Social workers as willful subjects

How does social workers' agency come about amid the structural constraints they face in their everyday practice? Based on ethnographic fieldwork at a services department Israel, this article offers insights into agentic performances. Fieldwork lasted four and half months (March–August 2021) included daily participation life, multiple interviews with all staff members ( n = 28), participant observations various professional meetings. We identified modes of among workers: challenging bureaucracy regulations, standing up to colleagues, supervisors, managers, pushing through austerity, disrupting norms expectations. conclude illustrating workers as Willful Subjects, recognizing limitations while acknowledging its powerful effects prime importance.