Social work guanxi: a reflexive account of the social work relationship in the Chinese context

ABSTRACT

In a guanxi-driven acquaintanceship, the worker, the client, and the community are tied together more closely than they are in mutually agreed-upon service contracts. This paper re-examines the contemporary boundaries in the social work relationship, especially in Asian nations such as China, where ‘relationships’ are generally translated and perceived as ‘guanxi’. The indigenisation of social work must be managed with care when translating from West to East. Drawing from the experiences of community development projects in rural Hong Kong, this paper discusses how guanxi among social workers, clients and other stakeholders in Chinese communities might challenge the professionalism of social work and breach the boundaries of social work relationships.

摘要

於華人社會「關係主導」的氛圍影響下,社會工作者、服務受眾及社區三方面的連繫性往往超越一般服務協議中所訂明的性質。基於「關係」一詞於華人社會中的獨特性,本文作者援引香港的鄉郊社工服務作為例子,嘗試剖析及重新為社會工作的「關係」定性。 與此同時,提醒讀者於引入西方社會工作概念到華人社會的過程中,必須注意到社會工作「關係」的重新定位有機會挑戰社會工作的專業性和社會工作關係的界限。

KEYWORDS:

• Social work relationship
• relationship-based practice
• community work/social development
• rural social work

關鍵詞:

• 社會工作關係
• 關係為本之社會工作
• 社區工作
• 社區發展
• 鄉郊社會工作

Acknowledgement

The insightful comments and suggestions made by Prof. Miu Chung Yan, on an early draft of this article, are gratefully acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Note on contributor

Johnson Chun-Sing Cheung, BSW, MSocSc, RSW, is a social worker and a doctoral candidate. He has been involved in the children, youth, and community social work for 13 years. His research focuses on relationship-based practice, community development, youth work, and practice wisdom.

ORCID

Johnson Chun-Sing Cheung http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7837-282X