Research Paper
What I know:
Reflecting on my childhood, my was always bright and lively. I imagined myself becoming a Hollywood actress, a veterinary, or even a doctor. However, my heart felt an interest towards the field of social work profession. My desire to learn about social workers had been growing for as long as I can remember. In hindsight, my interest began when the people I love struggled with things like divorce, drugs, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and so on. I was horrified by the difficulties they went through daily, and most of them did not have anyone to talk to. This is what drove me to want to reach out to other people facing the same struggles through volunteerism. I needed to know what the interrelationship between the social work profession and volunteerism is. How do they go hand in hand and how does it affect a teenager like me wanting to become a social worker in the future? With all of these questions in my mind, I also wonder if the work I am doing now at my internship job and my volunteering experiences will one day prove to be helpful to someone I love or even a stranger.
What I know or assume:
Before all of my research was done, I had a minimum of fifty percent background knowledge about the interrelationship between social work and volunteerism. However, this is here are some key points I do know. Social work is a profession that has been here for centuries, and there are various types of social work jobs. The main definition for a social worker, according to the Salem Press Encyclopedia, is a social service professional who is committed to improving the behavioral and social lives of individuals, families, and communities. Depending on how much emotional stability a worker has or how much experience he/she has in a field, he/she can choose to work in a more extreme work environment or a less extreme environment. For example, substance abuse and domestic abuse are considered a more extreme work environment because you would help clients who can be in a terrible state. On the other hand, a less extreme work environment could be clinical or public health. In the end, I do not know if the social work profession is growing or gradually decreasing; However, I assume that the career growth is decreasing fairly fast due to the world changing. People do not need to talk to a person as much.
The Research:
Before getting to the phase where I could do research, I first had to reword my essential question to connect with the information from the research. Social work career is a widespread topic, so there is a lot of research and information. However, when I started my internship at the Place of Forsyth, which is a non-profit organization, I began to get an idea of my question. At the place of Forsyth, there are several professional social workers who volunteered for years before they decided to pursue the career. When they realized that this is what they desired, they went to an accredited school, received a degree, and chose to work locally in their community. This does not apply to every worker at the Place. Throughout my time with all of these amazing people, I discovered amazing facts about them. One of the workers there told me what her childhood story was like growing up, and how she ended up here. It is her past with helping people that influenced her to be who she is today. This is what brought me to wonder, “ What is the relationship between volunteering and social work?” There are many different careers that fall into the humanitarian/volunteering, however, most of the workers chose social work. To gain an answer to my question, I gathered all the information I already knew about social work and volunteering and looked for my main point. In an article titled Motivations to Volunteer:Theoretical and Practical Considerations, a research done by Clary and Snyder suggested that there are six different reasons why individuals volunteer: to express personal values(humanitarianism), to understand and learn more about the issue, to enhance one's self development and personal growth, to gain career-related experience, to strengthen social relationship, and to address personal problems or circumstances such as guilt or escape. These six points are the major reasons why an individual who is a social worker will pursue volunteering. This article gave me an idea about the relationship between the two topics.To further my search, I figured that looking up the history between the two topics would not only help me with my question, but I would also find great historical examples. Fortunately, in the “Acting on Our Values: Do Social Workers Volunteer article, which is my third annotated bibliography, says, “The profession of social work owes its existence to volunteerism. Volunteers founded relief societies, children’s homes, day care programs, recreation services, family and child welfare associations, and mental health associations.” While reading this article, I made a connection between a history lesson my teacher gave in class. Social Work was first originated around the 19th century and so was feudalism. The individuals in poverty were seen as a major threat to the social order, so the government formed the Poor Law and created an organized system to provide care to them. This was one of the first forms of social work. Another great example is Jane Addams, who was the founder of the U.S. Settlement House Movement to establish settlement houses in poor urban areas for volunteer middle-class social workers to alleviate the poverty of their low-income neighbors. To this day, there are a variety of historical events in the social work timeline. All of these events were an image of volunteerism, even if that was not the title given. Given this information on the history and examples of social work, I chose to look into the impact volunteering has on an individual,to be specific, a social worker. This is when my second annotated bibliography came in handy.
In the article, Jessica Rodell, who is the author, first brings a statement that many people may or may not agree with; "Volunteering is prevalent and on the rise in the United States, but little research has examined the connection between individuals’ volunteering and their jobs. In the absence of that research, it remains unclear whether employees volunteer to build on meaningful work experiences or to compensate for the lack of them."(Rodell 1) Rodell elaborates on this statement depicting how an individual’s workplace influences volunteering and how volunteering in turn influences his/her workplace. There is a mutual relationship between the two domains. I discovered is that employee volunteering need not be harmful, and may even facilitate, job performance. It appears to be beneficial for an individual’s job performance. For a social worker, this will enhance the feelings needed to pursue the career. In order to be a social worker, you need to have had developed a strong loving for the career because it can be emotionally draining. However, when you volunteer you develop the kindness and empathy needed to drive you. To conclude my research, I conducted an interview with a social worker, who has had been in the social work profession for quite some time. I was able to ask her ten questions for my interview, and I was extremely pleased with the responses.
Interview:
1. What do I believe is your biggest accomplishment in your work?
“ My biggest accomplishment is helping people connect with others and helping people understand their own battles and making sure they understand each other. I want to connect with them.”
Me: “I think that is one of the most important factors in the field. Before yourself, you have to put your clients as one of your top priorities because they are putting their trust in you to help them. I admire that you consider that as one of your accomplishments. Truly amazing!”
2. Has dedicating your time to volunteering( if you have that experience) impact the work you do now?
· “ Yes,of course! My experiences throughout this journey completely changed my view of the career. I worked and trained in several different areas; I counseled people from different backgrounds. All of it was new to me, but I am now able to connect to with everyone on a different level. You feel the pain and the joy they feel. You grow to care much more than for the people than the actual requirements of the job itself. It is truly amazing.”
Me: “ This answer was extremely eye-opening to me. I remember when I did my last post on my essential question, and one of the information I found talked about opening yourself up to gaining the experience needed before starting the career path. I believe that most people consider school itself is just the right amount of experience. That is not true! School is most definitely helpful for gaining the knowledge needed, but it is a completely different story when you go out there and experience the real thing. You never know what you will discover about yourself. I once again admire how you value the times you spent volunteering and doing charity work.”
3. Where do you think the field of social work( or specific profession) is heading in the next 5 years or so?
· “I think that in 5 years from now psychology will continue to expand, and not just psychology, but the different careers within the field. In terms of social workers, it will continue to grow, though there are areas where it is needed more. It will be more important because we are living in a world where there is just so much commotion occurring. Maybe it is divorce or the death of someone close, in conclusion, people find it more bearable to talk to an expert whom they trust will help them cope.”
Me: “ I agree one-hundred percent with the answer. The answer reflects on why it will grow over the years. It optimistic. The world continues to grow and change everyday, so people find it comforting at times to talk to someone who can just listen or give them help. It does not matter how much it might cost.”
4. How does your experiences make you right for this role?
· “I always listen to my patients and thrive to understand their opinions, but I also show them other ways of dealing with the obstacles they face and values that they can later on use so they can reach a more peaceful level.”
Me: “This one example of how much more amazing it is to have those experiences in the field. Though it is good to have the knowledge, it is more inspirational to be able to have more compassion towards the people you work with. It is truly amazing to view how much passion you have towards your clients and the problems you help them face.”
5. What personality traits do you have that help you communicate effectively?
· “I have a very strong personality. At times, I might seem to come off as scary or over the top. Typical. However, I always work with my heart and have strong values and truthful to my patients. I thrive to be honest, hopeful, hard-working, kind, and open- minded, and so on. Not that I am bragging, but these are traits I have developed over the years after much hard work because I wanted to be the best at what I do.”
· Me: “This is an honest and sweet answer because she saw what people could have believe made her not applicable for this career, but she proved people wrong. She pushed herself to develop amazing character traits that will continue to do help her do great deeds. Wow, I am so impressed by how refreshing you are. That might seem like an odd compliment, but you truly are an amazing role model. I hope that I can push myself to develop more traits like these over the years.”
6. What is one of the most challenging situations you have dealt with?
· “One of the hardest situations I usually come across is trying to help a patient when they do not want to be helped. It is really difficult trying to help someone who struggles like this. Sometimes, the patient might not fully know if they want help or not, because the situation could be overbearing and tough. In those stages, I have to be extremely careful as to not make them feel uncomfortable with them. I want them to open up to me. Those can be tough to break through, but with time and patience I get there.”
·Me: “ I cannot begin to imagine how difficult that can be. The feeling that comes with this response is pain. I think one of the hardest things is not knowing what to do when you are in a difficult time. This shows how important it is to be patient because if you are not, then you might potentially miss out helping someone who really needs it.”
7. How does the experience you have working with people whose culture, race or sexual orientation impact or help you now?
· “ It made me stronger in some situations and made me understand that everyone is different and have more tolerance with some situations. There are so many things going on in the world, and when you see them you change completely.”
·Me: “ I wished there would've been more depth to this question, but I am very pleased with the response. Seeing things you might have never seen before can either change you for the better or for the worst.”
8. What are some rigor requirements do you feel someone should have going into this field? (It can be before or after college. )
· “ You have to have dedication and to like helping others and most importantly listen to others, and love what you do. This might seem like a simple answer, but when you love what you do, you never want to stop doing it.”
Me: “This is true on so many levels. I know someone who went to school for something, and he got a degree. In the end, he said he is grateful for all the years he had the opportunity to do what he did, but he is now realizing that he wanted something else. The pressure of everyone on him made him not see what he wanted. What is the point of going to school for something you are passionate about? You are wasting your time and money.”
9.What are some ways social workers or anyone in the psychology field can have an impact on a macro level?
· “We can have an impact on macro level by using social media to share your experiences of the good this career can do. Moreover, it is more important on how you treat your patients and how to deal with all their feelings and make them find peace.”
· Me: “This is true when it comes to using social media to spread the good word. There is so much negativity on social media about things that are irrelevant. We need to have more positivist out there.”
10. Do you think volunteering or charity work have a tremendous impact emotionally or mentally on a social worker?
“Yes, it does because we deal with different types of people and stories, so it can be very hard and emotionally and mentally. So we need to be able to, like I said before, connect with each individual on a certain level.”
· * “ Thank you for interviewing me and letting me share what I believe is important.”
·Me: “ I believe it is! Colleges and institutions are not just looking for how much you are acing your classes and the amazing trophies you have( not that it is not impressive), but they are looking for how passionate you are about something. They look for if you took some time to see what that job or career field is really about. Thank you for your time.”
The interview really made me understand that to develop the knowledge needed to pursue for this career, you will need to go out into the world. You need to be able to gain the experience needed to understand the fundamental of social work.
What I discovered in the end:
Both social work and volunteerism has played a vital role in our society for centuries. Without the role of volunteerism, there would be no social work. This is why throughout my research, I discovered just how much volunteering can impact a student going into the social work field. Social workers should consider this because of the highly competitive market for colleges and jobs, including all the other opportunities that will open up for them. There are so many benefits that can come from volunteering. For proof just look through the history of social work and volunteerism. Some of the main benefits are that it connects you to others, it is good for your mind and body, it can advance your career, and it can bring fulfillment to your life.
Works Cited Page
RODELL, JESSICA B. "Finding Meaning Through Volunteering: Why Do Employees Volunteer And What Does It Mean For Their Jobs?." Academy Of Management Journal 56.5 (2013): 1274-1294. Business Source Complete. Web. 28 Jan. 2017.
"Salem Science." SALEM PRESS. EBSCO, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.
"Volunteering and Nonprofit Careers." How to Become. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.
"What Is the History of the Social Work Profession?" Social Work Degree Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.