This paper analyses teleworking in social services during the state of alarm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. It has a double objective: To analyse the profile of the professional who teleworked in social services and, on the other hand, to analyse the perception of teleworkers of working conditions during this period, as well as the degree to which they have been affected by them depending on whether they work face-to-face or telematically. To this end, a questionnaire was administered to Spanish social service professionals working, obtaining a sample of 560 professionals in the sector. The profile obtained in relation to teleworking may be especially useful when considering the progressive incorporation of more non-presential activity in social services, and the results show that, although teleworking has been perceived as an efficient way of overcoming the limitations to face-to-face work arising from the pandemic, both the positive and negative consequences of the implementation of this modality of work should be carefully assessed.

Kanter's structural empowerment model was used to assess the influence of access to opportunities, resources, information and support on core burnout through global empowerment in a nursing sample in Portugal. The empowerment experience increases the levels of nursing professionals' satisfaction and performance preventing the emergence of burnout. However, the relationship between structural empowerment and burnout has been scarcely studied in Portugal. We conducted a cross-sectional correlational study assessing a final sample of 297 participants (62.13% response rate, 63.64% women). Model fit and mediation test were examined using structural equation modelling (path analysis). Access to opportunities and access to support had direct impact, through global empowerment, on core burnout, whereas access to resources had both direct and indirect impact on core burnout. The results validated the structural empowerment model and its application in nursing staff in Portugal. Professional training plans, the development of formal and informal support networks, and the availability of resources increase the levels of empowerment and decrease the likelihood of experiencing burnout in nursing professionals.

Despite the economic crisis, Spain is still a country with a large presence of foreign population, which requires the adjustment and adaptation of public services social services among them to this reality. Our objective is to understand and analyse the Intercultural Sensitivity levels of social workers in public social services in Andalusia (Spain), and relate them to elements of intercultural competence. Participants include 298 professionals from Andalusian community social services; 163 were social workers, on which this study focused. We have used the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (IS) in the context of a larger survey that measured other aspects such as the degree of intercultural contact and intercultural competence through different means. We analyse correlations between the dimensions of the IS and other variables, associations and comparisons of means (Student's t-test and ANOVA) for the whole sample and different variables considering only social workers. The data obtained show high SI, with significant differences related to previous training on cultural diversity, age and relationships with foreign people. The level of knowledge about diversity management in the surveyed population is very relevant, as well as training and relationships with immigrants. However, we think it is necessary to strengthen both training and interaction to advance the implementation of theoretical contents on the practice and interaction that take place in professional intervention.

Even though gender equality being present in the social and political sphere, we still encounter aspects that are characteristic of sexism. Such aspects impact upon gender inequality and different types of violence towards women. The present article aims to examine the behaviour of adolescents from Huelva with regards to ambivalent sexism towards women on social networks and their influence on health. Furthermore, we seek to uncover adolescent’s perceptions with regards to gender differences in the use of social networks, the relationship between sexism and women’s emotional well-being was observed. The study sample was formed by young people aged between 14 and 16 years who were residing in rural and urban zones in the south of Spain. A mixed methods approach was taken. At a quantitative level, a sample of 400 young people was recruited. These were administered a questionnaire about sexism which was composed of two scales and has been validated at a national and international level. At a qualitative level, the study counted on 33 young people who participated in in-depth discussions via interviews and discussion groups. The results showed that sexism emerges in adolescence in the analysed sample from the south of Spain. This favoured a digital gender gap and was reinforced through social networks such as Instagram and Snapchat. Rising awareness and a critical view of the aforementioned sexism was shown on the behalf of females, particularly those from urban backgrounds.

This article will review the processes of professionalization of social work in Spain. With the advent of democratic Spain, many professions began a process of transformation. Those rooted in the relationship between the citizens, their rights and obligations, and the state, were among the first to be challenged. Social work was one of them. Soon thereafter, the European Union (EU), which Spain joined in 1986, brought forth greater challenges and incentives to change. In 1999, Spain and 29 other countries signed the Bologna Declaration, which committed the country to the development of a shared domain (often referred to as ‘espacio común’) with European higher education. This article reviews the historical process of insertion of social work, heavily influenced by the Catholic tradition of caring, into the universities. The paper examines the model of social work education in Spain, before and during Franco's era, and the professionalization (sometimes referred to as ‘tecnificación’) of care-giving and training-paradigms that followed the advent of democracy. Current models and efforts to bring Spanish social work into EU compliance have narrowed the gap with the Anglo-Saxon world; but have they distanced social work in Spain from its roots?

El presente artículo investiga el uso de tecnologías por profesionales de servicios sociales durante la pandemia de Covid-19, con el fin de extraer aprendizajes que ayuden a optimizar los procesos de transición tecnológica en las organizaciones. La investigación considera la tecnología como un factor psicosocial en el entorno laboral, evaluando su impacto en la salud y bienestar de las/os profesionales. Se utilizó una metodología cualitativa, basada en entrevistas semiestructuradas a profesionales del Trabajo Social en España, analizadas mediante el software Atlas.ti 23, siguiendo el procedimiento metodológico de la Teoría Fundamentada. El análisis produjo 248 códigos y 2543 citas, de las cuales se consolidaron 57 códigos a partir del código central "Uso de medios tecnológicos". Los resultados revelaron que el uso de herramientas tecnológicas durante la pandemia de Covid-19 podría mitigar el problema del exceso de documentación física, mejorar la coordinación profesional tanto interna como con otras organizaciones, y optimizar la relación de profesional-persona usuaria, entre otras. Las conclusiones permiten identificar un marco general para el diseño de estrategias que faciliten la transición tecnológica en las organizaciones de servicios sociales, asegurando que las innovaciones tecnológicas no solo mejoren los procesos laborales, sino que también incrementen la calidad de vida de las/os profesionales de las organizaciones.