Risk Factors Contributing to Crossing Professional Boundaries in the Context of COVID-19 in the Czech Republic

Crossing professional boundaries in the context of Czech social work remains an understudied phenomenon. Additionally, the recent situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected work conditions and transformed social work practice. The aim of this article is to answer the following research question: How do subjectively experienced risk factors affect the social worker in situations when professional boundaries are crossed and in the context of a pandemic situation (COVID-19)? The text is based on the theory of professional boundaries in the client–worker relationship and also includes the perspective of professional boundary crossing in social work. The key conceptual framework is ecosystem theory qualitative research carried out in two phases via in-depth semi-structured interviews in the selected locality. Each phase included informers who were active as social workers in low-threshold centres for children and youth. The text is a reflection of the influence of external factors on professional boundaries and of the internal dispositions of social workers, on the basis of which the text offers practical recommendations for social work practice in three categories: social workers at the individual level, leadership and organisations, educational institutions. The crossing of professional boundaries by a social worker with a client can have serious consequences for both parties. However, it is still common in the context of social work with youth. Although it may seem most effective to simply set stricter rules for helping relationships, it is useful to try to understand the situation of boundary crossing to assist social workers in processing their experiences and practices so they can work more effectively with boundaries. This article provides information on the risk factors that affect social workers when crossing professional boundaries. Research was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic under exceptional circumstances and the results show that social workers were challenged more often and also crossed professional boundaries more frequently. Fatigue and overload, as well as personal or professional insecurity, were often cited as contributing factors to boundary crossing. The conclusion contains suggestions for individual social workers, organisations and managers, and also educational institutions, which can be important actors in preventing boundary crossing.