Social work and well-being - Bill Jordan

Social and community work professionals can now reassert with renewed confidence their contributions to societies that stand for interdependence, justice, and an ethic of care, playing key roles in an already emerging potential cultural transformation. Author Bill Jordan shows how - in Europe, North America, and Australasia - we are at the cusp of this cultural transformation, from societies organized around economic growth and material consumption, to ones concerned with well-being and sustainability. Using practice examples, up-to-date survey evidence, historical analysis, and ideas from several disciplines, Jordan's compelling voice challenges the assumption that happiness is affected more by people's material circumstances than by their physical and mental health, and their relationships with others. His unique contribution is to rebut the accusation that refocusing social work on concepts like 'relationships' and 'feelings' threatens loss of intellectual rigor and scientific edge. He shows that even economists have started to call for new approaches to public policy that promote common good and prioritize people's feelings. Social Work and Well-being enables the reader to engage critically with this cultural shift.