Quebec’s child protection services were extensively restructured in the wake of the two latest reforms to the healthcare and social services system. Strongly inspired by the principles of new public management, the reforms, overseen successively by ministers Philippe Couillard (2004) and Gaétan Barrette (2013), were carried out to boost productivity and cut the costs of healthcare and social services. Today, studies show they also had several negative impacts on workers, notably in connection with the intensification of work and the degradation of working conditions. Analysis shows that the emotional difficulties of child protection workers are affecting their relationships on the job with managers and also with co-workers, the latter relationships being perceived as conflict-prone and lacking in cooperation and mutual assistance. This is typical of work groups that have become weaker and less able to protect worker health. Summary The article presents the results of a qualitative study of 31 child protection workers in Quebec. The study is about how their emotional difficulties are affecting their relationships with managers and co-workers after a reform of the healthcare and social services system (Bill 10). The results show that a large majority of the workers report one or more deleterious impacts on relationships with managers (anger and frustration, mistrust due to fear that emotional difficulties may be exploited, avoidance, loss of trust). In addition, a very significant proportion of them report impacts on relationships with co-workers (isolation and withdrawal, snowball effect on co-workers and the work team, less willingness to work together and help each other out). Analysis shows that the intensification of work and the degradation of conditions of practice among these workers, due to the last reform (Bill 10) by Minister Barrette (2013), have significantly contributed to a weakening of the work groups. Mutual assistance and cooperation are necessary for them to do their assigned tasks, but the possibilities for either are tending to disappear and giving way to work done by isolated and suffering workers.