Why do they stay? A study of resilient child protection workers in three European countries

ABSTRACT

Whilst 50% of child protection workers across much of Europe and the affluent ‘West’ leave after two years, many stay and develop substantial professional careers. This paper discusses research in Italy, Sweden and England examining what factors explain ‘remaining’ for more than three years in this stressful job. Underpinned by a hermeneutic epistemology, qualitative interviews were undertaken and subject to an interpretative thematic analysis. The findings proved to be complex and multi-layered and this paper presents an overview of these. The theoretical framework for the project mainly drew on organisations and resilience, and the initial sections of the paper consider how formulations of resilience as contextual and relational can elucidate professional sustainability. Organisational issues are considered, including the impact of work management, of supervision and of allocation in different national contexts. The paper also focuses on the role of friendships and informal support at work. Threaded through these established themes are more, perhaps surprising, concepts: for example, creativity, power, reflexive spaces and interpersonal relations as explanatory of remaining in child protection work.

SOMMARIO

Mentre il 50% degli assistenti sociali che lavorano nella protezione all’infanzia in molte zone dell’Europa e dell’occidente affluente abbandonano il loro posto dopo due anni, molti assistenti sociali rimangono e sviluppano in maniera sostanziale le loro carriere professionali. Questo articolo presenta una ricerca svolta in Italia, Svezia e Inghilterra esaminando quali fattori possano spiegare il rimanere di tali professionisti per più di tre anni in un contesto lavorativo così stressante. Sono state condotte e sottoposte ad analisi tematica di tipo interpretativo una serie di interviste qualitative, realizzate in ambito epistemologicoermeneutico. L’articolo presenta una panoramica dei risultati che si sono rivelati complessi e stratificati. Il contesto teorico del progetto è stato impostato prevalentemente sui temi dell'organizzazione e della resilienza e le sezioni iniziali dell’articolo considerano come il definire contestuale e relazionale la resilienza possa spiegare la sostenibilità professionale. Sono stati presi in considerazione temi organizzativi, incluso l’impatto sul lavoro del management, della supervisione e della collocazione in differenti contesti nazionali. L’articolo si focalizza anche sul ruolo dell’amicizia e del supporto informale sul posto di lavoro. Intrecciati a queste temi già noti, vi sono altri, e forse sorprendenti, concetti esplicativi del rimanere nel settore della protezione all'infanzia, quali ad esempio quelli di creatività, potere, spazi di riflessività e relazioni interpersonali.

ABSTRAKT

Även om 50% av socialarbetarna i social barnavård i stora delar av Europa och den rika delen av västvärlden lämnar sitt arbete efter 2 år stannar många kvar och utvecklar gedigna professionella karriärer. Denna artikel diskuterar forskning i Italien, Sverige och England som undersöker vilka faktorer som förklarar varför man stannar kvar mer än 3 år i detta stressiga arbete. Inom ramen för en hermeneutisk epistemologi genomfördes kvalitativa intervjuer som analyserades genom en tolkande, tematisk ansats. Resultaten visade sig vara komplexa och mångfacetterade och i denna artikel presenteras en översikt över dessa. Teoretiskt bygger projektet huvudsakligen på organisationsteori och teorier om resiliens. Den inledande delen av artikeln diskuterar hur organisatorisk och relationell resiliens kan förklara varför professionella stannar kvar. Organisatoriska faktorer såsom ledningens betydelse, betydelsen av handledning och betydelsen av tilldelning av resurser i olika nationella kontexter diskuteras. Artikeln fokuserar också på vilken roll vänskap och informellt stöd spelar för viljan att stanna kvar. Utöver dessa teman diskuteras också t.ex. kreativitet, makt, rum för reflektion och personliga relationer som förklaring till varför man stannar kvar i social barnavård.

KEYWORDS:

• Resilience
• child protection social workers
• European comparative research
• professions

PAROLE CHIAVE:

• stabiità
• resilienza
• organizzazione protezione minori
• supervisione

NYCKELORD:

• personalstabilitet
• resiliens
• organisation
• social barnavård
• handledning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Liz Frost is Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of The West of England, Bristol, UK. Her main fields of interest are Psychosocial Studies and European Social Work. Her research and publication is mainly in the areas of applied social theory (particularly sociology and psychoanalysis), and human well-being: particularly recognition, shame and resilience.

Staffan Höjer is Professor in social work at the University of Gothenburg. His research is mainly about knowledge issues, organisations and professions in human service organisations. He also has extensive experience of international social work and has supervised Ph.D.s in Sweden, Uganda and Rwanda.

Annamaria Campanini is the president of the International Association of Schools of Social Work. She is also Professor of Social Work at Milan Bicocca University. Her academic interests have developed across a broad range of fields, and she is particularly interested in self-evaluation for social work, and in developing social work practitioners’ resilience.

Alessandro Sicora, Ph.D., is a lecturer at the University of Calabria, Italy, where he teaches Methods and Techniques of Social Work. He teaches also Theories of Social Work at the Ca'Foscari University in Venice, Italy. He is president of the Italian Society of Social Work. His main research interests include: methods of social work, reflexive practice, professional mistakes and comparative social policy.

Karin Kullberg has a Ph.D. in social work and is a lecturer in Social Work at Lund University, Sweden. Her main research interests are professions and organisations, especially social work as profession and how new organisational trends influence the development of social work. She has undertaken research on professionals’ careers in social work and how social workers’ careers can contribute to the development of social work as field and profession.