Once in a Hundred Years: Does COVID-19 Present an Opportunity to Restructure the Professional Image of the Social Worker in Israel?

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed social work in the limelight alongside the various medical professions and has created a rare opportunity for transforming the oppressed image of the profession. Based on a broad perspective—historical, social and political—we show how the development of a collective needs-conscious identity can lead to active protests on the part of social workers against their condition. This process is brought into sharp focus by critical analysis of media reports on the protests held by social workers in Israel in July 2020. An analysis of the struggle points to a number of factors that are responsible for its success: creating a collective consciousness with respect to the profession and the use of anger (as against fear); increasing the visibility of the profession in the public eye and the media; developing a dialogue that defined the party responsible for oppressing the status of the social workers; highlighting the ramifications of this oppression not only on the social workers but also on society as a whole; and using rhetoric that enabled the professional struggle to be ended and collaboration to be continued. The significance of these findings and their theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Resilience at Work, Burnout, Secondary Trauma, and Compassion Satisfaction of Social Workers Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…As the COVID-19 pandemic still challenges most societies and, furthermore, additional adversities (both human-made or those resulting from climate change or other natural events) are expected, policymakers should consider ways to integrate ongoing mechanisms that will enhance the resilience at work of all therapeutic professionals, including those of social workers. These measures include better work conditions, higher availability of resources, and extended budgets [9,10]. Considering the positive association found between resilience at work and compassion satisfaction, investing efforts in the well-being of social workers is expected to substantially enhance their capacity to contribute toward a holistic emergency response to varied crises.…”

“…Furthermore, in the past years, social workers have been exposed to negative media and social media coverage, which affect the social image of the profession, at times even leading to their being violently attacked [1,7,8]. Although there is an increasing need for social services during crises, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, allocated budgets did not change, and manpower was not expanded, yet the work was even more demanding [9,10]. Social workers put themselves and their loved ones at risk of infection while they continue to work as frontline responders, meeting clients and organizations despite very limited access to personal protective equipment [11].…”