Ethics in social work: how can they help you navigate complex dilemmas and make tough decisions?

Social work is one of the most important jobs that anyone can move into and a career that is rewarding on a number of levels. The most obvious example is how personally satisfying it is to help someone overcome problems in their life or escape from a difficult living environment. Social work is also rewarding in career terms – not only for the competitive salaries that roles in this sector deliver, but also the opportunities for career progression it offers.

One key part of working in this field is holding yourself to the highest professional and personal standards of behavior. This is because social workers set the example for society to follow in terms of behaving properly and fairly. People who work in this industry are also often called upon to make tough decisions in their daily work and navigate the tricky dilemmas that cases bring.

But how can you get on top of all this and carve out a successful social work career?

Ethics are key for social workers

To operate successfully in this industry, there are many skills that are required. One of the most important areas to focus on for social workers is having a strong set of ethics.

But what are ethics, and why are they essential in this kind of work? Ethics are a set of beliefs that allow us to behave in a right, just and fair manner. By developing a strong set of ethics, we not only commit to doing the right thing and treating people fairly, but also commit to speaking out when we see injustice in the world.

As this shows, ethics are therefore something that is integral to social work, and ethical behavior is essential for anyone in this industry. It is hard to advocate for social justice if you do not behave in an ethical way yourself! Behaving ethically also enables you to build more trust with clients and be more effective in your role.

Education is the crucial first step

If you are looking at moving into this line of work and developing your ethical base, finding out how to become a social worker is an essential first step. This would usually involve some form of academic study that teaches you about ethics as a social work professional. The master’s in social work offered by Keuka College is a great example of the kind of course that can help and comes with all the flexibility that an online program offers. It is open not only to people who already have a bachelor’s degree in social work, but also to people who have a bachelor’s degree in a different subject.

Getting the right kind of education either as a newcomer to social work or as someone within the sector already can really help when it comes to handling tricky situations or tough calls. This is because the knowledge you pick up (especially on higher-level programs) teaches you the kind of dilemmas you may face and how to resolve them.

It will also teach you about why having ethics in social work is so important and why you should always strive to make the right decisions – even if this is sometimes tough to do. This kind of learning can really help you bring ethics into your job when dealing with complex issues in the right manner.

How can ethics in social work help with tough decisions or tricky situations?

To move into social work as a career, you need to be caring, show outstanding integrity, and be prepared to advocate for clients when it comes to social justice. Ethics are useful in each of these instances because they give you a strong moral foundation to work from and help you be considerate to other people.

Ethics in social work can also move beyond this and assist when making tough calls or weighing up complex dilemmas. But how is this possible? Developing a strong sense of ethics as a social worker naturally sees you have a good sense of justice. It also means that you have a good understanding of what is right or what is wrong in any given situation. This comes in handy for dealing with complex dilemmas and helps you decide on the right thing to do.

The same ethical base can also help when making tough decisions. If you know that your decision is the morally sound thing to do, then you will feel more comfortable making it – even if it is not what everyone wants to hear. If you are dealing with an alleged case of neglect involving a family who simply cannot look after their child properly despite their best efforts, your ethics will help you make the difficult call to remove the child from this environment.

  • Good ethics mean that you stick to the rules

When it comes to awkward dilemmas in social work roles or hard decisions, some of this may be around the rules and regulations that professionals in this sector are bound by. It is imperative that social workers stick to the rules placed on them for their own safety and also that of clients.

Having a strong set of ethics is very useful here as it means that you will never be tempted to break these regulations and that you will always stick to them. If, for example, a client you had been working with for a while wished to meet at your home address for sessions rather than your office, this desire to follow rules gives you the courage to say no – even if they may get offended.

It may also come in handy if you notice that a colleague has broken some important rules and senior management need to know before their actions bring more serious consequences. This can be a real dilemma if it is someone you know well, but a firm ethical base can ensure that you do the right thing.

  • Decision-making is made easier with an ethical base to work from

There are some things in life that are vital and these can often vary depending on what is being discussed. Financial planning for new businesses, for example, is something that any start-up owner would do well to read up on, in the same way that learning how to build up stamina is crucial for aspiring long-distance runners. When it comes to social work, ethics are a similarly key topic and can really help with decision-making or deciding how best to deal with an issue.

As the above examples show, having a robust ethical base to work from means that social work professionals are able to not only make the right call but also avoid being swayed into breaking rules. Having this as a foundation to operate from also brings clarity to decision-making and helps simplify what might seem complex problems. Once you know what the right thing to do is, everything else follows naturally.

But how can they be applied in the real world when making tough decisions or untangling real dilemmas?

  • Listening to your own instinct guides the way

While you can develop your own ethics through education, it is also vital to know how to use them in your role. This ensures that you not only know what the just thing to do is, but that you also know how best to implement it.

All social workers should have a good moral compass, so listening to your own instincts is always a great tip. If you are looking at a client’s case and feel deep down inside that a certain hard decision needs to be made, then this is usually a sign that you are on the right track. While you should always have plenty of evidence and reason to back up any actions, having that sense of whether a decision is right or wrong can also help.

The same is also true if you are working on a case that throws up a huge dilemma for you to resolve. This could, for example, see you helping someone with social anxiety issues that cause them distress when out of the home but are getting worse through social isolation. Your own instincts can be a good guide here to what might be the best course of action overall.

  • Ethics shown by colleagues can help

Sometimes you may find yourself unable to justify making a tough decision or unable to use your own morals to solve a certain situation. This can sometimes make it hard to apply ethics to your job in order to gain the best outcome.

If you find yourself in this type of scenario, it can sometimes be worth relying on more experienced colleagues for advice. They may well have encountered similar issues before and are therefore able to give you a fresh take on how they moved past it in a fair way. If it is tough decision you are weighing up, they may be able to confirm that you are doing the right thing and give you the confidence to press on.

  • Ethics can help you be brave with decision-making

You may have a firm sense of justice and know what the right thing to do is in any situation, but this does not mean that it is always easy. A sound ethical base can be invaluable in this instance as it gives you the courage to act properly or speak out if necessary.

Without this to fall back on, you may not feel confident enough to make tough decisions that other people might not want to hear. If you know that the decision you have made is the right thing to do morally, it also gives you the fortitude to stick by it when people complain.

  • Ethics in social work stop you making wrong choices

If you are dealing with a tricky dilemma as a social worker, you may face the very real prospect of making a wrong choice. This may not be on purpose, but could be down to an error on your part. The problem is that once you make a mistake like this, it is impossible to undo and can have serious consequences for all involved.

Ethics prove useful when navigating dilemmas in social work as they help you make the best choice. This might not always be the easy route, but a strong moral code will see you wanting to do the right thing and knowing what this looks like. As a result, it can keep you on the straight and narrow in the often complex world that social workers inhabit.

What common dilemmas and decisions may social workers face?

If you plan to work in this sector, it is crucial to be prepared for what is involved. Below are some of the most common dilemmas that social workers can face.

  • Gifts

This is one very common dilemma that many social workers face and it can leave them with a difficult decision to make. Clients who receive help from a social worker sometimes want to show their appreciation by giving them a present, but this can be an issue.

It may breach local laws in your area and also workplace rules. Accepting a gift may also involve a breach of integrity in many people’s eyes. On the other hand, refusing the gift could upset the client or damage any relationship moving forward. As a result, this can be one dilemma that many professionals in the industry have to grapple with.

  • Right for client self-determination

While social workers are there to offer advice on how clients can overcome challenges in their lives, they are not responsible for whether they listen or how they act. When the client is acting against their best interests or ignoring advice that is meant to keep them out of harm’s way, this can be a tricky situation for social workers.

As a result, it can leave social work professionals wondering whether they need to get more involved in the client’s lifestyle choices to help protect them or accept their right to self-determination. Ultimately, though, the client’s right to autonomy should win out in the majority of cases.

  • Client confidentiality

This is another common situation where social workers can feel torn between two options. It can also see them having to make tough decisions. Ethics can help here as, along with the relevant laws, it gives social workers a clear idea of how best to proceed.

But what issues can crop up with client confidentiality at certain times? The most obvious example is when a social worker is told something by a client in confidence that may need to be passed to a third party (such as the police).

In this case, the dilemma is whether breaching the client’s trust is necessary and worth damaging any future sessions with them. This issue can also present itself if a minor tells you something that you feel the parents should know but that might be governed by laws around the right to confidentiality of minors in your state.

  • Different values between the social worker and client

This is another common dilemma that social workers can use their own ethical code to work through. In the vast majority of cases, it involves doing what is best for the client.

But how can this situation present itself? The most obvious example is when a client has a set of values that clash with your own. In this case, you may feel unwilling to help but compelled to do so as a professional in the sector.

A social worker who is against abortion, for example, may find it hard to assist a client who is seeking one. This may see them tempted to talk to the client about their own beliefs on the subject or refuse to help them. This is not wise though, and you must always remember to stick to the regulations that govern proper professional behavior.

  • Relationships with clients outside of work

Social workers are forbidden to have social relations with their clients outside of work. While this seems cut and dried, it is not always so simple. What if they live across the street from you and you bump into them regularly? What if your children go the same school and you see them there each day?

In these instances, there is the dilemma of how best to manage these social interactions. It may be that you speak to the person in question to explain the situation and clarify that you cannot engage with them socially. Although this might prove tricky, it is often the most ethical way to handle it and shows how ethics in this sector can help you navigate complex issues.

Social work and ethics are intertwined

Ethics are ingrained in social work. This not only protects clients but also social workers themselves from making poor choices or ending up in bad situations.

Ethics in social work also ensure that people who turn to this sector for help are treated fairly and social workers set exemplary behavior for the rest of us to follow. They can also be very useful when social work professionals are trying to navigate tough dilemmas or settle on the best decision to make.

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