Prioritizing others over oneself
The virtues of social workers and their contribution to trust-building with clients
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10895171 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Wanlin Zhao (0000-0002-1573-0634, Central China Normal University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 1347-1363 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-30 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal of Social Work (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0045-3102 • E-ISSN: 1468-263X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjsw/bcaf294 |
| OpenAlex | W7117894386 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 22 |
An increasing body of social work literature has focused on professional virtues. However, this scholarship has often overlooked clients’ perspectives and failed to examine the relationship between professional virtues and their contribution to trust-building. Based on in-depth interviews with sixteen clients involved in a livelihood mutual aid project in China, this study analysed clients’ perceptions of social workers’ virtues and how these virtues contribute to trust-building. Thematic analysis revealed three major themes. First, clients initially regarded social workers as strangers, displaying mistrust and defensive behaviours. Second, clients came to view social workers as good people, which fostered trust, greater self-disclosure, and participation in group activities. Third, the virtue of prioritizing others over oneself, embodied by social workers, was central to clients’ recognition of them as good people. The study suggests that social workers seeking to build trust with clients should first aim to demonstrate virtuousness through prioritizing others over themselves. Future research could further explore how to promote virtue-led social work practice
Embodied cognition · Livelihood · Perception · Qualitative research · Scholarship · Thematic analysis · Virtue · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
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Expansive other-regarding virtues and civic excellence
The Trouble with Trust
Everyday ethics in professional life
On toleration in social work
Recognition as a virtue in social work practice
Aristotle’s virtue ethics as a conceptual framework for the study and practice of social work in modern times
The emotional labour of caring about looked‐after children
Ethics with Character
Strategic Resource Mobilisation amongst Founder-CEOs of Social Work Organisations in Mainland China
Moral Character in Social Work
Towards a Proportionist Social Work Ethics
Searching for Virtue Ethics
Virtue Ethics and Social Work
Trust Development
An Implementable Conversation Between Foucault and Chinese Virtue Ethics in the Context of Youth Social Work
Using thematic analysis in psychology
| Highly cited | No |
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