Can complexity in welfare professionals’ work be handled with standardised professional knowledge?
Complexity in professional work is often discussed in relation to the professional body of knowledge. There is a tendency to relate professional success, problems and shortcomings to flaws and limitations in the professions’ expert knowledge or use of knowledge. To reduce complexity, overcome problematic situations and achieve best practice, welfare states invest considerable resources in raising professional groups’ level of knowledge and use of evidence-based knowledge. Non-medical professions such as social workers are expected to adopt and implement the principles that underpin evidence-based medicine. However, based on two empirical studies of social workers within Swedish social services, this chapter argues that problematic situations and complexity in social work can have sources other than lack of knowledge or insufficient use of knowledge. The chapter argues that these complex and problematic situations cannot be solved by standardised professional knowledge about interventions and results.