Saturday 19 July 2014

Following Your Dreams

Hello Readers,

The summer has been passing by so quickly that I have not written as often as I would have liked to.  But I am hoping to make up for it with this post.

Sometimes as Social Workers we focus so much on the hopes and dreams of others that we often forget about what inspires us in our own lives.  We may have goals for ourselves but only see them as a fixed destination and not a journey.  I also don't believe we should consider our dreams as solitary to one specific area of our lives.  Our dreams can have a big impact on our family life, careers and so on.

Few Social Workers I have met who have been in the field for a long time talk about their dreams (other then the obvious retirement)!  It's as if having big goals for your life is seen as superior or lofty to others.  Or maybe your co-workers are jealous that you have actually been able to identify goals for yourself.  As Social Workers we are rarely encouraged to dream, think outside the box and be creative (at least in the work environments I have been in).  It's like your whole existence must be about your job.

Fighting the status quo has always been my stance/curse.  I am always bringing forward new ideas to do things differently professionally, and personally I have rarely followed the norm.  It just isn't in my blood.  However, I feel as though I am at a crossroads in my life in taking the traditional path or the road less travelled.  Opportunities are opening up to me that I could so easily take but I doubt they would make me happy.  Yet, there are also opportunities/dreams that come with some risk and which I will have to battle hard for but they will provide me with a great sense of accomplishment once achieved.
 
I wish goals and dreams came with a handbook.  What do you do when you have several and you don't know which one should be the priority?  When do you know that you should let go of a dream when you're fairly certain you're not going to be successful at it?  As Social Workers we can be cheerleaders inspiring those around us to reach for their dreams but we can't forget to ask ourselves what we really want in life and how we are going to support ourselves enough to achieve it.

As Always,

Patti

Sunday 25 May 2014

Social Worker and the City

Hello Dear Readers,

I can't believe how fast time has been moving lately.  Work is picking up at an incredible pace and I can only forsee it getting busier in the coming months.

A lot of change is happening with my job and many of them are not for the best.  The workload is going to be significantly increasing for both me and my co-workers and I see a lot of overtime in the horizon. Add to that the more unfun aspects of my job which I have had to deal with lately which in total makes for a stressed out social worker!

I know I won't be doing this job forever and that thought gives me some solace.  Right now it's the burnout that's creeping in and it's not so much physical but emotional.  It's the hard aspects of the job that are starting to weigh me down - the nitty gritty things that all helping professionals have to work with.  I am getting tired of dealing with unhappy people and having to be "the tough guy."  I am normally a pretty upbeat person and I try and surround myself with positive people.  But you don't get that choice when you have to work with angry clients.  Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy being able to advocate or offer support to clients who need it and it makes me proud when they tell me "thank you." However, all of that gets quickly washed away when I work with someone who is the opposite.  I know it is all part of being a social worker, especially one who is working in front line but I can't help but think in the moment "why do I do this to myself?"

So, I have begun working on my exit strategy.  I have a firm timeline of when I'll likely be leaving this job.  It's not right away which is a good thing since I need the time to plan my next moves.  I am going to be ramping up my job searching just to give me an idea of what's out there.  I did find an interesting job posted this weekend which at face value looks positive but it does still include some elements of front line social work.  So now I am doubting it's fit.  And as I've been saying since I moved on from my first social work job, the next one needs to be better - lower caseloads, less stressful etc.  And in a way they have all been a bit better than the last, however as my Dad reminds me, they are not much better!  So this time I want to start fresh, considering jobs I may have never looked at before to help me break the front line cycle.  I am especially investigating paperworky job since writing/paperwork is definitely one of my strengths.

I know that I can use my social work experience and education to do many types of jobs, especially in the organization I work for.  I am lucky in that they encourage lateral transfers and promotions but not climbing down the ladder.  And to be honest, I am not at the point yet where I could even afford to do that.  So type of job is one important aspect but also the location of said job is another.  Which brings me to the topic of this post...

I work in a city, albeit not in one the size of Toronto or Vancouver.  I don't have to worry about crime too much or getting lost.  I have friends here and I know what to expect from my city.  But, it doesn't have the amount of job opportunities as a bigger city.  I've already decided I am going to stay in my province, however I am starting to accept the fact that if I want to move on from front line social work, I have better chances of doing so if I worked at one of our offices in a larger city.  I know that there are sacrifices in whatever decisions we make but I am trying to balance mine here.  I am trying to weigh the pros and cons of moving to a metropolis.  The negatives include increased crime, rush hour traffic, having to learn a new city, getting to know new co-workers and making new friends.  However, as one person close to me said, your scope of practice is usually smaller in a big city and that would be something I would enjoy.  Other positives include more work opportunities in general, more social/creative activities to participate in, more anonymity and less travel for work (which is especially nice in the winter).  But the idea of completely starting over - a new job in a new city - it's a big decision that I can't take lightly.

As Always,

Patti


Saturday 26 April 2014

Fitting In

Happy April Dear Readers!

It has been a long winter here in Canada and if you can believe it we actually got snow this week where I live!  But I am hoping May will be a lot warmer since I am having a harder and harder time remembering what summer feels like!

Work was especially busy this week and combined with a lot of social engagements I found my depression creeping in.  I am lucky in that I recognize it and that the negative feelings usually don't last any longer than a day or two.  But to me it's a sign there is not enough rest time included in my schedule to relax and recharge.  I especially need more quiet time in the evenings when I am having a challenging time at work.  Unfortunately, I get both physical and emotional symptoms of stress which can include not being able to sleep, having chest pains, not being hungry, getting headaches, being irritable and so on.  I was mentioning some of these symptoms to my Mom and she suggested I just change my way of thinking.  I am aware of the benefits of cognitive behavioural therapy but to be honest I believe my personality is the greatest factor.  I just do not handle conflict well at work (although in my personal life it's not too bad - likely because the issues are more complex at work).  I know that I will eventually get through the situation and I'll be professional but it just takes so much out of me.  I can see now that I should never have gotten into the field of social work since it involves at TON of conflict but I wanted to help people so badly.  Instead I realized I am content to help others in my daily life i.e. standing up for someone when I see an injustice happen or helping friends with career or life issues.  I have realized that anyone can make it their mantra to help others and it doesn't necessarily have to involve working in a helping field.

But alas, on to the topic at hand - fitting in at the office.  As it goes, with any job in an office setting there are politics at various levels such as between co-workers or with management.  Every person has their own agenda - to just put in their time so they can get a pay check, to climb the career ladder and step over whoever is in their way to get there, to gain experience and then move on, or those in limbo who are not quite sure what they want to do next so they stay until they figure out their next move (I fall into this group and I believe many others do as well).  And within those groups you get different personality types such as leaders, introverts (me!), extroverts, drama queens, geeks (me!) and so on.

It is challenging when you first start a job since you don't know who fits into which group and what their personality type is.  And how you interact with each type is very important so you don't cause any waves.  This was a hard lesson I had to learn when I first started at my organization but I have since gotten better at filtering what I say and only showing my quirkiness to the direct group of people I work with (who luckily accept me as I am).  But the field of social work in general is full of very social people who flourish in group settings and enjoy debating the world of "grey."  To me "grey" refers to the policies which are not firm or clear enough to give you a direct answer as to how assist your client within the parameters of the program you work for.  I hate it when "grey" situations come up at the office since I can always see both sides and my opinion can greatly waver depending on the latest point either my supervisor or co-workers make.  In general, I hate the feeling of being wishy-washy and it makes me feel like a weak worker.  I can sprout historical case facts and other relevant data like nobody else (sometimes I joke at work that I am borderline Asperger's) but for sure the vagueness does not make me feel comfortable.

At these times I just wish I was given a stack of manageable, uncomplicated work to do which I could accomplish independently.  But people are messy and when you work in the field of helping others their are emotions and opinions to consider. My Mom suggested to me today that I just leave my organization and get a job working in a back office somewhere (she was not joking and meant it honestly).  There are moments when I think she has a point but any jobs like that would require a serious pay cut and a huge reduction in human contact.  I still want to have co-workers but I admit it would be nice losing the helpless feeling that comes when you can't help your clients like you want to and on the flip side no longer having irrational or angry clients to deal with.  But I have read enough career blogs and articles to know there is no perfect job out there.  And some of the best advice I have read lately is to not have a job which you are passionate about (since it can ruin your love of it) but to instead be in a field that caters to your strengths.  I have no doubt that I have gained some valuable experience as a social worker over the years and that there might be some higher up jobs (but not management) that would allow me to use this knowledge in a helpful way.  Nonetheless, I truly believe I am on the way out of front line social work since there are too many negatives to it, at least for me.  But them the question becomes where would I have the better fit?  It feels like there is as many possibilities as there are directions.

Happy Pondering,

Patti

Monday 24 March 2014

Counselling and the Social Worker

Hello Dear Readers,

Well there almost goes another month!  Things have been pretty steady for me since Christmas and I just finished up an intense week at work with more travel than usual.

To be honest, I am finding extensive travel as one of the most stressful things about my job.  I dread the pile of work waiting for me when I return to my desk and cramming in so many client visits while I am on the road.  I also think the break in routine is hard for me too.  I like having a steady pace at work and when my schedule completely changes it's difficult for me to cope.

After many years in the field of social work I can definitely see how it is not a match for my introverted, conventional personality type and my anxiety and depression.  I still dream about a life after social work in a more supportive role but I am a few years away from that and when I do consider changing the path of my career I get a little scared since all I know is social work.  It's how others define me and it's the profession I sacrificed so much for.  And I know when I leave this field I'll have to come to terms with the great price I have had to paid for it.

But alas, there is a topic which has become almost a daily part of my life lately.  Counselling - and I am not talking about helping my clients.  I have had several co-workers who have approached me for social workey advice for their personal issues.  I am greatly honoured to be entrusted with their secrets (none life threatening you can be rest assured!) but still serious problems nonetheless.  In a way I enjoy getting to use those skills which I don't get to use too often in my current job.  In other ways I feel like I am giving biased help since I am friends with these people as well so I try to differentiate by saying 'as a social worker' or 'as a friend' before I give advice so they know where I am coming from.  Overall I believe they ask for this help because they are aware of my social work experience and because of the personal challenges I have been able to overcome - with a majority of them occurring while I've been a social worker.  The ironic thing is that a lot of these co-workers are older then me which shows me that experience is not dependent on age.

So I am wondering if any of you have had family, friends, co-workers or people in the community approach you for professional advice because you are a social worker.

As Always,

Patti


Thursday 13 February 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day My Dear Readers,

What has Patti been up to this last month you may be wondering to yourselves?  Not much actually.  It has been cold and snowy where I live and I have dreaded the times when I have travel scheduled for work.

Overall work has continued to have it's ebbs and flows.  One moment I am extremely busy and other times not so much.  It can be crisis driven so whenever I get an unexpected phone call from a client I wonder if it's because of a crisis.  In general, I feel burnt out from emergency situations and the first thoughts that come into my head when a crisis comes up are "why am I doing this job?" or "I need to find something else that is less of a roller coaster."  After much personal/career research I have realized I have a conventional sort of personality that thrives on stability and clear expectations - so why the heck did I get into social work???  The lack of defined policies and constantly changing mandates really drive me up the wall sometimes.  But I am still at the same social work job and I will remain here until something better comes along.

Other exciting things in my life include an upcoming move.  For some reason or another I seem to move about once a year and usually during my busiest times at work.  I am not looking forward to the stress that is coming up with this move but I know it will lead to me being in a more comfortable living situation.

As for educational goals I have taken the lazy woman's approach and decided not to pursue my master's degree in social work.  I cannot see pouring more money into my social work education as I don't know if I will remain in this profession long term.  Also, the added stress of working all day and completing coursework in the evening and weekends will probably be too much for me.  I like to decompress when I get home, although if I did not have to work I could see myself returning to school full time if the right program presented itself.

However, like the title of my post says, it's Valentine's Day and I want to wish all of you dear readers a day filled with compassion, kindness and love.  Today is perfect for getting some treats for your co-workers, having a special dinner with family, or having a fun night out on the town with friends.  In general, it's a reminder about the special relationships we have in our lives (not just romantic) and the opportunity we have to share our feelings with those people.  Or like me, it is about considering romantic possibilities for the future!

As Always,

Patti



Sunday 12 January 2014

Hobbies and the Social Worker

Hello My Fellow Social Workers,

With a new year upon us, now is the perfect opportunity to look at ways we can enrich our lives.  Some are making travel plans for the future while others are taking courses or volunteering.  Yet there is another option that for many of us, will give us that needed break from our social work jobs - hobbies.

With a quick search on the internet you can get hundreds of hobby ideas online.  Many can be done alone if you like solitary pursuits while others can be done in groups.  They might take you outside of your community or there are those that can be done in the comfort of your own home.  There is likely as many hobbies as there are types of personalities!

I admit, I wish I had more hobbies.  I would say blogging is my primary hobby although I definitely have interests in other areas.  Most days when I finish work I just like to come home and relax and hobbies usually get put to the back burner.  And then my weekends are used to catch-up on errands or to visit with family and friends.

But having hobbies outside of work is healthy for your body and mind.  And as my mother keeps telling me, I focus a lot on my work!  But being a social worker carries so much responsibility and at times the work can feel crushing.  Sometimes you just need quiet time to do nothing and relax.  But if you find you have a little but of extra time outside of work I would seriously consider pursing a hobby.  It can give you something interesting to talk about, provide you with additional skills (that do not relate to your job) and help you to meet interesting people you might never have had the opportunity to meet before.  And the great thing about hobbies is they can be put on hold when need be and you can easily pick them up again when you are ready.  And you don't have to stick with the same hobby forever, you can change it up based on your interests!

As Always,

Patti