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Managing For Employee Retention
Managing For Employee Retention
Managing For Employee Retention
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Introduction A career in social work is one of the most difficult and emotionally strenuous professions in the human service industry. Social workers are vital to their communities and play a critical role in supporting families and children while ensuring safety, wellbeing, and permanency. Social worker retention has been a primary problem for child welfare agencies and is a complex issue that requires multi-dimensional solutions. The typical time span of employment for a child welfare social worker is less than two years (Johnco, 2014) and it is common for the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to have a fifty percent turnover rate per year across the United States (Murray, 2014). There are several factors that contribute to social …show more content…
Recommendations to alleviate some of the barriers to retention include robust hiring processes, increased support during the onboarding process, fair compensation, ongoing trauma services, and self-care awareness initiatives. I would recommend expanding the interview process for social workers in an effort to ensure that candidates are compatible for the position from the onset. DCF should adopt more of a business model in relation to their hiring practices and candidates should be screened for more than just functional capability. Potential hires should be evaluated on how well they can connect to other people, their emotional intelligence, their ability to shape DCF policies, and their aptitude to lead others in behaviors that can naturally increase morale and job satisfaction. As an example, Bielaszka-DuVernay (2008) states that emotional intelligence, depending on the job function, can account for 24% to 69% of performance success. The research suggests that during the interview process, questions should be geared towards understanding the candidate’s self-awareness and self-regulation, ability to read others and recognize the impact of his/her behavior on others, and the aptitude to learn from mistakes. In doing so, the hiring manager can gage the emotional intelligence of the potential hire which would be a key factor in the social work …show more content…
Research in the value of humor in human services fields has increased. Historically, humor has been a main coping mechanism for those dealing with chronic illness. However, the use of humor is now being utilized in individual and group settings for clients with various treatment needs. Despite the evidence and positive feedback, this research has not been brought to the forefront and utilized to its maximum potential. Having a sense of humor can be a tremendous asset and protective factor to minimize social worker burnout. Well-timed humor can be used to deescalate clients and improve overall morale for clients and social workers. Within co-workers, appropriate humor can be used to calm down a colleague or break the tension and lighten the mood of an intense moment. These interactions could be utilized as protective factors to social worker fatigue (Moran & Hughes,
I knew I loved to help others but it was not until I was an emerging adult that I knew what my calling was. My devotion to improve the quality of life for those who are disadvantaged is one of the reasons I have chosen to pursue a Master’s in Social Work. After obtaining my masters, I plan on diversifying my masters by getting licensed and becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I would like to study social work because I feel it will lead me directly to one of the most emotionally fulfilling careers available, as well as giving me the chance to combine helping people 's mental well being with their physical
The social safety net has grown to include and protect a diverse group of people of all ages. Social workers have become vital to older persons who need long term care, persons struggling with addictions, and communities that are devastated by natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and violent tragedies
Zlotnik, J. L. & Cornelius, L. (2000). Preparing Social Work Students for Child Welfare Careers:
Several authors provide a definition for therapeutic humor as a way of both outlining their perception of how humor is used in therapy and to dispel any beliefs or opinions that it is just of matter of communicating nice jokes or anecdotes. Therapeutic humor is then the injection of humorous practices both by design or purposely and instinctively to heighten a client’s insight regarding their feelings, behaviors, or circumstances (Franzini, 2001; Martin & Lefcourt, 1983; Yonkovitz, 1997). From this definition it can be assumed that the purpose of humor in therapy is to provide some pleasure as well as lubricate information that may otherwise be difficult for a client to hear or even realize.
There are many different career fields you can go into as a social worker: from mental health, drug and alcohol abuse all the way to child welfare. Child welfare is my primary target when I become a social worker. I feel that I will have the biggest impact if I help the kids out that will be creating our future world. If I can help the kids of the next generation then maybe my influence will help more than just those few kids I see every day. Plus ever since I can remember people told me I need to be doing a job that helps children. I want to be able to make a difference in the community, and if I can help the kids, then I know I’ll be helping the community. Being a student at Wilmington College will help me fulfill these values and skills, but the thing that
Weinbach, R.W. (2008). The Social Worker as Manager: A Practical Guide to Success, 252-277. Boston, MA: Pearson.
The spectrum of therapeutic techniques available within the health care continuum is very complex and varied. From traditional medicine, to holistic remedies, and anything in between, nurses have a rather large arsenal at their disposal when it comes to treating the patients that are under their care. Humor as an alternative therapy has long been understood as a proven means to aid in the recovery process. “With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health” (Smith & Segal, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to discuss situations in which humor would be a viable alternative therapy
Becoming a social worker is dependent on numerous factors, one of which being education. “A bachelor’s degree in social work (BSW) degree is the most common minimum requirement to qualify for a job as a social worker, however, majors in psychology, sociology, and related fields may be sufficient to qualify for some entry-level job” (Chao & Orr, 162). Many people when pursuing the goals of being a social worker, however, are most interested in jobs in public agencies and/or having their own practices. “A master’s degree in social work (MSW) is necessary for positions in health and mental health settings and typically is required for certification for clinical work” (Chao & Orr, 162). One’s level of school is not the only thing employers are focusing on when looking to hire social workers. Along with one’s education, a social worker must have “a broad liberal arts base which includes a knowledge of the social sciences (sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, political science, and economics) to provide explanations about the nature of human society and the human condition” (Johnson, 48). There are many more skills that are just as essential, if not more beneficial, to the employer as well as client.
For the purpose of this paper the social worker interviewed is Ronnita Waters, MSW, RCSWi; she is currently an operations manager at the Center for Family and Child Enrichment (CFCE). The issue or area where her advocacy skills are practiced is within child welfare. Mrs. Waters mentions to the interviewee “I always wanted to work with children, then eventually for children.” when asked what developed her interest in this area of social work. Furthermore, before she became an operations manager, the social worker was an adoptions supervisor, overseeing adoption case managers and ensuring the proper implementation of policies such as the sibling placement policy and adoption policy. In addition, before achieving the role of supervisor, she was
It’s undoubtedly complex and can take someone strong and passionate, with all their good intentions, and completely break them down and burn them out. Entering this field requires a Human Services worker to not only be prepared for all that it includes, but to be fully educated in the accepted and most effective best practices to produce superior results for the child and their family. This paper will discuss the career choice of a Child Protective Service (CPS) worker and the standard best practices implemented in this
Whitaker, T., Reich, S., Reid, L.V.B., Williams, M., & Woodside, C. (2004). “If You’re Right for the Job, It’s the Best Job in the World”: The National Association of Social Workers’ Child Welfare Specialty Practice Section Members Describe their Experiences In Child Welfare. Retrieved from http://www.naswdc.org/practice/children/NASWChildWelfareRpt062004.pdf
Richman, J. The lifesaving function of humor with the depressed and suicidal elderly. Gerontologist 35(2): 271 (1995).
For years, when I thought of Social Workers, I imagined a person coming into a client’s home and taking their kids away for neglect. Later, I found out that social workers could go into so many dimensions, such as clinical social workers, case mangers, and even administrative positions in agency settings. Furthermore, I realized that I was maturing into an adult. For example, when I began telling people of my decisions to become a social worker, a lot ...
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen
The work of a social worker is complex and all encompassing. Social workers work in many capacities seeking justice, liberation, and equality. There work is global, as they work to put policies in place to govern practices. To keep up with societal shifts and generational changes there learning is continuous. As new questions rise so does the need for the continuation of research, not only to answer these questions but to implement into