Fried Social Worker® Blog

Let’s get back to the matter of social work supervisors and ethics. Many of the social workers I’ve met online have indicated that the way they are managed … or mismanaged … has a lot to do with their burnout and even their willingness to remain in the profession. So I’d like to repeat the question I asked social work managers in an earlier post: Do you treat your social work staff with the same respect and dignity you expect of them in their interactions with clients? If you don’t, I sincerely hope you’re willing to engage in a bit of self reflection.

The preamble of the NASW Code of Ethics, as I understand it, includes supervision and administration as areas of social work practice which are accountable to uphold the core values of the profession, including integrity, service, and the dignity and worth of the person. The Purpose of the NASW Code of Ethics acknowledges that the Code applies to all social workers “regardless of their professional functions, the settings in which they work, or the populations they serve.”

I think that last word serve is important. Is the social work manager exempt from the value of service expected of front line social workers? I’ll have more to say on this later, I’m sure.