Abstract: Workforce Perceptions of Social Work Professionalism: What Role for Social Justice?

Background and Purpose: This study examines perceptions of the social work profession among those who employ social workers. It investigates whether organizational or workplace perceptions of social work practice align with the profession’s articulated perception of itself, as stated by the code of ethics and standards of practice. Individuals receiving services from social workers expect fair and equitable access and delivery of services; yet organizations that employ social workers do not frequently acknowledge or value the social justice mandate of professional social work practice. Under investigation are perceptions and potential (in)congruency between organizational aims or outcomes and the professions ethical aims for social justice.

Methods: We employ an emergent, critical inquiry research design to uncover perceptions of social work professionals and investigate experiences and interpretations among those who employ social workers. Critical inquiry and constructivist grounded theory locate and interrogate historical, social, and situational contexts to make visible power dynamics and discourses that may otherwise remain undetected. We employ situational maps in the analysis to clarify and elucidate relationships among concepts, dominant or marginalized discourses, and to contextualize complex practice environments that give rise to perceptions of social work professionalism in the workplace. This research is conceptualized in two steps: step one an environmental scan, reported on here, and step two in-depth interviews with employers.

Results: An environmental scan of public, non-profit, and for-profit organizations in Alberta identified 836 discrete employers of social work. Using maximum variation sampling, two-hundred job postings were selected for an in-depth review; 121 of those postings were completed. Findings indicate that <10 percent of job postings contained reference to social justice, and only 22% required social workers to be eligible or registered with their professional body. Most job listings required a Diploma of Social Work (36%), followed by a Bachelor of Social Work (33%). When reviewing posted wages for Diploma, Bachelor and Masters of Social Work, all education levels have a lower average wage than other human service related diplomas and degrees. Crucially, only 11% of jobs mentioned advocacy as a duty.

Conclusions and Implications: This study identifies discrepancies or gaps in understanding of the value base, role, and scope of practice of professional social work among those who employ social workers. These discrepancies impact the ability of social workers to work to their full skill set and may hamper job satisfaction. The central social work value, the pursuit of social justice, does not appear in most social work job postings nor is it a job requirement identified by employers. This is of critical importance to the future development of the social work profession and for the relevance of their social justice mission. It is also critical to those clients who rely on social workers to advocate for their individual and collective needs. Vulnerable social work clients require professionals whose commitments to justice are clear and supported.