Doing the right things

Belonging

In the work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we can see the growing importance of the concept of belonging. The Society for Human Resource Management (2020) states that research has shown the need to belong at work is second to the need to belong at home. I am not an expert on the topic of belonging, but it is intriguing to me. It has been brought up in some of the spaces I am in, especially at work where our Director of Health Equity has started to bring it up a lot. 

I know from my own experience I do not feel like I belong at work. I don't feel a part of what's going on. I feel like if I left no one would care or notice. I feel like the work I do isn't valued so whether I take on extra responsibility or do the bare minimum it doesn't matter. 

I asked the group I provide training supervision for "what does it feel like when you belong?". I wanted to get from their perspective what does belonging look and feel like because belonging is a feeling. The best intentioned supervisor or administrator can do a lot of things to try to make employees feel involved, but that may not get that feeling of belonging. 

Here are the responses from the group when asked about feeling like they belong. 

• Protecting the group
• Receiving and giving positive reinforcement
• Getting something out of the relationship
• Authentic relationships that allow for correction
• Accountability
• Knowing the culture
• Feeling safe

I think that last point is very salient. Feeling safe at work is a necessary first step to belonging. How do you belong without feeling safe? Maybe belonging is a long term process, so organizations should focus on helping people feel safe before they feel like they belong. 

Sharing some old work

Several years ago now I wrote this submission to an online social work journal. I was studying the topic in my educational psychology classes and thought it was really useful information for social workers. I still think it is. The subject is pervasive and I believe it goes under-reported. At the time I thought there should be a screening to help professionals determine if there was an issue. 

Missing the Mark

 Today is July 15, 2021. I made a goal this year to post at least twice a month. I was doing really well too, but time marches on and I missed the mark. I failed my goal. I feel like I have a lot of thoughts in my head, but I cannot string enough of those thoughts together to make a coherent post. Am I experiencing writer's block?

I am putting this out there, despite missing my goal I intend to get back on track this month. I actually thought I would be back on track last week, but here we are. 

While I work on getting back on track here is an update on me. Right now, I am in a narcan training at the University of Toledo getting ready to provide an update on some community resources for the participants in the training. I have been taking a class in Project Management that has been more challenging that I thought it would be. Who knew there was so much writing in Project Management (other than project managers). I am preparing a presentation with Dr. Elhai for Ohio Children's Alliance Transforming Care for Kids Conference. Our presentation is titled Peers & Predators: Helping Youth Navigate Stress from Social Media. I am a little anxious because our PowerPoint is due tomorrow, but it's not done. More to come on that. 

Ohio LGBTQ+ Unity Summit 2021

This morning I get to be a panelist and provide a short presentation entitle Supporting the Wellness of Your LGBTQ+ Workforce. I wanted to put my slides out there for people to view and reference. 

6/10/21- If you are interested in watching check it out here: https://youtu.be/5f1Zsqgsnrs

 

Affirmations

I've been engaged in leadership coaching for about 9 or so months. It's been an interesting journey of self-reflection and realizing the type of leader I am. I used to consider leadership more along the lines of becoming rather than realizing that I already am. 

One thing that I was encouraged (required) to do as part of the coaching was to write down affirmations. I am not an affirmations type of person, but I am the type of person who will complete assignments...because one I am responsible and that is one of my strengths. Putting these down on paper was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be and it took me longer than I anticipated to get 10 on the paper. There are a few that challenge me even now I think about them. 

I am smart.

I do not owe anyone anything.

My opinion matters. 

I am not afraid of success. 

On a regular basis I try to reflect on these ones specifically in order to manifest them in my daily life. These are probably the ones I believe less often than other affirmations I have written. I am quick to revert to negative self-talk and can sabotage my own success. When I do realize I am talking negatively to myself, I remind myself of these affirmations. I know I will continue to struggle negative views of myself and my abilities, however I have found this exercise to provide a new depth of perspective I had not had before. 

Changing how you word things can have a powerful effect on your mind. Moving forward in life may require some change in thinking. Writing down positive affirmations may be a tool to help your change your thoughts and views about yourself. 

Balancing Power

We frequently talk about the inherent power imbalance between client and social worker. Even the terms we use to describe the micro system the social worker is engaged with; client, consumer, service recipient, etc. We are aware of this power imbalance yet we discuss empowerment and we discuss it in the context of the social worker empowering the client. Maybe it is an issue of semantics, but however you slice the power pie the social worker is always left with more. Whether that be legitimate, referent, expert, or coercive power, the social worker is usually always the one with more power. 

An individual working with a social worker may try to find their power and it may be labeled as non-compliant- even that term illustrates the constant power social workers exert over their clients. Not following through on treatment plans because their do not reflect their values, not engaging with the social worker because their is no connection or there is a lack of cultural understanding, or completely removing oneself from a service are ways an individual could try to regain some of their power. 

How do we then start to balance that power?

Let's be honest, a client has little recourse when a social worker is providing poor services. They may be able to complain to a supervisor, but that may be ineffective and depending on relationships may hurt the client. Social work is not like a restaurant where Karen-ing out on management may result in immediate benefits.   

One way I believe we may be able to help shift some of the power in the relationship is to inform clients of their right to make reports to the state licensing board. A step forward would be to show them how to make a report. I don't know about every state, but in Ohio, your professional licensure is public record. Anyone can look up a licensee with first and last name to see the status of the license and whether they have had issues with the licensing board before. 

Providing the knowledge on making complaints to the license board can provide clients a vehicle to ensure the social worker is providing quality services that are ethical and in line with best practices. I do not believe that the majority of clients will follow through with making reports, but I do think that it would empower clients to report concerns to the licensing board. 

I believe that this may be part of informed consent, but is this fulling communicated to clients and do they fully understand what it means or how to do it. Clients can discuss concerns with client's rights officers, but they may be deterred due to the client's rights officers being employed by the agency. 

These are some thoughts I've had recently. There are more ways to start to bring about more balance in the client/social worker relationship, but this is one way I do not hear much conversation about. 

What are your thoughts? Do you inform your clients that they can make reports to the board if a social worker is being unethical?