Professional ethical identity re-examined: A workshop with dialogue and data

This workshop will be facilitated by members of the newly-formed Social Work Ethics Research Group (SWERG), comprising researchers from Europe and North America. We wish to expand our networks for future collaboration, sharing ideas about researching professional ethical identity in social work. In the current climate of economic austerity, continuing managerialism and privatisation of social work services, many practitioners struggle not only to meet service users’ needs but also to engage in supportive and caring relationships. This causes moral distress, as social workers know what they should do, but feel unable to do it. Research by SWERG members in different countries shows social workers considering the implications for their sense of themselves as good social work professionals. Sometimes they refer to their identities as social workers, but often they simply tell stories about the kinds of people they are, and the emotions they feel when they cannot fulfill their role expectations or live up to their professional values.