Trapped between neoliberal social context and professional socialization: The case of Israeli social workers in the social protest of 2011 and implications for the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study examined Israeli social workers’ experiences of the social protest of summer 2011, focusing on their attitudes toward services provided to clients in poverty in the context of neoliberal social policy. These experiences were examined in regard to social workers’ perceptions toward poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted using mixed methods strategy. The qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews (n=16) that were analyzed using thematic analysis methods. Two themes emerged from the data: 1) Perception, attitude, and participation in the protest, 2) Not on the same side of the table: Relationships between social workers and clients during and after the protest. The quantitative data were collected through a structured questionnaire that was analyzed using descriptive statistics (n=157). Most of the quantitative results validated the qualitative findings, highlighting the conflict between neoliberal policies that govern social workers’ workplaces and social workers’ professional values regarding poverty and social change. In addition, they highlight social workers’ perceptions of people in poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were characterized by “salvation”/“charity” rather than “welfare.” These results call for a discourse within the social services that seeks ways of enabling social workers to fight to implement professional values.