Happy Holidays to all my Fellow Social Workers!

Sorry I've been a little late posting.  I meant to update my blog at Christmas but alas with all my time off relaxing, it's slipped away from me.  However, there is still New Years so I am wishing all my readers all the best for 2013 - which includes health, career and relationships!

Since we are only a couple of days until 2013, now is a perfect time to reflect on the last year.
 
Mine was mixed - the start was not good, nor the middle, but I feel like I made up for it at the end.  I had a major health and career crisis which caught me completely off guard.  And it battered my self worth and self esteem pretty badly.  I had to get real with myself about my abilities and what I could handle.  I learnt the pain of having people doubt me.  I had a lot of guilt about my health issues.  All the time, energy and sacrifice I had put into my Social Work career looked and felt like it had been for nothing.  I had to live with being labelled and as hard as it was I knew that many people were hoping I would just give in and walk away from my career.

It made me understand what our clients go through on a daily basis, journeying through a system that is rigged to have many of them fail - and worst of all, revictimize them.  I know I felt like I was being victimized.

But then after all that waiting, jumping through a million hoops that seemed to only hurt me and impede my recovery, new opportunities began to open up and I got a new job.  And surprisingly, I found that I loved it.  But I sure as hell knew that I paid my dues for it.

I made a decision once I started my new position that I didn't want to be just another employee - I wanted to stand out in my enthusiasm.  I wanted to be seen as an obvious asset to my agency.  I wanted to make an impression so that if I ever left the agency I would be remembered, and more importantly MISSED.  And although it has been less than six months since I started this job a lot of people know my name and are talking about my approach to work.  I am no longer afraid to hold in my ideas if I think they will  be of benefit to my clients or the agency.  I care a lot less about criticism and rejection because I have nothing to lose.  I enjoy my job, my clients can see that and it is also reflected in the positive atmosphere that I help to create with my coworkers.  I am not perfect - I often joke that I am the geek in my office but I am real and it has taken a long time for me to accept myself both personally and professionally.

So, where did I intend to go with this long story?  I wanted to show you how much can change in a year, from negative to positive.  Overall, my wish for you dear readers is for you to persevere and recognize your own strength in the coming year.  Oftentimes we are so focused on our clients journey's that we tend to neglect our own.  We too have amazing stories of survival and triumph in the face of great obstacles or tragedies.  Some of us may have had several hard years in challenging Social Work jobs, while others are just graduating and don't know in which direction to begin their Social Work career.  Then there are those of us struggling to juggle family lives with our jobs, facing ever increasing responsibilities at work, and a lack of understanding for the very complicated work we do.  But I don't want you to give up hope for 2013.  I want you to take all that you have dealt with, learnt and overcome in 2012 to become a stronger, more resilient version of yourself.  Aim to be a role model to your clients and your coworkers in 2013.  And more importantly, aim to be a model of courage to yourself.


As Always,

Patti

Bribe and Prejudice

As Social Workers we are trained not to receive gifts from our clients.  In many agencies this is considered unethical practice, especially when we have involuntary clients.  This is to protect clients from being taken advantage of by their workers.

Some agencies have differing opinions about what is considered a gift.  Homemade gifts such as baked goods or a card which cost very little money are accepted as to avoid offending the client.  Sometimes clients just want to genuinely thank their Social Workers and they want to give more than a verbal "thanks."

The reverse happened to me today.  I wanted to give my clients Christmas cards as a sign of good will, however a co-worker told me immediately that it is not allowed at our agency.  Now, my role is definitely not front line child intervention anymore and my clients have great boundaries so I believe they would generally be surprised and delighted with a Christmas card (and not read too much into it).  I don't consider a Christmas card a gift, but I suppose there must be a rule about giving anything to clients in the big agency I work for.  And to be honest I was going to make sure that none of the cards had the word Christmas in them anyways, since I am not particularly religious.

Sigh. I am always looking for inventive ways to develop my professional relationship with my clients, but I suppose this time I have just become a victim to the opposite motion of bribery in the workplace!

Being Positive in an Ever-Negative World

I remember how I was as a Social Worker in my previous positions - just trying to get by and keep my head above water.  I tried to be supportive to my clients and co-workers but there wasn't a lot to be positive about.  Many decisions I had to make and follow through on as a front line Child Welfare worker was not positive.  I had a lot of responsibility and I would constantly worry, hoping that the children on my caseload would remain safe.  I felt older than I was - actually, a lot older.

In many ways a large part of who I was was taken over by my job.  There was little room for creativity, imagination or independence.  There were also a lot of people that I had to answer to: supervisors, management, parents, children, foster parents, extended family, teacher's, principals, support workers, lawyers, judges and so on.  Everyone had their own vested interest and it was hard to always have someone disappointed or angry at me.

Now that I am in a different place professionally I see that I was just not meant to be the constant "bearer of bad news."  I don't always want to be expecting the worst and I don't always want to be the bad guy.  And I wanted to be honest to my co-workers, clients, supervisors and management about who I was.  I was tired of being a generic, personality-less worker.  I realized that 1/3 of my life would be spent at work and I wanted that time to be an extension of who I was during the other 2/3 of the time.

So I began to talk with a more authentic speech, using less jargon and using more realistic language with my clients.  I also gave myself permission to laugh and laugh with my clients.  I brightened up my office and my hair.

I am unappologetically happy and I take every opportunity I can to have fun and make sure my co-workers are having just as good of a time as myself.  There are still busy days, tiring days, and it does take some effort, but being positive sustains others and it helps to give them hope.  You just don't know who you could impact with this attitude, and that is what Social Work is about, positively impacting others.

Update to my Readers

It's been over four months since I have last written a blog post.  I thought I was done with the Social Work Diaries, but I guess it was not done with me!  I was just informed this week that my blog has almost two thousand views - the last time I checked it was more like a couple hundred!

And so this person who informed me thought I owed my readers an update on where I am in my Social Work career.  I could not help but agree.

I had to move for this new position which meant selling and also packing a lot of my belongings.  To be honest, about half of my stuff was in boxes anyway since there were several times that I thought I would just move back home because my career situation was so uncertain.  Anyway, within a couple of weeks I had bought a modest home and delved into reinventing my Social Work career yet again.

My expectations for this new job was not very high.  I just wanted a better Social Work job than the last ones I had.  Each day when there was not a new crisis to overcome, I was amazed.  I felt like I was in cloud nine!  I genuinely felt like I was helping my clients and that overall I was in a positive work environment.

I am sure there were a few snickers from the people who have known me since the start of my Social Work career.  Here goes Patti with yet another change!  But I kept my head held high and I had a positive attitude. I did't have a choice but to move forward.

For the first days and weeks I was still surprised that I liked my new job.  I didn't get that sinking feeling in my stomach or my head warning me I was in the wrong area of Social Work.  And whenever conflict arose with clients I had already dealt with much worse in the past so it was easily for me to handle these situations. Also, I admitted my strengths and my challenges to my co-workers and my boss.  Finally, I felt like I was being treated like a normal person, and not a Social Work superhero!

As I said before in my last post, my current position does not relate to Social Work 100%.  However, I use many of the skills I gained while obtaining my Social Work degree and working as a front-line Social Worker.  I have great people skills and I am unafraid when the going get's tough - as long as it's not too tough!

As there are many types of people, there are also many types of Social Work personalities - and positions available to them.  I don't know if some of my former co-workers were waiting for me to say that the other Social Work jobs I had in the past were too much for me.  It's true, they were stressful and challenging jobs but they are too much for many people and it was not worth the price of being exhausted all the time, being multi-tasked to death or having my safety put at risk.  To be honest, now when I talk to those guys I think they are a little envious when they see how stress-free I am.  And sure, I do have a wonderful job now but I had to go through many negative experiences to get it.  I figure in a way, I earned this position and I'm exactly where I'm meant to be.

And as for the future of this blog...I do have topics that come to mind occasionally so now that I am more settled in my life I have the time to write posts - just not everyday as I used to!

Lastly, for all the Social Workers hanging on by a thread out there.  A job is never worth losing your sanity, health or relationships over.  You can only be the best Social Worker you can be when you are in a job you feel comfortable in.  It may take many, many attempts before you find the right fit.  And it doesn't matter if you don't take the traditional Social Work career path as every one else: intervention, front-line, casework, or dealing with high risk clients.  The world always needs kind and determined workers no matter what area of Social Work they are in.

Goodbye Post

This is my final blog post.  I know I haven't had it for very long but I knew that this might be the case.  It was kind of my pet project while I was going through a career transition.

And good news my readers, the transition has finally come to an end and I am now in a non-front line social work position!  I really didn't know how my job search was going to end - if I was going to continue in the field or not, but this opportunity came up and I decided to grab it.  After all the social work experience I have gained it feels like I can easily handle this job and the people I am going to be working with sound great.

I have paid my dues in crazy stressful and sometimes dangerous social work jobs.  Looking back I think having those jobs has given me some good perspective and will help me to better appreciate my new job.  I learnt what roles I am comfortable with and I am confident now that I will not be put in situations that go against my values or personality, and that's a good feeling!  It is a lower paying job, however of course there are going to be trade offs.  I am willing to accept mine.

I could not have continued through this long and arduous journey without the support from former colleagues and family.  This field can snap at your self esteem and confidence and there will be more times than you can count that you want to give in or give up.  I never thought I could find a job that would meet my needs but after a lot of searching and luck it seems like it's going to be a good fit.  So then my advice is if you are in a similar situation to the one I was in, continue to think outside the box and look at non-traditional social work jobs.  Push for what you want.  I found that along the way people wanted me to compromise but in the end I'm glad I didn't.  As a result I know that my physical, emotional and mental health is not going to suffer.

I want to thank all of my readers from across the globe for reading my blog.  I know you didn't always comment but I understand since I am usually shy on blogs and message boards and rarely comment myself.  I am going to keep all my past posts online and if they continue to inform new or burnt out social workers then my original goal was accomplished!

Take Care,

Patti

Workplace Intimidation and the Social Worker

I am sorry that I haven`t written for over a week but I have been busy with work related things and it hasn`t left me with much time to write.

This topic has come up for me recently.  I decided to write about it because I want others to know that they are not alone if they too are experiencing intimidation or workplace bullying.

I have recently been informed that my social work abilities had been questioned by someone at my agency.  I don`t think that the person who said this meant for me to find out but I did.  When I discovered these comments I was confused, frustrated, upset and felt a huge blow to my self esteem.  I thought I had been doing a pretty good job and none of these comments had been brought to my attention during any supervisory meetings or informal chats with my supervisor or any higher ups.  So as a result, I felt betrayed.  I also felt that my reputation and character had been assassinated.  All of my hard work, my years of education now felt meaningless.  I was very angry at this person for saying these things, and angry at the agency itself because I had dedicated myself to that job, often at the cost of my personal life and this is what I got in return.

I don`t know why we can`t give as much consideration to our employees as we give to our clients in the field of social work.  I know that these issues exist in many organisations but on the front line we especially need the support of our coworkers, supervisors and management.  I suppose I am so disappointed because I have always carried myself at work with dignity and respect towards others and it`s disheartening when you don`t get it back.

So then let`s discuss options if you are in this situation like me.  First, document EVERYTHING!  You will need this if the issue is brought to your union or management.  You can arrange for a meeting with the person  who said these things but speak to your supervisor first to make them aware of the situation (if they were not the ones making the disrespectful and damaging comments).  See what you can do to get this off your personal record if it is included in your file.  Have it documented there that you did not agree with the comments.  Try not to get upset when speaking to the person as you want to remain professional.  Just because they are acting inappropriate does not mean that you should as well.  Take the higher ground.  Don`t quit if you feel you are being intimidated, seek support of your union for next steps and do not discuss the situation with fellow coworkers since you don`t want a lot of rumours flying around - it only makes things worse.

The person who made these comments about me has a lot of power and I am in the middle of a career transition so I have to be careful.  Once I am settled I am going to address this issue with the person.  They need to know that just because an employee is kind, does not mean you can take advantage of them.  I am going to stand up for myself, which is a hard lesson I have had to learn.

The Unemployed Social Worker

I have seen a lot of discussion on the internet about social workers, especially in the United States, having a hard time finding social work jobs.  Exceptionally vulnerable people include: new graduates because of lack of experience, older workers because of age discrimination, workers who have had several jobs in a short amount of time, and those with gaps on their resume.  It also may take you longer to find a job if you are trying to break into a new area of social work since you have to prove to potential employers you have what it takes to do the job.

Then there are the overqualified social workers in support roles since that is the only position they can get in their area, or which fits their schedule if they have a family.

Pay ranges significantly between non-profits and more government controlled agencies.  You may be unemployed because all you see are low paying social work jobs and you want to hold out for a job that will put you in a better position to support yourself.  I don't blame you, as long as you have the money to tide yourself over.  I have seen many interesting and rewarding social work jobs advertised, however when I looked at the salary I couldn't believe it.  Some start as low as $9 and don't go up much further from there!  I would love to be altruistic and take the job, however, I like many other people I know have bills to pay!  To me this underscores how little social workers are valued by some agencies or how low their funding is that they have to pay their considerably educated employees close to minimum wage.

The only advice I can give to someone who is unemployed is this:

• See if you qualify for unemployment insurance
• Do not quit your current job unless you have substantial savings or have another job lined up!
• Go in person to agencies that you are interested in to introduce yourself, making it known you would like to work there
• Network with other social workers to see if there are any openings at their agency or any other openings they know about 
• Take part time or casual work in the field if you are desperate and continue to look for full time work in the meantime
• Try not to get too down on yourself if it's taking longer than you thought

Finally, all of us will be in this position at one point or another.  We will feel like we are at a cross roads with not many options.  Listen to your heart and use every connection you have.  Eventually the situation has to get better.