Self-Care Rhetoric in Neoliberal Organisations: Social Worker Experiences

Abstract

Self-care has become an increasingly important practice for social workers to ensure practitioner wellbeing and effective, ethical practice outcomes. However, undertaking self-care activities is often considered the responsibility of individual social workers with limited consideration of how the workplace may influence their understanding and practice of self-care. Based in Southeast Queensland, Australia this paper uses interpretative phenomenological analysis to understand workplaces influences on eleven social worker’s practice and experience of self-care. This study produced rich data about how social workers perceive workplaces’ use of self-care rhetoric to achieve increased productivity and minimise organisational risk. Social workers instead suggested self-care practices and practitioner well-being was more easily maintained in organisations that fostered supportive teams and healthy workplace cultures. This research illustrates how the concept of self-care has become manipulated to meet the neoliberal demands of organisations rather than a mechanism for supporting social workers. Findings of this study suggest more research, practice, policing, and funding should focus on organisational practices and policies which support social workers well-being, rather than focusing on individualised practices of self-care.

Keywords:

• self-care
• neoliberalism
• wellbeing

Additional information

Funding

This research was made possible from Start Up Funds from Griffith University, School of Human Services and Social Work.

Notes on contributors

Michelle Newcomb

Dr Michelle Newcomb is a Lecturer at the Queensland University of Technology with an interest in critical social work and practitioner well being.