Social Work as a profession operates within a field of tension often described in the professional community as the triple mandate, based on Staub-Bernasconi’s framework. This concept refers to Social Work interventions carried out on behalf of society – often publicly funded – that aim to mitigate life events and their consequences for service users (the double mandate), while also being committed to human rights (thus forming the triple mandate). This professional self-understanding is also reflected in the Global Definition of Social Work, reaffirmed by the International Federation of Social Work in 2014. According to this definition, Social Work is a science-based, practice-oriented profession that advocates for social change, fights discrimination, and promotes human liberation, grounded in human rights (OBDS 2023).

Social Work practice takes place within organizations and is largely carried out by graduates of Social Work degree programs. This research project focuses on how these professionals are managed within their organizations. The first step involves analyzing the structure of Social Work organizations as employers. This analysis explores how these organizations are structured in terms of economic viability, staffing, and quality standards. As organizations are increasingly expected to offer attractive working conditions, leadership becomes a central focus. Four key principles of leadership are emphasized: strengthening employee motivation and retention, ensuring efficient use of resources, guiding organizations through cultural change, and promoting the development of future professionals.

Current social policy developments in Europe and Austria are placing growing pressure on Social Work organizations. These organizations face financial uncertainty due to policy shifts, bureaucratic hurdles that complicate daily operations and increase the workload, and a lack of societal recognition for their work. Staff shortages have been evident for years, and many organizations experience high employee turnover. At the same time, social workers and social pedagogues hold themselves to high professional standards, advocate for social justice and empowerment, and are deeply committed to their service users.

This raises important questions: Under what conditions do professionals work? What are organizations doing – or what could they do – to maintain motivation and engagement among staff? The project seeks to understand how human resources processes are shaped, where they are managed, and who makes decisions and when. It also explores how leadership can be designed in light of the forces at play in the field, and what future-oriented leadership models might look like for Social Work organizations.

The findings aim to make experiences visible and provide inspiration for developing leadership concepts tailored to the unique context of Social Work organizations.