The relationship between the emergence of political populism and social work has not been well investigated. This article reports the results of research conducted by means of in-depth interviews and questionnaires on a sample of 90 social workers employed by municipalities governed by populist parties in Italy, where the phenomenon of xenophobic politics has recently grown to particularly worrying proportions. The article describes the effects of populist programmes on social work and highlights the different reactions of social workers in response to the new scenario.