Free Essay in Social Work, Case Study of Betty

Secrets are abound and have existed since the world was created. Every person has some secrets he or she keeps from other people, even if doing so may make an individual disloyal or uncomfortable. In cases where the secret is insignificant or small such as hiding your friend about plans to search for another job or a surprise birthday party, there is no harm. However, in circumstances when the secret has issues such as dangerous, traumatic or life threatening events, it can harm the physical and mental health of the person concealing those events. As young people attempt to establish their future, concealing uncomfortable secrets can act as a barrier to form good relationship with other people.

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Betty has revealed that working for 400 hours without being compensated is too much since it will affect the time she could be playing tennis. In the past, she has slipped out of work at least one or two hours per day when her supervisor was not around. In addition, she has cheated about the number of hours she was supposed to be in the library.

Most probably, Betty has revealed this information for one to help her make choice about her career as a social worker or a professional tennis player. Even if this secret has to do with her life, it cannot be sufficient to affect the lives of other people. Her actions can affect her future positively or negatively. Betty is a student who wants to pursue a career in social work but engaging in professional tennis can earn more money. This is a difficult choice because her reputation as a social worker can be ruined if the supervisor discovers she slips out of work when he is not in office and she lies about the number of hours she has to be in the library. On the other hand, if she does not act that way, her objective of becoming a professional tennis player may be affected negatively. Individual reaction towards confiding the secret is not characterized by shame or disappointment because Betty has limited experience in regards to decision making. However, she has to be careful about revealing the secret to many people especially at her agency because some of them may not be confidant.

Social workers assist other people when in need. This implies that they provide services to people facing various challenges in life, from health disorders to abuse. If one is interested to commit his or her life to help others, it is important for one to have specific qualities or traits, which will assist them in career goals. These qualities are empathy, patience, dedication, organization, training and experience, analytical skills, good time management and resilience to stress.

It is important for an individual aspiring to be a successful social worker to be sensitive about feelings of other people for empathy to be satisfied. Good analytical skills depend on experience that one has and will guide the social worker in working with others as a team. In addition, a social worker should expect stress because of tight schedules in the place of work or in the field. However, it is important to balance recreation and work in order to build resilience to various stressful situations.

Time management is equally important for social workers as they are undertaking their duties and appointments. As the nature of work varies from time to time, one has to have the ability to solve various problems in an organized way. In reference to education and skills, a social worker should satisfy the education requirements as well as work for specified hours in office and field to gain adequate experience in the profession. Patience is important as a social worker works with people experiencing difficult moments and this can only be achieved if the worker understands the background of the person. This entails using effective techniques to assist people address their personal challenges. Moreover, establishing personal objectives in the field of social work is important for one to make informed decisions that are not biased. A social worker has to ensure that personal feelings do not override the career objectives.

In regards to the case of Betty, she satisfies most of the qualities needed in social work, however, some of the elements are not satisfied to succeed in her career. She is in a dilemma of whether to pursue her dreams in social work or whether to join other professional players. This may affect her future objectives in social work because her current choice is based on monetary values and not on the ethical guidelines preferred by most agencies and authorities. Moreover, she is not determined because of poor time managements and failure to satisfy the continuing education as well as regulatory requirements. Therefore, for her to be successful in this profession, Betty should consider putting her career objectives ahead of personal ambitions and needs.

Compliance with various continuing education requirements and guidelines is a responsibility to all the social workers. A continuing student has to understand that the guidelines established by various social work agencies and education institutions are meant to help the individual gain experience in the practice of social work. Apart from satisfying the minimum education requirements, an individual has to work for specified hours in the field as well as at office to gain the required skills and competencies in the profession.

Various studies have attempted to quantify the correlation between productivity and hours of work. Most of these studies have concluded that the output of the employee declines as the hours of work increase. In 2013, a research on factors affecting the productivity of workers in United States found that the productivity of workers decline if a workers spends 50 hours at work and falls stiffly after working for 70 hours in a week. In addition, it was found that the worker productivity depends with the compensation with productivity of workers who are paid high salaries falling less than those paid low salaries in the event of increase in the number of work hours. In reference to the case of Betty, working for 400 hours without compensation may be straining. However, this depends on the number of hours at work per week and the working environment. If the working environment is good and the number of work hours per week is within the limits of the expected productivity, then 400 hours are sufficient to improve her skills. However, her motivation is negatively affected because there is no pay. Holding other factors constant, working for this long without compensation is strenuous for her to prepare as a social worker since she has find alternative work to satisfy her financial needs.

References

ASWB, Association of Social Workers Boards. 2016. "Continuing Competence | ASWB". Aswb.Org. https://www.aswb.org/licensees/continuing-education/.

Handler, Suzanne. 2013. "It Might Be Hard, But There Are Good Reasons To Share Your Secrets". Greatist.Com. http://greatist.com/happiness/secret-keeping-harmful-young-adults.

Rosenberg, Gary and Andrew Weissman. 2013. Social Work Leadership In Healthcare. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

Sullivan, Bob. 2015. "Why You Should Never Work More Than 50 Hours A Week". CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/01/26/working-more-than-50-hours-makes-you-less-productive.html.