Social Work: An Activity of Ethical Considerations and Personal Values - Essay Sample

Introduction

Social work is an activity conducted by trained personnel whose aim is to alleviate the conditions of individual suffering in the community as a result of social deprivation (Ferguson, 2016). The profession is characterized by the influence of many ethical factors that must be taken into considerations to achieve the intended goals. Some of the significant factors affecting the social works include ethical dilemmas, personal values, categorization and prejudice, and social movements.Ethical Dilemmas in Social Works

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Professionals in social workers face several ethical dilemmas because of the ambiguities associated with social work identity and opposed values. Some of the most common ethical dilemmas include: receiving gifts, breach of confidentiality, commissioning of illegal acts, interacting on social media, and involuntary commitment. Many clients may attempt to thank the client by giving them gifts because of the services received, thus, posing a challenge on whether the present is a gift or a bribe (Ferguson, 2016). Additionally, the social worker may be required by law to breach confidentiality as well as commissioning illegal acts that may endanger the client and society at large. For example, if the client is a minor, the social worker may have to inform the parents about the condition of the child against his/her wishes (Keeney, 2019). Lastly, in the past, it was considered unethical to conduct therapy over the email. Currently, however, social media have become a popular channel of communication. Many social workers find it difficult to decide whether it is ethical to use social media while conducting therapy with the client.

Impacts of Personal Values on Professional Practice of Social Works

The social work profession is a field that has many values. These values are critical in helping social workers achieve the goals of their job. One such value is that professional ones replace personal opinions. For example, some people have different opinions and values on matters associated with social factors such as abortion, religion, and sexual orientation (Shilo et al., 2016). A social worker may be believing that things such as homosexuality and abortion are wrong. However, at the professional level, he/she is expected to put such thoughts aside when treating the client who is either gay or wants to abort. Since values are critical in part of individuals, some workers may find it challenging to put aside their values while working with their clients (Shilo et al., 2016). For example, if the client is gay, a social worker may be reluctant to work with him/her, or in some instances, may embark on trying to influence him/her out of homosexuality instead of focusing on the problem at hand.

On the other hand, if the client is anti-homosexuality, he/she may not be willing to work with a gay social worker (Shilo et al., 2016). At the same time, if the social worker is a religious person, he/she may find it challenging to work on an individual who is a pagan since religion plays a critical role in shaping people's attitude and decision-making process. In other instances, conflicts between values may arise, thus hampering the quality of service provided. An example of conflict values is when the client asks an anti-abortionist social worker for assistance in securing a safe abortion. In this case, the social worker may advise the client against her abortion, thus, affecting the quality of service provided.

Reduction of Categorization and Prejudice in Social Work

In social work, prejudice and categorization have negative impacts on the quality of services by promoting discrimination. Some of the most common prejudice and categorization in social practices include racism and homophobia. In most cases, such biases occur as a result of socialization in society. The most effective way to end these vices is by changing the attitude of people towards these issues through re-socialization (Richardson et al., 2018). The social workers should undergo rigorous training on various aspects of prejudice and their damaging impacts on the profession. Some of the productive activities during training is by interaction and working on a project with people from different races or with different sexual orientations. Such events help at the subconscious level to change the attitude of social workers towards people from different social groups (Richardson et al., 2018). It is also vital to create and implement legal policies that prevent social workers from allowing their prejudice to interfere with their work. Other strategies of reducing categorization include promoting public awareness and support on the anti-prejudice social norms as well as helping social workers to understand inconsistencies in their beliefs.

Roles of Social Workers on Social Movements

Individuals who are lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, and queers are among some of the people who navigate their lives in the presence of discrimination and stigma in society. As a result of their daily plights, many movements have been formed across the world to champion for their rights. Some of these movements include Gay Rights National Lobby, Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE), and GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), among others. Social workers play a critical role as therapists, brokers, mentors, and advocates among LGBTQ members represented by these movements (Cole & Harris, 2017). Since social workers often interact with LGBTQ individuals, they have vast historical and fundamental knowledge about them. Social workers supply specific knowledge about each subpopulation that is critical in understanding their experiences, challenges, and resiliencies. Besides, gender identity and sexual orientation variables intersect with other variables such as ethnicity, race, religious affiliation, ability status, and age (Cole & Harris, 2017). These intersection result in more severe problems affecting significant sectors of the affected individuals. In such cases, social workers work as crucial texts, articles, and references for the latest advocacy and knowledge about all aspects of LGBTQ individuals. They also serve behind the scenes and frontlines on matters about the LGBTQ population.

It is evident form the above discussion that social work is a profession affected by many ethical factors. Social workers often face ethical dilemmas in their daily operations. Besides, their values often conflict with professional values, thus undermining their effectiveness serving their clients. Prejudice and categorization, on the other hand, negatively affect the professional relationship between the client and the social worker. Despite these problems, social workers play critical roles in the social movements whose goals are to seek social justice for the oppressed.

References

Cole, C., & Harris, H. W. (2017). The lived experiences of people who identify as LGBT Christians: Considerations for social work helping. Social Work and Christianity, 44(1/2), 31. http://www.nacsw.org/Publications/SWC/SWC44_1&2.pdf#page=34

Ferguson, H. (2016). What social workers do in performing child protection work: Evidence from research into facetoface practice. Child & Family Social Work, 21(3), 283-294. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cfs.12142

Keeney, A. J. (2019). School Social Workers' Perceptions of Ethical Dilemmas Associated with Electronic Media Use in School Settings. Children & Schools, 41(4), 203-211. https://academic.oup.com/cs/article-abstract/41/4/203/5603332

Richardson, S. C., Pass, M., & Butler, B. R. (2018). Talking black and white: An intercultural exploration of twenty first century racism, prejudice, and perception. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, 23(1), 295-297. https://www.jbsw.org/doi/pdf/10.18084/1084-7219.23.1.BR295

Shilo, G., Cohen, O., & Gavriel-Fried, B. (2016). Do same-sex relationships count as family? The effects of personal characteristics, values, and contact on social workers' definitions of same-sex relationships. Journal of Social Work, 16(6), 688-707. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1468017316630693