Subverting, challenging and working within bureaucratic and managerialist systems: strategies for upholding relationship-based social work practice

Abstract

Where once relationships with service users was considered the bedrock of practice, social work has been shaped by bureaucracy and managerialism, with increased focused on risk management, control, fragmentation of services, standardisation and accountability. Employing reflexive thematic analysis, qualitative data from 16 interviews with frontline social workers in Northern Ireland was analysed through the four expressions of power framework to assess strategies used to subvert, challenge, and work within bureaucratic systems and managerialist forces to uphold the foundational principles of relationship-based practice.