Agile Emotion Practices: Findings from an Ethnographic Study of Children and Families Social Work

Social work is intrinsically relational, centred on interpersonal encounters between practitioners, service users and other professionals. Emotions are a core element in these encounters. Yet, despite a substantial focus on relationship-based practice there is limited research into the everyday experience and functions of practitioners’ emotions in socio-legal organisational environments. This article reports on findings from an ethnographic study of a Local Authority Children and Families Referral and Assessment Service in England. It explores how practitioners constructed and used their emotions in everyday practice. The construct of ‘agile emotion practices’ was generated from analysing observations of teams, home visits, systemic group supervision, interviews and diaries. Informed by social constructionist and psychosocial theories, the characteristics of agile emotion practices are outlined. This article suggests there is merit in recognising practitioners’ emotions as functional practices, which inform relational practice, analysis and assessment. Data are specific to the organisation, context and timeframe. However, valuable insights are provided into the ‘doing’ of emotions in social work, including some of the factors that facilitate and hinder agile emotion practices. The analysis offers new empirically based knowledge, applicable to diverse social work settings, education and research. This article describes new research findings from a study, which observed children and families social workers in everyday practice. By observing and talking to social workers, the study contributes new information about how social workers used their emotions: Social workers use their emotions constantly, moving between activities like home visits, meetings, talking with service users, carers and professionals. Emotions were used in ways that helped workers understand and make sense of other people’s experiences, to assess situations and to develop relationships. Workers were not always sure about where emotions fitted into their practice. Expertise in using emotions was not fully recognised by social workers or their organisation. Emotions are an important part of social work skills and knowledge and deserve more recognition in the profession and social work organisations.