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
Humility
Realising that we are all fallible provides:
a sense of commonality
acceptance of others
modesty about ourselves
cautiousness about our own opinions
a welcoming of difference
a critical approach to the political
Humility requires:
reinforcement
anti-oppressive deliberation
reciprocity
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 wellbeing’ (IFSW)