Through the Eyes of Future Social Workers: A Student Photovoice Project on Working Conditions in Human Service Agencies

Background/Purpose: Increasingly, attention has turned to the agency conditions in which social workers labor. Fractured and under-resourced human service organizations, along with poor compensation and heavy workloads, are the main reasons for social workers leaving agency employment and the profession (Hyde, 2024; Smith, 2018). There is a looming shortage of skilled social workers especially in child welfare and adolescent mental health. Yet the profession’s response focuses on individual actions, such as self-care, rather than on the systemic causes of and solutions to these conditions.

This presentation focuses on how future social workers understand the agency conditions in which they will work. MSW students engaged in a photovoice project to document and analyze working conditions in human service agencies. Presented here are analytical themes identified by the students and implications for scholarship, teaching, and practice.

Methods: Photovoice is a “participatory research action strategy ... used to give voice to groups” to help bring about change (Mackinnon & Ryan, 2014, pg. 2). This photovoice project was undertaken as an assignment in two advanced MSW macro research classes. It was part of a larger study on agency working conditions that included a survey of working conditions and individual interviews with practitioners.

Students submitted 3-5 photos with captions that captured their views of working conditions in human service agencies including internal and external factors that might shape these conditions. Thirty-seven students submitted 123 photos for analysis. Students collaborated in small groups to note what photos needed clarification and sparked greatest interest, then delineated themes as illustrated by sets of photos. Analysis was guided by Wang and Burris’ (1997) photovoice guidelines. Discussions centered on why photos were taken, differences in interpreting photos, identification of emergent themes, comparison with findings from other data, and implications for action.

Results: Photos conveyed an overwhelmingly negative view of agency working conditions. Dominant themes were: chaotic work environments, barriers to clients getting resources, disheartening client experiences (e.g., homelessness), unsafe environments, and work overload. Few photos captured positive views of agency life, and those clustered around celebrations (e.g., birthdays); students expressed concern with the apparent lack of social engagement. Discussions centered on how difficult it was to do the work given these conditions; many students noted that this was corroborated by their interviews. Students shared that they pursued social work to help and make change, specifically they mentioned creating pathways and opportunities to resources for client groups. The photovoice analysis confirmed their decisions to engage in advocacy and resource development, and the need for managers to be aware of frontline working conditions.

Implications: While no one expressed regret for choosing social work, students conveyed concerns over the kinds of work environments they would be entering. They noted that this topic was rarely discussed in courses, though themes were manifest in their practica; suggesting students are not prepared to systemically understand current and future agency environments. This also may explain the lack of collective or system change efforts and the reliance on individual strategies to cope with one’s work environment.