Social work is more of a job driven by passion and humanity than anything else. Social workers’ orientation toward helping vulnerable individuals and groups in society often leads them to put others’ needs before their own.
Indeed, becoming a social worker is no walk in the park; as personally satisfying as it might be, this profession demands consistent hard work, patience, perseverance, and a strong heart.
Social workers are expected to perform a variety of roles and have a diverse range of expertise. However, this does not necessarily limit your ability to perform well in this field or make it too challenging to take on.
You can ace your job and make the most of this rewarding profession with the right personality traits and attitudes. The following are some of the essential characteristics that make a hard-working social worker:
- Empathy
Since the primary role of a social worker is to tend to others’ needs, being able to relate to and understand their problems is a core skill. Vulnerable individuals need someone who can step in their shoes, understand the situation from their perspective, and find a reasonable solution.
According to the NASW, empathy is the ability to perceive and understand another person’s ideas and emotional state. Empathetic social workers can give their best because they relate to the situation. In fact, psychological research has proven that cognitive empathy makes people compassionate, and compassion is critical for social workers.
- Critical thinking
One of the many fundamental social worker skills includes critically and objectively understanding each case and reaching the best solution. Gathering information and reaching conclusions is an essential role of a social worker and demands the ability to make informed decisions objectively.
Social work is solution-oriented, and to be able to reach valuable solutions, critical thinking is vital. This trait allows social workers to consider the circumstances, decide, allocate resources, and formulate an effective execution strategy.
- Good knowledge base
Professional training and qualifications make certain social workers stand out among the crowd. It is one of the many qualities that make an excellent social worker evident.
A strong educational background can help social workers learn how to handle cases and deal with clients effectively. To step into the profession of social work, at least a bachelor’s degree is needed, but with other learning programs like a master’s degree, you can dive deeper into this field.
Both theoretical and practical learning is crucial to becoming a successful social worker who knows the necessary ethics and skills for the job.
- Passion
For any career at all, only a passionate individual can truly flourish and reach their fullest potential. Candidates who are not passionate about their jobs or are forced into them are hardly ever successful.
The same holds true for social work; this fast-paced, demanding, and the intense job requires you to be able to stand through it with commitment and perseverance. It is often only the fierce desire to help improve others’ lives and be a benefit to society that prevents social workers from burnout.
Interestingly, research has shown much higher levels of dedication in social workers compared to street-level bureaucrats.
Not only does your passion help you make it through this challenging job quickly, but it also motivates your clients and gives them hope for a better future.
- Dependability
When you rely on someone to help you through a rough patch in life, you must trust them and consider them dependable. Clients depend entirely on their social workers to help them; only responsible and trustworthy service providers benefit them.
Get your clients to trust you, get to know them, value their opinions, and be honest, open, direct, and reliable. Be there when they need advice or guidance, and be sincere when you give it.
- Patience
It can get quite frustrating when the process moves slowly, and you cannot make significant progress. In such situations, you must remain calm, level-headed, and rational.
You will likely encounter a complex case that does not get resolved overnight or even over months or years. Most cases involve several different parties with contradictory viewpoints and no compatibility. Your clients themselves might be resistant and oppositional towards the assistance you wish to provide.
All through this, an excellent social worker does not lose their cool or give up. They keep at it consistently and patiently until they find a way out.
- Respect
According to Emmanuel Kant, respect is crucial regardless of the situation and without paying heed to the potential consequences. This is important to remember when you are in a position of power or authority over others.
It is crucial that you do not make those you help feel undignified, disrespected, or unworthy. They might not have the same social or economic circumstances as you, but this difference should not influence your attitude towards them; respect is vital at all stages.
Successful social workers respect their clients regardless of their differences, use dignifying language at all times, and avoid being derogatory at all costs.
Here respect entails a moral duty to be tolerant and accepting of people from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds. As a social worker, you are likely to encounter people from all walks of life with all kinds of living conditions. Do not let your differences come in the way.
- Ethical
The National Association of Social Workers has outlined a code of ethics that should dictate every social worker’s conduct with their clients.
Ethical standards demand that social workers work with integrity, justice, honor, and dignity. For any social worker, the core moral values should be competence, social justice, integrity, dignity, service, and an emphasis on human relationships.
Based on these values, social workers should continuously operate in their area of competence, work towards keeping their professional knowledge up-to-date, maintain healthy social relationships, and respect everyone.
Final words
Social work is a fantastic career choice for someone who is an altruist and heart and desires to contribute to society. Such passion alone gives you a great head start in this profession and sets the stage for success.
In addition, a hard-working social worker must be empathetic, knowledgeable, dependable, respectful, and ethical. With these traits, you can go a long way in your field.
