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Since the 1990s managerialism has spread across the public sector, implementing private sector practices targeting greater efficiency in public services. Consequently, reforms focusing on risk management, standardisation, fragmentation and accountability have increased demands for paperwork and procedure compliance from street-level bureaucrats (SLBs). Focusing specifically on the impact on social work, this paper presents the findings of a systematic literature review synthesising social workers experience of bureaucracy across thirty-nine published qualitative studies. Despite warnings being voiced about the risks associated with enforcing highly bureaucratic and managerial cultures in social work, evidence reinforces the consequences predicted over two decades prior. Major themes from the systematic synthesis include negative effects on social workers and service users, social workers’ resistance to bureaucratic structures and the coping strategies they employed. Although the review found some positive perspectives, this was sporadic and only reported in a minority of studies. As SLBs, social workers face an important question: What should be prioritised in the delivery of social services? Managing procedures, administration and documentation or pursuing sustainable change through meaningful engagement with service users?

Context:In response to the growth of evidence-based practice in social work, systematic literature reviews offer significant value to social work but are often met with concerns of time scarcity.Purpose:Through a case study search strategy addressing the research question “What are practicing frontline social workers’ experiences of bureaucracy?,” this article seeks to promote efficiency by providing a practical guide for conducting systematic literature searches and an appraisal of database performance in qualitative social work research.Method:The total citations, unique hits, sensitivity, and precision for each database were calculated before conducting a cross-study comparison with three previously published social work systematic searches to identify emerging performance trends.Results/Conclusion:Relying on a single database is subject to bias and will not provide comprehensive or sensitive findings; however, due to consistent high performance across four systematic searches, Applied Social Science Index and Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and Social Science Citation Index are recommended for future literature searching in social work.

New Zealand is considered an egalitarian society, with a progressive policy history in promoting gender equality, however, this paper illustrates how social policy does not always support this agenda. The objective of New Zealand Sole Parent Benefit is to provide temporal financial support to sole parents and their dependents while supporting a transition into formal paid employment. While ultimately aimed at increasing the labour force participation of sole parents, this paper queries to what extent the policy has achieved this objective and why. Recipient statistics are disaggregated by gender to highlight the disproportionate impact on, and unequal outcomes for women. Furthermore, a gendered analysis informed by feminist economists Naileer Kabeer, Diane Elson and Nancy Folbre, alongside statistical evidence of a gender pay gap, occupational segregation and motherhood penalty is applied to demonstrate how market constraints affect New Zealand women’s participation in the labour force, and contribute to the counter intuitive policy results. While these factors do not account for individual differences in motivation, nor individual aspirations, unless the gendered nature of the labour market is addressed, women will continue to face higher rates of engagement on the Sole Parent Benefit and continue to experience disproportionate economic disadvantage and financial insecurity. The consistent use of a gendered analysis in policy design and implementation is essential to reduce gender-based disadvantage, even in countries believed to promote gender equality.

INTRODUCTION: Despite minimal public attention, many social workers in Aotearoa New Zealand have been active contributors to disaster management practice. Disaster management comprises four stages: risk reduction; readiness; response; and recovery. Social workers, as professionals in multiple fields of practice, may be engaged in one or more of these stages. METHODS: This article draws from a four-stage project that explored the involvement of registered social workers from Aotearoa New Zealand in disaster management. In the final project stage, 11 social workers were interviewed for the purpose of developing case studies for research and teaching purposes. This article presents the practice observations of two of these social workers in a case study format. FINDINGS: The experiences of the two social workers emphasises the importance of understanding communities, debriefing and supervision, and having a suite of tools for post- disaster situations. The case studies highlight the complex and vital work undertaken by the social workers following the Canterbury 2011 earthquakes. CONCLUSION: It is important that social workers understand disaster management and how their skills and knowledge can be transferred into this space. Regular professional supervision, and adequate resources are essential components in the long-term recovery phase of disaster management. Social work as a profession can provide leadership in disaster management through celebrating previous social work practice in this field.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic caused widespread lockdowns, social distancing measures, restrictions to businesses and the closure of buildings. During this time social workers were required to adjust to remote practice, adopting technological adjuncts for continued engagement with service users. This article reports on qualitative interviews with fourteen front line social workers practicing during the pandemic in Northern Ireland, exploring the impact of remote delivery and technology on relationship-based practice. Findings highlight negative outcomes on relationship building and social worker self-care, alongside concerns that efficiency would be prioritised over future face-to-face contact with service users. The adoption of alternative methods of communication through technology has disrupted the core principles of relationship-based practice and has meant that, without proper planning or staff training, alternative models of delivery, which may have enabled some form of continuation and centralisation of relationship-based practice are under explored and require further investigation.