Humility in Social Work Practice and Organisation

Carly Mendy

Warwick Turnbull

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?

Introduction

Virtue ethics affirms human wholeness

in the face of those policies that make people into objects:

surveillance

prescribed social functioning

documentation

Setting the scene

Faith (often minimised in social work) can motivate and sustain workers

Humility is a derivative of faith, valuable in practice

HumilityRealising that we are all fallible provides:

a sense of commonalityacceptance of others

modesty about ourselvescautiousness about our own opinions

a welcoming of differencea critical approach to the political

Humility requires:reinforcement

anti-oppressive deliberationreciprocity

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

Humility and Christianity

‘He has raised high the lowly.’

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit…the gentle…the merciful…the peacemakers…the persecuted.’

Social work involves ‘empowerment and liberation of people’.

Virtuous character enables the fulfilment of life’s purpose.

Mindfulness

intention  

attention 

attitude 

the present moment

 potential reduction of worker turnover and burn out

Humility and deliberation

Inclusive deliberation to enhance human capability

Deliberation to involve emotion and narrative

Evident in person-centred work, community work, teams

Care not a commodity but serving persons

People’s needs emerging from their narratives

Cathartic outcomes

Service users as experts

On-going learning for workers

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)