Bullshit jobs. Around David Graeber’s concept in the context of the condition and current challenges of Polish social work

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-126
Author(s):  
Mateusz Rutkowski
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Cash Benefits

Taking David Graeber’s theory of bullshit jobs as basis the author argues in the text that it may refer to Polish social work. The analysis focus on the perception of their own professional duties by social workers, which is the basic condition for qualifying their work as a ’bullshit job’. The main problem axis is two ways to carry out social work: as work with people and work with documents. The conclusions concern the need to reflect on the current shape of social policy in Poland as the basis for social work and to divide the mentioned policy into social work and cash benefits.

scholarly journals Practising social work

Social Work ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 97-114
Author(s):  
Guy Shennan
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Human Development ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Science Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Interviews ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Work Knowledge

The chapter considers changes and developments in the content of social work education under the three headings of social science disciplines, understanding human development and relationships, and theories, approaches and methods for practice. At the start of the period under review, social science knowledge (primarily from sociology and social policy) and human development theories predominated, but as their research base and published literature have expanded, theories and methods for practice have become more prominent. The contribution to knowledge from research conducted by social workers themselves is acknowledged, as is the contribution made by experts by experience, both directly and through research interviews. The prominence of sequences on law for social workers is noted. The chapter concludes by asserting that the broad partnership of interests which should determine the content of the social work knowledge base is threatened by Government's much-expanded role, but that most social work programmes continue to ensure a balanced curriculum.

scholarly journals Social Work and Social Policy Practice: Imperatives for Political Engagement

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manohar Pawar
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Policy Practice

This article discusses why and how social workers need to engage in social policy practice and how such engagement necessitates political action. The local conditions relating to health, education, housing, employment, gender equality and socioeconomic infrastructure in majority of communities in the Asia Pacific region are largely neglected by professional social workers. To make a difference in those communities and to do justice to their own professional values and principles, social workers need to engage in policy practice in several ways. They may also need to re-examine the profession’s non-political and non-religious neutral stand. It argues that to facilitate their necessary political engagement, social workers need to understand and work with local politics and power structures. Such a stand calls for new thinking and altering some aspects of the nature of social work education and practice in the region.

scholarly journals Välfärden, samhällskritiken och medierna

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3-4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lundälv Jörgen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
New Media ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
National Board ◽  
International Media ◽  
Media System ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Systems

Welfare, critique and the media – social workers’ voices in podcasts in social policy and social workSocial workers and social policy researchers can engage in social work and critical social policy, in traditional media and in the new media. In recent years, the social media have been increasing in both the international media systems and in the media system in Sweden. One channel for social workers to use to be able to make their voice heard in society is to participate, debate and discuss social policy in podcasts. In 2016, the Union for Professionals, Akademikerförbundet SSR, developed ”Social Services Podcasts”. At the same time the National Board of Health and Welfare introduce a new podcast on social services and health care that is called ”Podcast in the Deep”. This article examines voices and themes in social policy and social work in a total of 112 programmes in two podcasts: ”Socialtjänstpodden” and ”In Depth” during the years 2016–2019. There are several challenges for the storytelling tradition and social criticism in social policy and social work in podcasts, which is highlighted in this article.

scholarly journals Socio-political work during the election race

2021 ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
Svitlana Bondar ◽  
Rostyslav Tsimokha
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Social

The article offers an analysis of political parties: their essence, functions, image formation, the role of the party as a mediator between the government and society, the activities of parties in elections. The features of the social work of political parties are shown, on the example of the political party «Team of Sergei Rudyk. A time of change!». Mechanisms, basic approaches, the most common methods and techniques of social work with people are analyzed. The main theoretical strategies and ideas of social work are presented. Position of the political party «Team of Sergei Rudyk. A time of change!» is that first, the solution of social problems is discussed before it will be accepted and even after it has been adopted. On the party’s website https://www.rudyk.org/news/page/4/, the main projects of social work are illustrated. The publication gives the main recommendations for improving the efficiency of social work: the creation of a mechanism to help youth in self-determination in choosing the profession of social worker, to extend forms and directions of professional training of social workers, to increase expansion in the number of periodicals covering the work of social services, centres, social workers. The formation of social policy occurs based on information received from the collection of statistical data and the conduct of sociological studies. Understanding this information allows you to identify the social tasks. The realization of socially significant goals and social problems solution have been organized through social projects and social programs, which form a significant part of social policy.

‘A little more humanity’: placement officers in Germany between social work and social policy

2019 ◽  
pp. 201-216
Author(s):  
Markus Gottwald ◽  
Frank Sowa
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Employment Service ◽  
Public Employment Service ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Unemployed

By definition, no social work is supposed to be carried out in the labour administration. However, what do German placement officers reveal about the implementation of social policy when they describe their activity as social work? Classical research studies on public employment service (PES) as well as our own empirical research reveal the following: while it emerged from earlier studies that placement officers described themselves as ‘social workers’ in order to lend greater meaning to their activities, interviews conducted with today's placement officers indicate their criticism as well: dysfunctional effects of an organisational means of achieving the social policy goals set by the Hartz labour-market reforms (2003-05) are specified – including the welfare-to-work principle being made unnecessarily stricter, thereby increasing the risk of the unemployed becoming ‘genuine’ social work cases.

Social Work and Coercion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomi Gomory ◽  
Daniel Dunleavy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Personal Rights

Social work is perhaps most distinctive for its clear and outspoken commitment toward improving the well-being of society’s vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, while still emphasizing the importance of respecting and defending personal rights and freedoms. Though there is a fundamental necessity for coercion, or its threat, for eliciting civil social behavior in a well-functioning society, it is professionally and ethically imperative that social workers make explicit our rationales for, justifications of, and the evidence used to support or reject coercive practices in our work. Social work’s engagement with coercion inevitably entails the ethical and social policy arguments for and against its use, as shown in a review of the empirical evidence regarding its impact on the professions’ clients, exemplified by three domains: (1) child welfare, (2) mental health, and (3) addictions. Recommendations for future improvements involve balancing the potential for harm against the benefits of coercive actions.

scholarly journals Social exclusion, neoliberalism and resistance: The role of social workers in implementing social policies in Chile

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianinna Muñoz Arce ◽  
Christina Pantazis
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Policy Interventions ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Democratic Regimes

The views of social workers in Chile are rarely heard and considered in the policy debates. This article addresses this lacuna by examining discourses of social exclusion and underlying assumptions held by social workers with responsibility for implementing social policy interventions in Chile. It draws upon the findings of a study involving interviews with senior social workers from two large non-governmental organisations (NGOs) tackling social exclusion. We found that individual-based narratives and neoliberal rationality are dominant in the implementation of Chilean social policy. At the same time, anti-hegemonic strategies pursued by some social workers were also identified. Such an approach is highly relevant in the Chilean context, in which power imbalances remain almost untouched since the return of democratic regimes in the 1990s. The study findings pose diverse challenges to Chilean social policy and social work professional training. The necessity of promoting transformative imaginations that favour collective practices of resistance is identified to counteract, through a critical discourse, the neoliberal rationale, its rhetoric and practices affecting excluded people’s lives.

scholarly journals Implementing social policy

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Backer Grønningsæter ◽  
Riina Kiik
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship

In this explorative article the relationship between social policy and social work will be in focus. The article discusses similarities and differences between Estonia and Norway.The empirical material consists of eight focus group interviews with social workers in the two countries. The aim of the study was to investigate to what extent the social work profession represents change agents in the social policy framework. The article looks at the differences and communalities in different years in the two countries. The authors conclude that social workers are important actors in implementing changes at the local level. They seem, however, to be more concerned about the daily encounters with the individual users than about the general policy framework.The main findings suggested that social workers in both countries see themselves as spokespersons for respect for and cooperation with the users while simultaneously arguing that social workers only to a very limited extent see the implementation of social policies as a part of their roles.

scholarly journals Social policy for social work and human services in Aotearoa New Zealand: Diverse perspectives

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-76
Author(s):  
Maidment Jane ◽  
Liz Beddoe
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand

Reviewed by Jan Duke Social Workers Registration Board

Introducing social work: who are social workers? Why do we need them?

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Linda Bell
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
The State ◽  
The Past ◽  
Personal Reflections

This introductory chapter introduces social work and social workers. It also considers other questions related to social work, infusing the discussion with some personal reflections. It asks how we address the taken-for-granted nature of social work. The influences of the state, social policy, and public perceptions (including users of social work services) on social work are also explored. The chapter includes some extracts taken from recent interviews with workers about social work as they have experienced it in the past and the present, and how they view its future prognosis. Finally, the chapter also outlines the outsider approach that this volume will take towards exploring social work.

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