Social Work Mums

35 | Burnt Out But Can't Afford to Leave Social Work? (Why Another Job Won't Fix It) Have you ever driven home at two o'clock in the morning asking yourself, why am I doing this? You're burnt out. You know something has to change. But you need the salary, so you stay. In this episode, I take you back to my years as an employed social worker. The night on the M6 when I realised I wasn't protecting...

Episode Title: You've Reached the Top of the Social Work Ladder. Now What? DARE 29TH SEPT 2026 Episode Description: Have you ever felt like you've climbed the entire career ladder, only to realise you might be on the wrong wall? In this episode, Ade Larigo gets real about the feeling of being a successful, senior professional who is secretly asking, "What's next?" Drawing on her 20+ years in socia...

Episode Title: 33 Feeling Stuck? Why You Still Can't See Your Next Move Episode Description: Do you ever get that "Sunday night feeling"? That sense of dread that creeps in, even when you have a good job and a successful career? If you're a capable, high-achieving woman who feels like you're at a crossroads, this episode is for you. Ade picks up right where "Genius Blindness" left off, and asks th...

32: It's Not Impostor Syndrome. It's Genius Blindness. 📅 17 September 2026 There's a kind of brilliance that becomes so normal to you, you stop calling it a skill at all. You read the room before anyone speaks. You hold fifteen things at once and still know what matters. People trust you with the hardest conversations in the building. And somehow, you've decided none of that counts. Sis… the very...

EP31: Feeling Stuck in a Caring Profession? The Skill That Could Be Holding You Back 📅 Wednesday, 9 September 2026 There is a skill that can make you brilliant at caring for other people — and it could also be one of the reasons you feel completely stuck in your own life. You assess risk. Solve problems. Think three steps ahead. You're the woman everybody relies on. But what happens when you turn...

EP30: Are You Undervaluing Your Own Genius? A Social Worker Mum's House of Lords Wake-Up Call   📅 Tuesday, 1 September 2026 I nearly ignored the message that took me to the House of Lords. A stranger reached out. I thought it was a scam. I almost said no — and that one decision put me in a room where my experience finally mattered. But even then, I couldn't name the value I was bringing. It took...

29 | AI in Social Work: The Conversation Every Social Worker Needs to Hear 📅 25th Aug 2026 AI has saved me hours. But it has also confidently given me information that was completely wrong. In social work, where our assessments and recommendations can affect children, families and vulnerable adults, that cannot simply be dismissed as an inconvenient mistake. Last week, I asked why you have not st...

Episode 28: You Know You Need Another Income Stream — So Why Haven't You Started? You've felt it. That quiet but persistent voice telling you that you were built for more, that you need more options, and that another income stream could be the key to your future freedom. But you're still standing at the starting line. In this direct and challenging episode, Ade unpacks the three biggest mental blo...

EPISODE 27 | 4 AUGUST 2026 CAN’T MAKE A DECISION? HERE’S WHAT INDECISION IS REALLY COSTING YOU What if the confidence you are waiting for is waiting for you to make a decision? Sometimes indecision looks responsible. You research, ask for advice and tell yourself you need more clarity. But when information gathering becomes a way of avoiding action, it can cost you time, opportunities and trust in...

Episode 26: The Lie That Keeps Capable Women From Seeing Their Superpower Date 23/07/26   What if the thing you keep dismissing as “nothing” is actually your superpower? So many capable women struggle to recognise their own value, not because they have nothing to offer, but because their strengths have become so natural to them that they no longer see them as skills. You can’t read the label from...

Title: The CEO in the Jar: Seeing Your Own Value (SW Mums Beyond Burnout)   Show Notes: "Can I ask you something honest?" When was the last time someone gave you a compliment — maybe at work, maybe from a friend — telling you that you were brilliant at something, and you just... brushed it off? You said, "Oh, that's just me. That's nothing special." If you know that feeling, this episode is for yo...

Episode Title: What My First £1,600 Paycheck Taught Me About Thinking Like a CEO   Episode Description:   A podcast for social workers and women in the caring professions feeling burnout and looking for clarity. In this episode, we explore how to start a side business or additional income stream alongside your career.   What if your career isn't your only path to impact and income? What if it's th...

EP23: Feeling Stuck as a Social Worker Mum? You Already Have More Than You Think 📅 17 June 2026   Can I ask you something honestly? If the one thing you are relying on right now changed tomorrow — your job, your contract, your income — what would you do? Most of us have never stopped to answer that question. Not because we are not capable. But because nobody has ever shown us that the skills we a...

Feeling Behind? What To Do When Life Doesn't Go To Plan Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything was planned out perfectly, only to have life happen? This week, I was supposed to record a completely different podcast episode. I had the title, the outline and every intention of getting it done. But caring responsibilities and unexpected demands meant my attention needed to go elsewhere...

EP21: They Changed The Rules — And Nobody Warned You What Every Social Worker, Nurse, Carer and Helping  Professional Needs to Know Right Now 📅 Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Over a thousand social workers lost their positions in one  year. Not because they were not good enough. Not because  the work disappeared. Because the government changed the  rules. And nobody warned them. And it is not just socia...

EP20 5 Social Work Skills You're Sleeping On - 27/5/26 You think you need a business degree. A tech degree. Some special knowledge you don't have. But here's the truth: you already have everything you need. You've been using these skills every single day in your social work. You're just sleeping on them. Every single skill that makes you good at your work — listening, empathy, willingness to learn...

EP19: Is It Wrong to Want More Money? Faith, Ambition, and the Truth — A Social Worker Mum's Story 📅 20 May 2026 You've never said it out loud. But you've thought it. "Is it wrong for me to want more? Am I being greedy? Is this ungodly?" And somewhere along the way — maybe in church, maybe from people around you — you buried that dream. You told yourself wanting more was selfish. So you settled....

EP18: The Lie Keeping You Stuck — How Social Worker Mums Build Flexible Income in Pockets of Time 📅 14 May 2026 You keep saying you don't have time. As a social worker mum with a full job, kids, and burnout creeping in, that's real. But what if building flexible income doesn't need hours? What if 20 minutes is enough? Last week I was sitting in a hospital with my dad. I'm working on my laptop — a...

EP17: Why Two Incomes Isn't Enough For Social Worker Families — And What to Do About It 📅 6 May 2026 You and your partner are both working. Both giving everything to your jobs, your family, your profession. Two incomes coming in. And you're still not free. The bills are still tight. The savings aren't growing. You barely see each other. And the worst part? You're both exhausted — and nothing is a...

EP16: IS WORKING ONLINE A SCAM? I WAS SCEPTICAL TOO — A SOCIAL WORKER MUM'S STORY 📅 28 April 2026   If you've ever scrolled past an ad about making money online and thought "that's a scam" — this episode is for you. Because I thought so too. For a long time, I shut it all down before I even let it land.   And your scepticism makes complete sense. There are scams online. People do get burned. But...

EP15: "I DON'T HAVE TIME" — THE LIE SOCIAL WORKER MUMS BELIEVE (AND HOW TO RECLAIM YOUR HOURS) 📅 21 April 2026   You've said it. I've said it. Every social worker mum I know has said it: "I just don't have time." And honestly? Your life IS full. Running a consultancy, raising children, managing your son's Olympic development training, caring for a parent, showing up for your clients every day — t...

EP14: WHY SOCIAL WORKER MUMS FEEL GUILTY FOR WANTING MORE THAN THEIR JOB 📅 13 April 2026   You love the work. You chose this profession on purpose. And yet — somewhere deep down — there's a voice that says you want more. More time. More peace. More breathing room. More money. And the moment that thought shows up, the guilt follows.   Because how can you want more when people are depending on you?...

Do you love social work, but still feel burnt out, overwhelmed, and stuck? In this episode, I’m sharing honestly about what it felt like to care deeply about my work as a social worker, while also feeling the weight of it in my own life, my family, and my wellbeing. I talk about why the work started to feel heavier than before, how the pressure, paperwork, and constant responsibility began followi...

EP12: WHY AM I THIS TIRED EVERY DAY… AND NOTHING IS CHANGING? 📅 31 March 2026   You get to the end of the day and you just sit there. Not just physically tired — mentally finished. Emotionally wrung out. And the thing that makes it worse? Nothing is actually changing. You show up again tomorrow and do it all over again.   That kind of tired isn't laziness. It's what happens when you've been carry...

EP11: BURNOUT OR INCOME CEILING? WHAT SOCIAL WORKER MUMS AREN'T BEING ASKED 📅 24 March 2026 Everyone talks about burnout like it's only about the emotional weight of the work. And yes — the weight is real. But there's another question that doesn't get asked often enough: what if the burnout is also about the income ceiling? About knowing that no matter how hard you work, your financial reality ma...