Abstract
Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout compared with other healthcare professionals. The capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions efficiently, frequently in complex care settings, is central to the role of social workers. This article highlights the complexity of emotions in social work research and practice by exploring the perspective of emotional intelligence. The article is both theoretical and empirical, based on reflections from a qualitative longitudinal study interviewing fathers with behavioural and criminal backgrounds, all in their 40 s. The analysis contains an exploration of the researcher position that illuminates the reflective, emotional aspects that took place within this interview process. Three overall themes emerged – first: Recognising emotional complexity; second: Reflecting on emotional themes; and third: Exploring my own prejudices and preconceptions. The findings apply to both theoretical and practical social work, addressing the need to understand emotions as a central part of critical reflection and reflexivity. The argument is that emotions have the potential to expand awareness of one’s own preconceptions, related to normative societal views. This form of analytical awareness entails identifying and paying attention to one’s own, sometimes embodied, emotional triggers.
Highlights
Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout than other healthcare professionals, making it important to understand how they can adapt to protect themselves from psychological distress (Bunce et al, 2019)
As a practitioner working in child welfare, I had visited fathers with troubled backgrounds and talked to them in their homes about serious concerns regarding their children; that, too, must have influenced my ideas about this group
Social workers often experience high levels of stress and burnout, but most remain committed to their work without fully recognising its emotional toll (Evans et al, 2006; Kim, 2011; Ruch, 2012)
Summary
Social workers often experience higher levels of burnout than other healthcare professionals, making it important to understand how they can adapt to protect themselves from psychological distress (Bunce et al, 2019). The capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions effectively in complex care settings is central to the role of social workers. Emotions influence social workers in various ways in their everyday practice. The argument presented here is that emotions can potentially expand awareness of one’s own preconceptions related to normative cultural understandings. This form of analytical awareness entails identifying and observing one’s own, sometimes embodied, emotional triggers, such as anxiousness or empathy when dealing with clients. This article highlights the complexity of emotions by exploring emotional intelligence in relation to research and practice. This article more or less follows this path, in a contemporary debate concerning emotions in social work
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