Hybrid and Digitally Mediated Practice in Child and Family Social Work: Impacts on More and Less Experienced Practitioners’ Communication, Relationships, Sense-Making and Experiences of Work

Abstract

Abstract Hybrid working, where social workers frequently work from home and use digital technology to communicate with colleagues and people using services, has become common practice in UK social work. This article presents findings from an ethnographic study of child and family social work practice in three local authorities in England. The study involved interviews and observations of practice with twenty-one social workers, over the course of six to twelve months in each site, and focus groups with young people and families who used child protection services. It used a theoretical frame of socio-materiality to examine social workers’ experiences of work and their digitally mediated interactions, sense-making and relationships with colleagues, supervisors, young people and families. The study found hybrid working and digitally mediated practices had significant impacts on social workers’ interactions, relationships and experiences. These impacts were particularly likely to be negative for less experienced practitioners, while some more experienced practitioners had more autonomy over their work and experienced it as more creative and meaningful. The study raises questions about how less experienced social workers can be supported and helped to develop as practitioners, in working environments where they are more often working alone.