Atmospheres of mistrust and suspicion: Theorising on conflict and affective practice in a child protection social work agency

Abstract

child protection social work agency. AbstractOrganisational conflict is normally recognised as a disruptive activity which interrupts relational dynamics and productivity. However, this paper will argue that in addition, if conflict is not resolved carefully, it can trigger negative affect which will in turn unsettle and destabilise a whole workforce. Based on findings from an organisational ethnography the author examines how conflict emerged in a child protection social work agency by theorizing on the concept of affective practice. In doing so, the author makes the argument that although affect emerges in interaction it can be exacerbated by the unintentional pursuit of problematic strategies. Examining affective practice in such a way enables studies to bring into play the atmospheric factors which impacted on those who were present at that moment so that readers can understand how people were moved, attracted to or pained by certain social interactions. This is important when trying to comprehend how coercive power approaches in social work prevent care objectives from being met. The paper will conclude by suggesting that when practitioners are preoccupied with trying to survive in the workplace they will find it difficult to meet the needs of the children and families they are working with.

Audit culture, accountability, and care: A phenomenological anthropology of child welfare

“…A growing number of social work and anthropology scholars have utilized ethnographic and phenomenological approaches to illuminate social workers’ experiences in child welfare work (Ferguson, 2014, 2018; Lee, 2016; Leigh, 2019; Leigh et al., 2020; Montigny, 2018; Smeeton, 2017; Smeeton and O’Connor, 2020; and Thompson et al., 2017). Most notably, Harry Ferguson (2018), draws on a 6-month ethnographic study to consider how social workers practice reflexivity in the field, particularly within highly stressful and potentially unsafe circumstances.…”

“…It explores how front-line workers navigate the phenomenological dimensions of casework—namely, the constant threat of delegitimization from the media, juvenile court personnel, or colleagues, and the crushing pressures of DCFS’ productivity standards. As various scholars have pointed out, such phenomena arise within a larger institutional climate of suspicion, scrutiny, and distrust—a climate that I experienced first-hand during my ethnographic fieldwork (Cook, 2020; Lee, 2016; Leigh et al., 2020; Leigh, 2019).…”

“The feel of the place”: Investigating atmosphere with the residents of a modernist housing estate

“…To date, there is little in the social work literature on atmosphere, although there is some reference to it in ethnographic studies of child protection. Leigh’s (2019) work argues that researching affect in a comparative ethnography allows us to bring “atmospheric social interactions” into the picture of social work (213) and Jeyasingham’s study of the production of space in children’s social work notes the role that office acoustics and objects play in the creation of atmosphere. Here, objects such as paper, toys or clothes contribute to office atmospherics, yet are not obvious.…”

“…This article takes the call for social work to take both space and place more seriously as a starting point for the investigation of atmosphere, something that might, at first glance, appear to have little to do with welfare concerns. Yet, much of the research into child protection highlights atmosphere as a key – but overlooked – factor (Ferguson, 2010; Leigh, 2019). It has significant effects upon practice and, I would add, is also produced in and through those, often very dramatic, accounts.…”

Editorial

“…As a former practising social worker, I was always interested in how culture could affect the self and how I as a practitioner would then go on to affect those I interacted with outside of the organisation. By turning to the psychosocial theoretical perspective of 'affect', I have been able to explore the dynamics of cultural atmospheric factors present in my ethnographic research, and this has in turn enabled me to demonstrate how coercive power approaches can impact on those individuals present (see Leigh, 2017b).…”