Humility in Social Work Practice and Organisation

1
Humility in Social Work Practice and Organisation

• Carly Mendy
• Warwick Turnbull

2
Introduction

• The perfume of sandalwood, rosebay or jasmine
  cannot travel against the wind. But the fragrance
  of virtue travels to the end of the world.
  (The Dhammapada p331)
• How can virtue resist the current fragmentations
  of social work organisational policies?

3
Introduction

• Virtue ethics affirms human wholeness
• in the face of those policies that make people
  into objects
• surveillance
• prescribed social functioning
• documentation

4
Setting the scene

• Faith (often minimised in social work) can
  motivate and sustain workers
• Humility is a derivative of faith, valuable in
  practice

5
Humility

• Realising that we are all fallible provides
• a sense of commonality
• acceptance of others
• modesty about ourselves
• cautiousness about our own opinions
• a welcoming of difference
• a critical approach to the political
• Humility requires
• reinforcement
• anti-oppressive deliberation
• reciprocity

6
Humility and Buddhism

• All life is inter-connected
• So Buddha Nature requires
• non-harming
• reverence for life
• stewardship of the earth
• standing up for truth
• respecting intimate relationships
• cultivating wakefulness

7
Humility and Christianity

• He has raised high the lowly.
• Blessed are the poor in spiritthe gentlethe
  mercifulthe peacemakersthe persecuted.
• Social work involves empowerment and liberation
  of people.
• Virtuous character enables the fulfilment of
  lifes purpose.

8
Mindfulness

• intention  
• attention 
• attitude the present moment
•  potential reduction of worker turnover and burn
  out

9
Humility and deliberation

• Inclusive deliberation to enhance human
  capability
• Deliberation to involve emotion and narrative
• Evident in person-centred work, community work,
  teams

10
Care not a commodity but serving persons

• Peoples needs emerging from their narratives
• Cathartic outcomes
• Service users as experts
• On-going learning for workers

11
Conclusion

• Humility as a remedy for fragmentation
• Inspired for some by faith or politics or logic
• Like social work, humility promotes social
  change, problem solving in human relationships
  and the empowerment and liberation of people to
  enhance well-being (IFSW)