Results and Discussion

The majority of participants (n = 18) expressed that despite the variety of effects at an interpersonal level, the news media did not have a significant impact on their professional identity or practice confidence:

No, not my professional confidence … it doesn’t affect my confidence to advocate for that child, personally it does affect my confidence. Outside of the context of work, outside I am reluctant to tell people what I do because it makes people uncomfortable and it’s a confidence thing if it makes people uncomfortable, it’s not that I’m not proud to be a social

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worker, I love being a social worker, but that makes people

uncomfortable … I think on a personal level it can affect my confidence.

(Participant 2, Interview)

Practice confidence was influenced primarily by the social interaction of direct practice and their strong belief in the professional project. While the news media might have secondary effects, including an increase in anxiety, it did not undermine their trust in their profession or practice skill. Confidence was identified as changing through time and circumstance, with expected ebbs and flows, but when looking at their career as a whole, the impact was minimal. Most participants were dismissive of the idea that the news media would impact their sense of a professional identity and practice confidence, which they argued stems from a belief in the profession’s ideals and their extensive direct practice experience. Even for participants who had their practice exposed in the media (n = 4), the impacts were identified as being short term (months not years), and they noted a possible increase in confidence in the long term. This was because of their certainty that the profession’s fight for social justice is not without struggle, and negative media coverage was understood as being a clash between opposing world views. This further cemented the participants’ view that they were doing the right thing and it was larger organisations, including the news media, which did not appreciate or understand the complexity of practice.

Participants argued that the lack of recognition in news coverage only affected the

introductory stages of practice, and this was easily resolved. Furthermore, there was a clear distinction made between broader perceptions of the profession and the micro moments of practice. Although participants felt that news media sometimes undermines their

professional identity and self-worth, it did not impact their ability to carry out their work, besides the introductory challenges. In relation to maintaining their professional confidence, participants argued that the small rewards of practice, for example, a grateful client, play a more significant role than the lack of broader recognition. This was understood to be ‘true social work’ and not fully appreciated by individuals who are not in the frontline, and therefore their criticisms are not deemed valid.

The lack of recognition and examples of negative coverage in the news media were used by three participants as a form of reflection that did not undermine their sense of a

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professional identity. Instead of causing increased anxiety, media coverage allowed several participants to reflect upon the state of social work and in particular how the media

coverage relates to their practice. Participants cited examples of seeing child protection workers in the news being criticised and ‘grilled’ (Participant 5, Interview) for their inadequate note-taking and poor assessment skills. This included child death inquiries where workers were held partly responsible. This resulted in participants reflecting upon their own work and coming away with an increased confidence in not just their skill set, but a broader appreciation for their field and organisation, as evidenced in the quote below:

I’m really proud to be a social worker. I’m really proud of what I do, I know for some people, it frightens people. When I see media coverage I feel saddened for kids that are missed, I understand my limitations and mistakes are made, but we always learn and reflect and get challenged on that. (Participant 17, Interview)

Participants argued that the lack of coverage is most likely to impact recent graduates and those intending on becoming social workers. Although they were not able to cite specific examples, four believed that given the absence of coverage, inexperienced practitioners could possibly have their early anxieties compounded by the lack of general

acknowledgement. These findings highlight the intricacy of the impacts where, instead of undermining participants’ confidence in their practice, the idea of negative coverage seemed to reaffirm it, even for those whose practice has been the focus of reporting. The same applies to the lack of recognition as it led participants to identify social work as a great and under-appreciated profession that is misunderstood by the media and the broader society. Confidence once again stemmed primarily from practice, that when discussed in relation to the news media, participants saw as mostly a positive experience.

Only two participants argued that the lack of recognition impacted their practice confidence by increasing their anxiety in relation to the possibility that their work may receive

coverage. This was not deemed a significant factor in their general practice but was more in relation to protective cases that may be of interest to journalists. As noted previously, one participant questioned their decision-making by querying how this would look on the front of a newspaper. The increase in anxiety ultimately did not impact their decision-making as

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much as the larger organisational response. Media coverage was deemed to induce anxiety due the organisation’s response and how that would impact their work. As highlighted in the examples discussed previously, participants suggested that media coverage has contributed to organisational cultures of fear that spread across the workplace. The two participants who had identified an increase argued that while it may have made them more cautious in their future assessments, the risk averse form of practice they adopted was due to managerial and organisational pressures. The anxiety was used by participants to

scrutinise their work, which led to greater confidence and trust in their decision-making ability.

In relation to their personal confidence, participants identified that the lack of recognition had greater impact on how they would relate to friends and family members in general discussion. Every participant where this was discussed (n = 11) expressed a concern

regarding how people would react and therefore would usually choose not to talk about it.

This was suggested to be the result of several factors, including confidentiality and the struggle to discuss what social workers experience in casual conversation. The lack of recognition in the news media was identified as a factor that caused participants to avoid discussing their profession due to the fear of possible arguments and negative backlash. This was understood to be occurring because of the association between child protection and possible political and ideological differences, resulting in several participants dismissing questions about their work and avoiding talking about it in any great detail. It also led to participants not disclosing their role as social workers in social situations. Fighting for the recognition of the profession was part of their practice and participants did not wish to extend this activism to Sunday lunch and therefore chose avoidance strategies.