Values for Social Workers

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015 Last Modified: 11 Jul 2017

Keywords: social work values, social work ethics

My own personal values were passed by my family, peers and people that I admire. One of the most important value for me is love and respect.

By love I mean love to another human being, not only as a feeling but also as self-respect and people around me. I understand love as a friendship, need to being needed and loved and have someone close to me. Receiving and giving love to life-partner, family or friends is very important for me. By feeling love from people that are part of my life I feel secure, worth and I build my self-esteem. It motivates me to work and gives me strenght to fight with adversities.By giving love to another people I show my own commitment and respect to them. I give them a friend, person to support them in hard times. My personal value is also to respect every individual, especially elderly people. I think everyone need to love and be loved.

Another important value for me is personal fulfillment.

It is very important for me to fulfill my dreams and plans and I do everytthing to do it. I am a perfectionist and I'm trying to get everything done at my best, and I am trying to accomplish everything that I set to myself. One of my dreams is to become a social worker and I am realising this by doing this course. It is very important for me to fulfill myself and achieve the goals which I set. It gives me happiness, build my self-esteem and gives me sense of control over your life.

Next value that plays role in my life is health.

I respect my body and I feel happy that I was born fully heatlhy and efficient. In my life I am trying to keep my body as healthy as possible. Balanced diet such as a lot of fruits and vegetables and less sugars, exercise, fresh air help me to reduce risk of having illnesses. Also work/live and study and safe environment promotes my health. I am trying to not expose my own and others health on risk. I belief that we have one life and we should exploit it as much as we can and by respecting our life we respect also other people's life.

My own values have also relationship in social care practice.

Social Care sector is regulated by agencies such as Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. This reguratory body promotes National Care Standards which are:

-dignity

-privacy

-choice

-safety

-realising potential

-equality and diversity

Some of those standards are very similar to my own personal values such as safety. This standard cares for service users' health and safety. My own health value is very similar to this standard. Their common aims are to create environment free of harm and abuse and to reduce risk of health danger. It also has relationship with Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which is about ensuring the environment is safe and free from hazards. 'This law basically rules that employers must ensure as is reasonably practicable the health, safety and welfare of not only their employees but sub contractors and the general public too.' REFERENCJA

Realising potential is also very similar to my personal fulfillment value. This standard gives service users opportunity to archive their goals and make the most of their life. My value is to archive all my plans and goals and also to do everything the best as I can. It also has relationship to Regulation of Care Act (Scotland) Act 2001. Under this act Scottish Social Services Council regulates the education and training of social service workers and raise standards through the publication of codes of conduct and practice.

Social Care practice is based on respect every individual and treating people equally. Every employee must take this into their practice. My love value is related to all aspects of care practice. It states that we should respect and love every human being and have a right to love and be loved. Social Care practice promotes respect for every individual by National Care Standards' Choice and Privacy. Care workers respect service users privacy under Data Protection Act 1998 which protects clients confidential information such as care plan. Choice from National Care Standards promotes respect of service users by allowing them live as much independent as possible. Care workers also respects all choice made by individuals and take them into account before making any actions.

Anti-Discriminatory Practice is well known term in all sectors of social work. Term Anti-discriminatory Practice mean practice without discrimination and respecting individual's worth and dignity. Practice without discrimination is known as practice free of judgement and prejudice of service users as well as service providers. It is a practice where people are treated equally without any fear of any harm or abuse because of their ethnic background, sexual orientation, religion or age; where people respecting each other worth and dignity and no discriminating them against their views, beliefs, appearance or behaviour. It is a practice where everyone is accepted as they are and treated equally. It focuses on respecting individuals and works againts stereotyping, discrimination and prejudice.ADP is important for providing effective care practice for employers and employees as well as service users. It promotes equality by introducing anti-discrimination policies in workplace and changing attitudes towards staff and service users. It promotes it by value service users for their ethnic background, language, culture and faith, let clients live independently, being able to complain effectively without fear of victimisation.

Discrimination

Discrimination is behavioural component of bias by treating people differently and unfairly or less well than others because they belong to certain groups. Discrimination is often due to jealousness, religion, race, unequal pay, pregnancy, sexual orientation or gender. It is form of social exclusion. This unequal treatment of legally unjustified objective reasons. Any such action constitutes a breach of the principle of equal treatment and basic human rights.

Discrimination has two types:

• Direct discrimination

It is based on treating people differently because of someones personal circumstances compared to ourselves or another person in the same situation. For example unequal pay for women and men for the same type of job.

• Indirect discrimination

It occurs when actions taken are neutral to public opinion but discrimination may affect some of them. For example discrimination against disabled people or same gender couples.

Values that underpin Anti Disctiminatory Practice include:

• Equality

Equality is a value that is very important in ADP. Treating people equally means that everyone is not the same and should be treated as an individual. Everyone is equal regardless of gender, age, religion or sexual orientation. Anti Discriminatory Practice promotes equality by providing range of services for all possible service users. Disability Discrimination Act 2005 promotes equality for people with disability. It focus on services, goods and employement. Under this act all employers and must reasonable adjustments and make workplace suitable for all employees such as lifts and toilets.

• Tolerance

Tolerance is another important value that underpins Anti Disctiminatory Practice.

Tolerance is an open, objective and respects the approach to other human traits, which are different from their own.Tolerance is the opposite of discrimination.Tolerance means that even if we don't have the same views or personal beliefs as someone else, we still respect it. Equality Act 2010 promotes tolerance as their aims are:

-banning age discrimination outside the workplace

-protecting carers from discrimination

-clarifying the protection for breastfeeding mothers

-banning discrimination in private and public sectors

• Protection

Protection is also one of the important values in Anti Disctiminatory Practice.

Human protection from any forms of harm or abuse is one of the main aims of ADP.

Protection means taking actions against disctimination, prejudice or stereotyping and providing environment free from those. Human Rights Act 1998 promotes protection of human rights such as:

• Respect for privacy and family life and the right to marry.
• The prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment
• Protection against slavery and forced labour