The Influences of Managerialism in the Professional Intervention of Social Workers

Abstract

Social work, like other professions, has undergone changes in its structural basis, as well as a re-dimensioning of the professional work, which cannot be dissociated from the inevitable administrative reforms of the State and of the social policies themselves. In this research we sought to understand how the state administrative reforms, namely the managerial model of New Public Management have influenced the professional intervention of social workers in the public sector. We did so through the perceptions of the social workers about the implications of managerialism in their professional practices. It is a qualitative research, with exploratory characteristics and was carried out in a municipality in a district of Portugal. It was conducted a semi-structured interview with six social workers in the public sector, from four different sectors: Justice, Local Power, Health and Social Security. After the interviews were collected, a Characterization Grid of the sample and a SWOT Analysis Grid were used for each of the participants to assist the researcher in the Content Analysis of this investigation. The data we analyzed revealed that in all services and intervention areas there was a prevalence of characteristics of managerialism influences, which necessarily induced changes in professional practices. The collected data revealed that there are characteristics of managerialism perceived as beneficial and positive for the professional exercise and other characteristics that have brought constraints.