

Adult social care depends on skilled, compassionate people. Yet across England, many workers are leaving the sector because the pressures of the job are becoming too difficult to sustain. This matters not only for staff wellbeing, but also for the quality and continuity of care that people receive.

To better understand why people leave adult social care and what might have encouraged them to stay, we carried out a study with former adult social care workers in England. The research builds on a 2023 national survey of more than 7,000 people working in adult social care in England. Around one in three said they intended to leave their job as soon as they found another one, with low pay, stress and burnout identified as the main reasons. By 2025, 12% of those who took part in a follow-up survey (1,073 people) had left adult social care altogether, including a small number who did not intend to quit two years earlier.

To better understand these decisions, we interviewed 30 people who had left adult social care roles within the previous two years. Participants included care workers, social workers, occupational therapists, personal assistants and managers. Some had moved into jobs in other sectors, while others had retired early or left work altogether because of health or caring responsibilities. Although every story was different, common themes emerged.