ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic led to different ways of working for social work and human service practitioners across the globe. This paper examines the use of technology by practitioners during nationwide stay at home orders due to COVID19. This study consisted of interviews with fifteen social work and human services practitioners in Southeast Queensland, Australia. While technology is frequently used in practice, the challenges and benefits of using technology as a primary practice method whilst working from home are discussed in this paper. The findings of this study suggest that the use of technology whilst working from home may be a viable option for future practice in well-resourced organizations with technologically proficient practitioners. However, for practitioners and clients without limited access to technology or reduced digital capabilities, such arrangements risk becoming discriminatory. Considerations therefore must be made in ensuring access to technology and the appropriateness of working from home for some social work and human services practitioners.

摘要

Covid-19 大流行导致全球社会工作和人类服务从业人员采用不同的工作方式。本文研究了从业者在全国范围内因 COVID19 而在家下订单时对技术的使用情况。这项研究包括对澳大利亚昆士兰东南部的 15 名社会工作和人类服务从业者的访谈。虽然在实践中经常使用技术，但本文讨论了在家工作时使用技术作为主要实践方法的挑战和好处。这项研究的结果表明，在拥有精通技术的从业者的资源充足的组织中，在家工作时使用技术可能是未来实践的可行选择。但是，对于技术访问受限或数字能力下降的从业者和客户，这种安排有可能成为歧视性的。因此，必须考虑确保某些社会工作和公共服务从业人员能够获得技术以及在家工作的适当性。