Gallows humour in social work practice: An issue for supervision and reflexivity

Abstract

This article suggests that the use of ‘gallows’ humour to deal with stress in social work is a common occurrence. By exploring possibly less obviously repugnant forms of behaviour than racism and sexism, such as the relating of an incident which casts a client in an unfavourable or comical light, the social psychological perspective employed here offers subtleties of understanding additional to those in the sociological arena related to racism. Using evidence from a qualitative study of social workers' self perceptions, arguments for and against its use are examined. It is suggested on the one hand that there is an inherent potential for disadvantaging service users by using gallows humour as a coping mechanism, and on the other hand, it is argued that workers' unresolved stress also has a negative impact on service users. Reflexive practice and supervision are proposed as moderators of the negative effects of gallows humour, and the article suggests that improvements to practice may be a possible effect of reflection on gallows humour