Twenty-first century social work: the influence of political context on public service provision in social work education and service delivery

Welbourne, Penelope

doi:10.1080/13691451003706670

Cited by 35 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Studies show that social workers engaged with the poor face an emotional duality: compassion along with judgment, involvement along with avoidance, and solidarity along with rejection (Reingold & Liu, ). This duality may allude to the huge emotional struggle they face in order to reconcile the need to build empathetic, meaningful, and lasting working alliances with the families in the context of very constraining and oppressive institutional policies (Conneely & Garrett, ; Welbourne, ). In addition, research has also shown that social workers' emotions are influenced by the “theory of cultural poverty,” which emphasizes the intergenerational inheritance of pathological patterns, suggesting that acceptance of this theory affects their approach to and handling of families living in poverty (Castillo & Becerra, ) and increases the stigmatization and Othering of the families (McIntyre, Officer, & Robinson, ).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social workers' emotional labour with families in poverty: Neoliberal fatigue?

Lavee

Strier

2018

Child & Family Social Work

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This study examines the emotional labour of social workers serving families living in poverty. Based on in‐depth interviews and focus groups, the study concentrates on frontline social workers' emotions when faced with increasing levels of poverty, growing caseloads, and neoliberal social policies in Israel. Findings highlight 3 interrelated aspects of the emotional labour of social workers involved with impoverished families: (a) the emotional flooding social workers experience in their professional routines, (b) the various practices of emotional labour they use to cope with the emotional backlash of their encounters with these families including emotional numbness, emotional Othering, and emotional splitting, and (c) confirmation of the harmful influence of institutional policies on their emotional well‐being and ability to respond effectively to the increasing demands of their clients. Based on Hochschild's theory of emotional labour, we maintain that social workers' emotions should be studied in the context of a specific social, institutional, and political background.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social workers' emotional labour with families in poverty: Neoliberal fatigue?

Lavee

Strier

2018

Child & Family Social Work

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“…Germany). However, spending on social welfare and the organisation of welfare services -welfare benefits, housing, health, education as well as social services -is not simply a function of a country's economic circumstances, but is also related to the dominant political views of the day (Welbourne, 2011). Global trends and institutions have a bearing on social policies and expenditure in the European region and there is evidence that increasingly right-wing, «free market» policies influence welfare provisions, including social services.…”

Section: The Changing Organisation Of Social Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trabajo Social y Servicios Sociales en Europa: un paisaje cambiante

Lawrence¹,

Lyons²

2013

Cuad. Trab. Soc.

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This article considers some of the variations and similarities, as well as possible areas of convergence, in social welfare policies; the organisation of social services; the concerns; and the education and training of social professionals across Europe. It focuses particularly on the European Union as a political bloc within a wider Europe, and identifies some aspects of its role in shaping national policies and practices, including in the fields of migration and higher education. It presumes that global and regional trends and influences, together with international population mobility, indicate that social professionals may find themselves increasingly drawn into «trans-national» interventions and that they therefore need to be aware of welfare systems and professional policies and practices beyond national borders. Respect for cultural diversity and commitment to the promotion of human rights and social justice, nationally and internationally, are regarded as essential values to be shared by social professionals across Europe, as espoused by regional bodies representing social professionals and educators. Keywords: social services organisation, social professionals, education and training, EU social policies, migration, cultural diversity, transnational social work ResumenEste artículo analiza algunas de las diferencias y similitudes, así como las posibles áreas de convergencia, en las polí-ticas de bienestar social, la organización de los Servicios Sociales, las preocupaciones, y la educación y formación de los profesionales sociales en Europa. Se centra especialmente en la Unión Europea como un bloque político dentro de una Europa más amplia, e identifica algunos aspectos de su función en la elaboración de las políticas y prácticas nacionales, incluyendo los ámbitos de la migración y la educación superior. Plantea que las influencias de las tendencias mundiales y regionales de una gran movilidad internacional de la población, conlleva que las profesiones sociales puedan verse cada vez más inmersas en intervenciones «transnacionales» y que, por lo tanto, hayan de ser conscientes de que los sistemas de bienestar y las actuaciones y prácticas profesionales van más allá de las fronteras nacionales. El respeto por la diversidad cultural y el compromiso con la promoción de los derechos humanos y la justicia social, nacional e internacional, se consideran valores esenciales que deben ser compartidos por las profesiones sociales en Europa, y adoptados por los organismos regionales de representación profesional y educativa. Palabras clave: organización, Servicios sociales, profesionales sociales, educación, preparación, políticas sociales europeas, migraciones, diversidad cultural, Trabajo Social transnacional. Resumen amplioEn la introducción de este artículo se da cuenta del modo como diversas organizaciones formales e informales, independientemente de su naturaleza y origen, han brindado a los profesionales sociales la oportunidad de compartir conocimientos acerca de determinados temas nacionales y de su...

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“…Some scholars (e.g. Welbourne ; cited in Alston ) suggest that welfare workers need to be alert to the way government policies and practices reshape social work practice rather than social work values and ethics. While such a suggestion is useful, it is not likely to be specific enough to be an everyday practical tool for staff to address the above‐mentioned challenges.…”

Section: Street‐level Discretion and The Research Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Street‐level discretion, emotional labour and welfare frontline staff at the Australian employment service providers

Nguyen

Velayutham

2018

Aust J Social Issues

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Despite the current controversial debates about discretion in public bureaucracies in general, and in welfare agencies in particular, the current literature on street-level bureaucracy mainly assumes that discretion is a distinctive feature of the daily work of public servants. Nonetheless, a pertinent question has not specifically been asked in this literature, that is, given the context of privatisation and increased welfare conditionality in the welfare sector that are seriously challenging welfare frontline staff's commitment to social justice and human rights-based practices, what are forms of street-level discretion likely to contribute to improving the quality of welfare services? In this study, we attempt to address this question by exploring discretion displayed by welfare frontline staff in four Australian employment service providers. We argue that emotional labour, especially when being informed by critical empathy, is an important and effective form of street-level discretion that welfare frontline workers can perform to better support welfare recipients and minimise the punitive aspects of welfare policy. K E Y W O R D S discretion, emotional labour, frontline staff, welfare policy, workplace relations

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Twenty-first century social work: the influence of political context on public service provision in social work education and service delivery

Cited by 35 publications

References 46 publications

Social workers' emotional labour with families in poverty: Neoliberal fatigue?

Social workers' emotional labour with families in poverty: Neoliberal fatigue?

Trabajo Social y Servicios Sociales en Europa: un paisaje cambiante

Street‐level discretion, emotional labour and welfare frontline staff at the Australian employment service providers

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